Santa Joins the Pony Express for a Holiday Mail Ride in Wyoming
This past Saturday, Santa Claus participated in a festive tradition, delivering Christmas cards between Green River and Rock Springs, Wyoming, as an honorary Pony Express rider, Cowboy State Daily reports.
The event, organized by the Sweetwater County chapter of the National Pony Express Association, featured seven riders, one of whom wore a Santa suit while others dressed in traditional cowboy attire. The riders completed a 15-mile journey, delivering official US mail, including 625 Christmas cards marked with a special Pony Express stamp.
Howard Schultz, the ride captain for the Sweetwater County chapter, explained that each card had to be pre-stamped before being carried in official Pony Express mochilas (saddle bags). These mochilas, along with additional saddle bags, were transferred between riders as they traversed the route, which was divided into 2-mile sections. The riders would hand off the mail to the next horse and rider at each section, ensuring that all cards were carried by a horse for at least part of the journey.
This year’s ride marked the 23rd annual Pony Express Christmas card event, which has grown in popularity since its inception. Schultz noted that residents began inquiring about the event as early as Thanksgiving, with cards primarily from the Green River and Rock Springs communities. One rider, from the Red Desert area, also contributed 120 cards from the Wamsutter post office to be carried along the route.
The journey culminated in Rock Springs, where the riders received a police escort as they carried the mochilas and saddle bags of mail through the city to the post office. Once the cards arrived at the Rock Springs Post Office, they were sent to Salt Lake City for standard sorting and then forwarded to their final destinations, just as with any other piece of mail.
Schultz shared that the idea for the holiday ride stemmed from a conversation at a National Pony Express Association convention in Nebraska 24 years ago, which inspired him and his brother to start the local tradition. The event draws a crowd of spectators who enjoy watching the riders set off in Green River and welcoming them in Rock Springs, just as they did during the days of the original Pony Express, which operated for 18 months starting in 1860.
In addition to the Sweetwater County event, other Pony Express Association chapters across Wyoming also host similar holiday rides to celebrate the season. For this special delivery, Schultz emphasized that while the Pony Express route speeds up the process, the cards are sent and sorted just like any other piece of mail, offering a nostalgic twist on the usual holiday postal service.
