Griffin Hurley
The excitement began as soon as Griffin received the mail bags. This being my first time on the Pony Express, I had no idea what was going to happen. All that I knew was that it was going to happen fast. Our task in the truck was simply to keep in front of the riders. Loaded in the back of the truck, we dove out onto the street and began our two day journey. The first several legs had us being escorted by local police up Cave Creek Road. On the asphalt the horses were unwilling to move too fast, but given the chance to get off the road, into the dirt, they were easily coaxed into picking up their pace to a canter.
Griffin
Griffin's leg was followed by Rick Pool, who informed both Jason and myself much earlier, that he would moving at a fast pace for his entire leg. He held up to his promise. For most of his leg it was a mix of him either being in front of, next to, or behind us. It was a difficult leg to keep pace as we were being restrained by the police escort and having a hard time matching Rick.
Rick Pool
The legs following Rick's traversed hiking trails and areas that we were unable to access in the truck. As would happen several more times on this day, we drove ahead to the hand off spot that Cortland Parks would be receiving the mail. These moments were quite enjoyable, as it gave us a break to collect ourselves in a fast paced environment and to talk with and get to know some of the riders. While Cortland was getting himself set up, I took the opportunity to take photos of his horse and trailer.
Cortland's Horse
Cortland's Trailer
After a twenty or thirty minute wait, we sighted Ty Shaffer coming over a hill and moving rapidly to hand off the mail. It was our second moment of trying to take photos then high tailing it back to the truck to catch the hand off and move on to the next leg. At this point we were sticking to small roads in an area somewhere between Cave Creek and Anthem. Our pace had quickened since the start of the day and we were on our way to meeting up with Steve Michunovich.
Cortland Parks
Cortland
We arrived at the hand off point after 15 minutes, to find that Steve wasn't there. News came down that they were delayed due to his horse having problems in the trailer. They arrived after only a five or ten minute wait. Steve's story was one of many that amazed Jason and myself. Being a double amputee, Steve needed the help of his wife and Larry to get up onto his horse. Once there however, he looked to be at home and eager to move out.
Steve Michunovich
Several legs later came Dusty Womack. Dusty struggled to keep a steady pace as he moved from asphalt to dirt and back again his entire leg. It was during one of these transitions that his horse lost its footing and fell forward leading to Dusty falling off. Dusty was quick to get to his feet and made checking his horse his number one priority. After making sure the horse was o.k., Dusty climbed back on and continued slowly forward for the horses sake.
Dusty Womack
There were a few more legs that took us up and across I-17 and on our way to Black Canyon City. We would cross the freeway a few more times before finding ourselves off paved roads and on our way to Crown King.
Sam Uptigrove
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