THE COMPLETE RIDER LEGENDS

" THE LEGEND OF THE PONY EXPRESS"

WANTED:YOUNG, SKINNY, WIRY FELLOW, NOT OVER 18, MUST BE EXPERT RIDER, WILLING TO RISK DEATH,ORPHANS PREFERRED, WAGES $25 PER WEEK.

This was the ad that in 1860 was answered by 100's of daring young men. Only sixty would beselected to be a part of one of the most famous and unique enterprises of the old wild west...THE PONY EXPRESS. What allowed these feats to be accomplished by these crazed individuals were the horses they rode.
Five hundred horses were chosen for the task at an average price of $200 a horse or pony. This was as much as five times what an average cowpony was worth at the time. These ponies were considered the best in the west, and they were all native wild mustangs. They were tough, sure footed and fast. They had to be, to out run the Indian ponies that would be chasing them. The young men were an elite group of daredevils that would carry the mail between St Joseph, Missouri and San Francisco California. A distance of 1,966 miles through harsh and hostile country and accomplish that task in just eight days.
Some of these riders would gain international notoriety like Buffalo Bill Cody. But the one Pony Express rider that is considered the best of the best is Robert Haslam- better known as PONY BOB! Pony Bob became famous for setting the speed record between St. Joe and San Francisco back in March 1861. That year the weather was one of the worst on record.Drifts in the high Rockies were 30 feet. Pony Bob's leg of the route carried President Lincoln's inaugural address 120 miles in eight hours 10 minutes for an average speed of 14.7 miles per hour.
Bob left Virginia City that fall evening as the town was alerted about a pending attack. Pony Bob rode through the hostel forces at Reed station only to find that because of the hostilities, the relay station was abandoned. Both the station master and all the horses were gone. Bob had now ridden his mustang 60 miles, instead of the normal 25 miles. Unable to change Horses, he galloped an additional 15 mile to Buckland station. The majority of the time Pony Bob was chased by Paiute warparties and his trusty mustang was at full gallop.By the time this trip was finished Pony Bob Haslam would cover a distance of 400 miles with less that 12 hours rest. Of the 7 mounts, one mustang traveled 150 miles and another 104 miles a total of 2/3ds of the total trip. In 16 month of operation the Pony Express covered a total distance of 616,000 miles, the equivalent of 25 trips around the world. A tribute to the brave young riders and the legendary MUSTANGS of the PONY EXPRESS