This Event is Hosted by: Hashknife Pony Express

Hashkife Pony Express

January 31st, 2024

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Event Details 

Neither rain, sleet, nor dark of night can stop the Hashknife Pony Express. Each January/February for the last 61 years, the old west is brought to life as an elite group of riders thunder through Arizona. This exciting event is the oldest officially sanctioned Pony Express in the world. Each rider is sworn in as an honorary mail messenger braving weather, terrain, and modern-day obstacles to deliver the United States mail.

Beginning in historic Holbrook, Arizona the horseback mail route covers over 200 miles from the majestic Mogollon Rim through the wilderness of the Mazatzal range to the desert city of Scottsdale, Arizona.

When

January 31st, 2024 @ 4:45pm

Where

United States Postal Service
– Payson Office

Photo Credit on this Page: The Payson Roundup

The History

Beginning in historic Holbrook, the horseback mail route covers over 200 miles from the majestic Mogollon Rim through Payson and the wilderness of the Mazatzal range to the desert city of Scottsdale where it kicks off the Scottsdale Jaycees’ Parada del Sol celebration. 

The Hashknife was a tool originally used by chuck wagon cooks to cut meat for hash, often fed to cowboys on the range. The Hashknife brand originated in Texas as the identification of the Aztec land and Cattle Company, which moved to Holbrook, AZ in 1866. Later, in 1957, the Navajo County Sheriff’s Posse retained limited use of the brand. The Hashknife brand now identifies the Pony Express. Riders are members of the Navajo County Sheriff’s Posse or their invited guests. 

The Hashknife outfit has the longest contract with the U.S. Postal Service and annually delivers around 20,000 pieces of first class mail bearing the valued “Via Pony Express” cachet which is hand-stamped by the riders before the start of the ride. The “Official Pony Express Envelope” will be available on December 1, 2010. The public can purchase them for $1 each at the Holbrook, Overgaard, Pine, Heber, Payson, Fountain Hills, and Scottsdale Post Offices. 

Your letter will be hand-stamped with the official ride logo, the treasured cachet coveted by stamp collectors around the world.  So pick up your official envelopes and start writing! Check with your Post Office for the mailing deadline.

After the delivery all 30 riders go to the Rusty Spur Saloon in downtown Scottsdale for lunch and they hitch their horses to a hitching post on the street in Scottsdale, Arizona.

Come out and meet the riders at each event along the way and support a rich western tradition that links our communities with the past.

Wednesday, January 31st, 2024

Thursday, February 1st, 2024

Appox. Arrival @ 4:45pm

United States Postal Service – Payson Office

Payson, Arizona

7pm

Dinner held @ Mazatzal Casino

Cost $35 per ticket

Depart @ 9am

USPS – Payson Office

Headed to Fountain Hills, Arizona

More

Information

Phone | (928) 472-5110
1000 W. Country Club Dr.
Payson, AZ 85541
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CONTACT US
Phone | (928) 472-5110
1000 W. Country Club Dr.
Payson, AZ 85541

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