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Hashknife Pony Express arrives downtown at noon Friday
Jan. 26, 2009
Contact: Pat Dodds, Public Affairs Officer, 480-312-2336
Mayors to greet Hashknife riders at start, end of trail
Riders in the annual Hashknife Pony Express will see a couple of familiar faces when they gallop into Scottsdale at high noon on Friday, Jan. 30.
Holbrook Mayor Jeff Hill and Scottsdale Mayor W.J. “Jim” Lane both plan to be present at the beginning and at the end of the 200-mile ride. The two mayors will help kick off the ride at 8 a.m. Wednesday, Jan. 28, at the Holbrook Post Office, 100 W. Erie St. in Holbrook.
On Friday at noon, the public is invited to join the mayors as they congratulate the riders arriving at the “Passing the Legacy” sculpture on the north side of the Marshall Way Bridge in downtown Scottsdale. The bridge is on the Arizona Canal west of Scottsdale Road and south of Camelback Road. The sculpture, by Colorado artist Herb Mignery, is dedicated to the Hashknife riders and was unveiled at the end of the 50th anniversary ride in 2008. Previously, the mail was delivered to the post office in downtown Scottsdale, but the sculpture now marks the end point of the ride.
The Hashknife Pony Express is the oldest officially sanctioned Pony Express in the U.S. and has the longest standing contract with the U.S. Postal Service to carry the mail. Riders traverse rugged terrain, including the Mogollon Rim country and the wilderness of the Mazatzal mountain range. Often, they brave winter weather conditions to deliver the mail on time.
The ride kicks off the Scottsdale Jaycees’ Parada del Sol festivities, which culminate with the annual Parada del Sol Parade and Trail’s End celebration in downtown Scottsdale on Feb. 21 and the Parada del Sol Rodeo at WestWorld on Feb. 27 and 28 and March 1.
Links for more information:
On the Hashknife Pony Express
On Parada del Sol events
On the “Passing the Legacy” sculpture
