Riders enjoy weather while delivering mail

It was a beautiful sun-filled morning for the annual Christmas card ride.

Both the horses and their riders enjoyed nice temperatures and a near windless morning.

"This had to have been one of the best days we've every had," Herald Schultz, Sweetwater County National Pony Express ride captain, said.

For the past 16 years, the express riders have been taking Christmas cards from Green River to Rock Springs and it always seemed like every year it was snowing, blowing or a combination or both, he said.

"It's was nice. It was in the high 30s and no wind," Schultz said.

Schultz said this year they had to guess about how many letters they were carrying with the mochillas. Shultz said they didn't count all of the cards, so he had to guess based on weight.

He figured they carried about 4,000 cards with the special Pony Express stamp on them.

"That's a little less then we have had," Schultz said. "At one time we had over 6,000."

The annual ride has become somewhat of a tradition for the town, but for the riders its a way for them to keep riding their horses in the winter.

"Basically, it's just something for us to do in the winter," he said.

There's still nostalgia in having one's Christmas letter carried by horse from one post office to another. After all, it pays tribute to how the mail used to be delivered.

"It was a nice day and everyone enjoyed it," he said.

 

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