A man and his horse: Pony Express gallops through the heart of the Old West

Ever since the formation of the National Pony Express Association in 1978, an annual re-enactment of the ride has been staged by members of the organization. This year's commemorative run will be from June 6 to 26, and will pass through Utah on June 14.

"Because this is the 150th anniversary, we're doing the ride differently this year," said Patrick Hearty. "Generally, riders go day and night, but this year we are doing them all in the daylight, so more people can come."

Festivities will include activities in Fairfield, Eagle Mountain and the arrival of riders and a big party at This Is the Place Heritage Park. These are all places from the original Pony Express trail, says Hearty, a past president of the National Pony Express and current state chairman.

About 75 Utah riders will be involved in the re-enactment — just as Utahns were involved in the original runs. It provides an opportunity for people to learn more about this brief but significant part of our past, says Ron Andersen, president of the Mormon Trails Association and a volunteer at This Is the Place Heritage Park, where there is a monument to the Pony Express.

Outside the village, along the main entrance-way, the monument has its own parking lot. A five-year landscaping and trail-building project has just been completed, making it even more accessible.

"It fits so nicely here," Andersen said. "We even get tour buses that will now stop."

The monument includes an Avard Fairbanks statue and a reproduction of a Pony Express station, both of which have interesting histories of their own.

The statue was sculpted by Fairbanks for the 1947 centennial of the arrival of the Mormon pioneers in the Salt Lake Valley. However, that statue was made of plaster and papier-mache. It was carted to parades around the state, but then it disappeared, Andersen said.

"When Fairbanks died, his children were cleaning out a shed behind his studio and found the original," he said. "They thought something ought to be done with it."

Private donations were solicited so that statue could be cast in bronze. It was installed at the park in 1998.

"It has become so popular that there now is a duplicate in Casper, Wyo.," Hearty said.

The Pony Express replica station was built for the 2002 Winter Olympics.

"It was part of the American West experience at Soldier Hollow," Hearty said. It was moved to This Is the Place in 2003.