They not only had to buy hundreds of horses, but build enough stations that riders could change horses every 10 miles or so-meaning more than 150 stations across the West. Historic American Buildings Survey, Library of Congress // Public DomainĪlexander Majors, alongside co-founders William Russell and William Waddell, had just two months to get the Pony Express up and running-a more complicated task than it might sound. It’s the only one still standing on its original site with its original dimensions. The Hollenberg Pony Express station near Hanover, Kansas is the most intact Pony Express station left.

The Pony Express's founding was as rushed as its riders. Accounts of the types of horses used by the Pony Express vary in his 1893 autobiography, Pony Express co-founder Alexander Majors wrote that 'The horses were mostly half-breed California mustangs, as alert and energetic as their riders, and their part in the service sure-footed and fleet was invaluable.' The eastern part of the route may have also used breeds like Morgans and Thoroughbreds (now best known for their use in horse racing). However, those steeds may not have been ponies in the proper sense-by definition, ponies are small breeds of horse under 14.2 hands (4.8 feet) tall. The stations were about 10 miles apart, and at every station, they changed mounts, swapping out their steeds up to 10 times a ride the whole enterprise involved about 400 horses. Pony Express riders typically rode for 75 to 100 miles at a stretch, but they changed horses many times over the course of their journey to ensure that their steeds could go as fast as possible. Frederick Remington, Gilcrease Museum // Public Domain The Pony Express didn't operate for that long.įrederick Remington's The Coming and Going of the Pony Express, 1900. The Pony Express was by far the most effective way to communicate cross-country at the time-at least until the telegraph came along. In 1861, riders traversed the westward route in seven days, 17 hours to get a copy of Abraham Lincoln's inaugural address to California. The riders carried mail from the Midwest to the West Coast in less than half the time a stagecoach could ( 24 days), and in a pinch, could go even faster. (When the Pony Express began, only Missouri and California were officially states.) From Missouri, the route snaked through Kansas to Nebraska, Colorado, Wyoming, Utah, Nevada and then on to California, where it ended in Sacramento (the mail would then usually travel by boat to San Francisco). With riders traveling at an average pace of 10 miles per hour around the clock, the 1966-mile route passed through eight modern-day states in 10 days.

William Henry Jackson, Wikimedia Commons // Public Domain During the fall season, they will get busy with tourist and hunters that travel up and down the highway, and then skiers during the winter, because it is a great place to have a cup at.A map of the Pony Express route by artist William Henry Jackson. Pony Expresso Coffee Shop is the town’s coffee shop everybody comes in and enjoys a cup along with some yummy baked goods that are made locally. Otherwise, take your time when you visit, for if you hurry, you may miss out on something fun and unique, a worthy place to hang out in and rest a bit before you make your drive up to Telluride. Parking is very easy, however if you’re hauling a trailer or driving a large rig, you would do well to park on the street. Keep your eyes open to the south side of the road, and towards the middle of town on the main street, and you will see it.

All the drinks are named after horse breeds, and the walls are covered with artwork that celebrates horse and rider, even the cup sizes are names inspired in the same way, for example a small cup is a Shetland, medium a Morgan, (which is the breed of horse I ride) and a large is a Clydesdale.įinding Pony Expresso Coffee Shop is very easy, so easy in fact, that if you blink, you will drive right by it. There he set up this wonderful coffee shop. The Owner of Pony Expresso is a former Cowboy from Arizona, who found his calling in coffee, so he went north to a cooler climate, and landed in Dolores CO, a charming little town that he now calls home. Pony Expresso Coffee Shop in Dolores CO is one of those labors of love, where horses and coffee meet, put together in a way that will make you either remember your old horse days, or wish you had had them, inspiring you to stop, and visit again.

Pony expresso