By Ryan Duey
On Monday, June 17th, members of the National Pony Express Association will depart St. Joseph, MO for their annual Re-Ride. This 10-day event reenacts the historical 1,966-mile mail route from Missouri to California honoring the memory of the Pony Express Riders of the 1860s.
On June 18th the riders will reach Marysville’s Home Station Barn at approximately 9:00 a.m. Keith Vacha, Pony Express Barn & Museum Board member said the barn was a place for the Riders to exchange their rides.
Vacha said that every even year the Riders head west to Sacramento from St. Joseph and on odd years they flip and head east from Sacramento to St. Joseph. This year the Mounted Riders of Fort Riley will be participating in the Re-Ride to Marysville.
To commemorate this event the Pony Express Barn & Museum will be offering a free will donation Chuckwagon breakfast from 7:00 to 10:00 a.m.
After a brief break in Marysville, the Riders will head north past the Hollenberg Pony Express Station in Hanover at approximately 11:30 a.m. as they travel into Nebraska.
The annual Re-ride takes place 24 hours a day, just as the original riders did in 1860. Patrons can follow the riders as they make their journey west by visiting https://nationalponyexpress.org/re-ride/.