Sask. citizens deliver mail through ‘Pony Express on the Prairies’

Residents near Regina spent the weekend travelling by horse to deliver letters to nearby communities in a Pony Express-style event. Damian Smith has more.

On Saturday, some Saskatchewan residents travelled by horse to deliver letters to surrounding communities, in a mini version of the original Pony Express.

Codee Kyle, organizer of ‘Pony Express on the Prairies,’ said the event started out as just a family thing but grew into much more.

“It’s gotten bigger and the communities have gotten involved,” she said.

The idea was inspired by the original Pony Express in the United States, when mail was delivered by horse riders in the 1860s, specifically from Missouri to California.

In this version, riders delivered over 150 letters, with most of them going to residents of the Fillmore Care Home.

“We put little stickers on each of those letters saying ‘Transported via the Pony Express on the Prairies,’ so when those people get the letters, it’ll be cool that it has been transported on horseback,” Kyle said.

Travelling 40 kilometres from Francis to Fillmore with stops along the way in Tyvan and Osage, there were a total of eight horses and six riders who made the trek.

Riders Shoni and Shayda King brought four horses of their own from Corning, Sask., familiar with the pony express.

“We grew up ranching and in the western lifestyle, so you kind of can relate to it a little bit sometimes,” said Shoni. “I always loved history, so it was cool to learn more about it.”

Shayda has been doing trick riding for about 10 years now, so she said this was just another way to increase the bond with her horse, Dusty.

“The bond is very important [for trick riding], but for some people it might not be the same, but there’s a pretty big bond between us,” she said.

The group made some pit stops along the way, finishing the route in six hours, with a little bit of a weather delay.

“Rain or snow or sleet, the pony express ride historically always went through,” Kyle said. “The riders rode through anything,”