Each year the cry of “Hashknife” carries across the crisp morning air as the Navajo County Sheriff’s Hashknife Posse leaves Holbrook with bags of official U.S. Mail under the longest continuously sanctioned Pony Express mail contract held with the U.S. Postal Service.
This year’s ride will begin at 8 a.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 9, when the first rider leaves the Holbrook Post Office with a bag of mail to be carried over the Mogollon Rim and on to Scottsdale.
The posse riders will exchange the mailbags every mile or two, relaying the letters to the next rider waiting alongside the roadway. All of the packed mailbags will be carried in turn over the route.
The 53rd annual ride celebration starts on Monday, Feb. 7, when posse members visit local schools to gather pony express letters from students. At 2 o’clock the following afternoon, the riders will be at the historic courthouse in downtown Holbrook to take the oath of office, which will be administered by Holbrook Postmaster Robin Hurtado to authorize the 2011 riders and support crew to carry the mail. Hot dogs will be served following the ceremony, courtesy of Hurtado.
A chicken fried steak send-off dinner will be hosted by the Holbrook Chamber of Commerce to honor the posse at 7 o’clock Tuesday evening at the Elks Lodge. Tickets must be purchased in advance from the chamber for $14 each. Call 524-6558 for more information.
At 6 a.m. on Wednesday, the Holbrook Senior Center will host a breakfast for the Hashknife Posse, and area residents and visitors at a cost of $6. The public is encouraged to attend the breakfast, then stop by the post office to see the posse off at 8 a.m.
On the first day of the ride, the Pony Express riders will travel over State Route 77 to SR 377 and on into Payson, passing through Heber and by Pine, where Pony Express letters are added to the mailbags. The riders will arrive in Payson around 4:45 p.m., where a dinner will be held that evening at the Mazatzal Casino.
On the morning of Thursday, Feb. 10, the Pony Express riders will continue along SR 260 to their evening campsite along the Verde River on the Ft. McDowell Indian Reservation just outside of Fountain Hills.
After a traditional cowboy breakfast by the river, the riders will mount up Friday morning for the final leg of their ride to the main Scottsdale Post Office on Osborn Road. The U.S. mail will arrive at the Scottsdale postal facility at 12 noon, where the postmaster will accept the pony express letters, which will then be delivered to patrons by conventional carriers. The ride concludes on Saturday, after the riders take part in Scottsdale’s annual Parada Del Sol.
The Navajo County Hashknife Sheriff’s Posse organized in 1955 as a search and rescue group, and is still involved in these types of missions. It is an equipped and trained posse that can join searches wherever needed throughout Arizona.
To mail a pony express letter, postal patrons may use the special mailers that are available at the Holbrook Post Office, or enclose a letter in a regular envelope with a return address, the addressee and required postage. In the lower left-hand corner write “Via Pony Express.” Letters may be deposited in the special Pony Express Canister at the Holbrook Post Office.
A total of 65 cowboys are participating in the 53rd annual Navajo County Hashknife Sheriff’s Posse Pony Express ride, including the sheriff, 41 riders and 24 members of the support crew.
The leaders of the 2011 ride are Sheriff K.C. Clark, Captain Mark Reynolds, Trail Boss Dave Alford, Assistant Trail Boss Chuck Jackman, and Swing Bosses Tim Kelley, Clayton Alford, Matt McRae, Cole Alford and Dusey.
Riders include Steve Reynolds, Michael Volpe, Steve Weiss, Don Chiappetti, Pat Reynolds, Jack Lundeen, Dave Fortney, Howard Lange, Wayne Ramey, Brian Chambers, Greg Long, Tom Hill, Garry Cooper, Dave Moffett, Shane Williams, Nate Perkins, Mark DiBrito, Bill Fischer Jr., Carl Reynolds, Justin Maly, Pat Nichols, Danny Sharp, Andy Lund, Jake Jacobson, Brandon Brewer, Mark McRae, Jack Alford, Rusty DeSpain, Travis Chaves, Wade Williams, Kevin Featherston, Slim Garner and Allen Mitchell.
The support crew includes Kenny Mott, Bill Bridwell Sr., Del Allen, Louie Jimenez, Perry Lank, David Cole, Tony Gardella, David Reese, Jim Mobley, Bill Perkins, Frank Long, Mark Jackson, Greg Lucas, Rick Borta, Andy Pickett, Randy Weems, Randy Moffett, Brad Carlyon, Bob Price, Shawn Maestas, Brandon Nichols, Sean Cassidy, Jack Mead and Brad Porter.
