The Hashknife Pony Express Rides Again

Sonny, one of the park's 4-legged patrol horses, ready for another day on the job.

NPS/MARGE POST

News Release Date: January 10, 2007

Contact: Freda Kraus, [phone]

Contact: Hallie Larsen, [phone] ext. 274

Petrified Forest National Park and the Hashknife Pony Express

Petrified Forest, AZ -- Carrying on a tradition at Petrified Forest National Park, riders will take letters by horseback from the Rainbow Forest Museum at 9:00 a.m. on January 29 to the post office at Holbrook, Arizona. These riders are part of a bigger institution, the Hashknife Pony Express, celebrating its 49th year in 2007. Every January, pony express riders travel two hundred miles from Holbrook to Scottsdale, Arizona, delivering thousands of pieces of mail. The ride ends with the Parada del Sol celebration in Scottsdale. Riders from Petrified Forest will include National Park Service employees on park horses.

Collectable mailers can be purchased for $1.00 at Rainbow Forest Museum, the Painted Desert Inn National Landmark, and the Painted Desert Visitor Center. The mailers, letters, or postcards (with appropriate postage) will be placed into the saddle bags at the Visitor Center and Museum. Mail must be in the bags by the end of Saturday, January 27, 2007 to be carried by horseback from Petrified Forest National Park. Each piece of mail will be stamped with two special cachets, one for the park and one for the pony express.

Superintendent Lee Baiza would like to invite park neighbors and horse riders from the local area to join us in the ride from Rainbow Forest Museum. This grand event is the oldest officially sanctioned pony express in the world. Share a piece of history and send a letter by the Hashknife Pony Express!

For more information call [phone] weekdays, 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Mountain Standard Time; or write to the Superintendent, Petrified Forest National Park, P.O. Box 2217, Petrified Forest, AZ 86028; or e-mail the park.