The Pony Rider

A.R. Matlock

A Tribute to the Pony Express Rider:
The word went out in 1860, ‘looking for wiry boys and men
Who can dust a bronco and ride him until we say, when!’

Hours are long and riding is tough,
We are hiring those who won’t say, ‘that’s enough’.
A pony and rider racing the wind
Carrying the U.S. mail, from east to west and back again
From St. Joseph to Sacramento crossing the mountains, river and valley
Spurring their ponies onward faster! Faster! No time to dally!
Over camp fires, stories are told of eighty brave pony riders carrying the mail.
Legends were made in a short time span,
about the bravery and tenacity, of those young men.
One such pony rider withstood winter’s stormy cold,
Walking and leading his pony through the blizzard and icy snow.
The pony rider was a challenge for many in the wilderness wild,
To the Indian a test of becoming a man verses a child.
The tales of the pony rider grew and grew,
Riders like Buffalo Bill Cody and many others too.
Over thirty-four thousand pieces of mail carried from east to west.
Eighty Pony riders, who all rode their best,
Ten days from coast to coast, with only one mail bag lost.
Few men process the courage to pay the cost,
Records are made not too last, but in the eyes of this writer,
Not many can match the heroics of the Pony Rider.