Lyn Fellows carried letters in ‘mochila’ sack 3.8 miles on 2022 holiday horse ride

Photo courtesy Lyn Fellows
From left: Carol Gsell on her horse Savvy (black and white horse) and Lyn Fellows on Vintage Firefly.

By Nolan Lyle

In modern days of instant digital communications, Lyn Fellows likes to do things the old-fashioned way. She enjoys participating in reenactments of the Old West’s Pony Express cross-country mail service.

She and her 14-year-old horse Vintage Firefly, a Morgan mare, joined other riders Dec. 10 to travel along a historic trail and carry Christmas cards from the Folsom Museum to Old Town Sacramento’s post office. The riders carried a total of 1,670 cards collected in various cities and stamped with a special Pony Express mark.

Fellows is a member of the National Pony Express Association, California chapter. The Christmas Card Re-ride is a holiday tradition along the old Pony Express trail in some western states. Three states participated this year: California, Nebraska and Wyoming.

Before the event, Fellows put collection chests for people to drop their holiday greetings cards in at BookSmart in Morgan Hill and Saddles and Treasures in Gilroy.

“We had them sitting there for several weeks, and we let people know that they could drop their mail off,” Fellows said.

She took the cards from the South Valley to Sacramento where about 12 people hand-stamped every single envelope. They placed three different stamps on.  They put the cancellation stamp on the XP (Express) that showed the horse rider on the envelope. Then they put all the cards into plastic bags to keep them protected from the rain.

Fellows and Vintage Firefly rode the Rossmoor Bar part of the trail along the American River. Riders usually travel 3 to 6 miles of the trail. There is also a time limit. This year, inclement weather made it difficult to do the entire ride.

“We only did 3.8 miles. It was pouring rain, just soaking wet,” Fellows said.

The wind gusts were 25 to 35 miles an hour, hitting the riders with hail as well. Vintage Firefly did not enjoy the gusting winds and harsh conditions.

Fellows recalled: “She was like, ‘Are you kidding me, mom? Why are we out here in this stuff?’ At one point she turned sideways, literally, because it was just pelting us. Bless my little mare. She is such a trooper. She did so well.”

Because of burned areas from the major summer fires in the northern Sacramento area, this year the national Pony Express annual horseback riders participants began the ride in Nevada.

“If you know anything about the Caldor Fire or any of the fires up there, it was bad.  This made most of the trail blocked off for us,” Fellows said. “We weren’t allowed to ride on it because of the hazards.”

The Pony Express members worked with the National Forest Service and two other organizations to restore trails and to get everything back for public use, she said.

“The group is more than just riding,” she said. “We care about our trails, and we participate with Back Country Horseman’s Association in trying to repair and maintain the trails for others to use.”

Fellows joined the National Pony Express Association two years ago. She learned about it when a friend sent her a specially marked card at Christmas time.

This past June was her first opportunity to participate in a re-ride, which is the national ride following the trail from St. Joseph, Missouri to Sacramento. She has had Vintage Firefly only for a short time, after her previous horse passed away. Vintage Firefly is a descendant of the first horse Fellows learned to ride on.

“I used to ride 50-mile endurance rides, which are one day races,” she said. “When I found out about Pony Express and that it still exists and that we still get to ride and actually carry the mail, I thought that was one of the coolest things that could happen.”

Many members are really enthusiastic about the rides —and they care about keeping history alive as well as educating kids. The association has programs where speakers go into schools to give presentations on the Pony Express time period.

“Sometimes we’re able to bring in a mochila so they can actually see what it looks like when it goes on the saddle to carry the mail,” Fellows said.

In 2023, the national ride will go from Sacramento to St. Joseph. There are eight states that are involved and each year a different state takes on the sponsorship. California is the 2023 sponsoring state.

Nolan Lyle is an eighth grader at Charter School of Morgan Hill. He wrote this story with assistance from Morgan Hill Life Publisher Marty Cheek.