GOSHEN COUNTY – The Annual Pony Express Christmas Card Ride is happening this year on December 7 at 9 a.m. Riders will be on horseback, taking Christmas cards with a special Pony Express stamp from the Fort Laramie Post Office to the Guernsey Post Office, where the mail will be integrated into the United States Postal Service mail delivery system. To be included in the delivery, cards and letters can be placed in special collection boxes at the Post Offices in Torrington, Lingle, Fort Laramie, Hartville, Guernsey, Wheatland, and Glendo from now until December 6. Please ensure that cards have proper postage on them before dropping them in the collection boxes.

The ride remembers the original Pony Express, which was in operation for only 18 months – from April 1860 to October 1861 – but it met the needs of an increasingly interconnected nation in need of timely communication. In 1860, telegraphs and railroads were still innovations of the future, and messages often took a long time to reach their destinations as they traveled across the Plains and the Rocky Mountains to the West Coast. The Pony Express cut delivery time to just 10 days from St. Joseph, Missouri, to Sacramento, California, through a series of relay stations where riders could change horses, rest, and continue on their journey. 

Goshen County and surrounding areas were critical to the smooth operation of the Pony Express, with relay stations in Cold Springs (Spring Ranch, Junction House, Torrington) and Fort Laramie. By 1861, telegraphs were beginning to make communication possible directly from New York to the West.

The Christmas Card Ride honors the tradition of the frontier West while providing a fun addition to cards and letters during the holiday season. 

For more information, contact the local Post Offices.