Bobby Clay, Pony Express Champion

The Pony Express was a mail service delivering messages, newspapers, and mail using relays of horse-mounted riders that operated from April 3, 1860, to October 26, 1861, between Missouri and California in the United States of America.. It was operated by the Central Overland California and Pikes Peak Express Company. When replaced by the telegraph, the Pony Express quickly became romanticized and became part of the lore of the American West. Its reliance on the ability and endurance of hardy riders and fast horses was seen as evidence of rugged American individualism of the frontier times. (Wikipedia)

The Pony Express Race is a cross-country obstacle challenge, a timed event, which tests the courage of the rider and the confidence of his horse, demonstrating the versatility of the team, a testament to their physical and mental endurance as they battle a multitude of challenges interwoven through a beautiful cross-country track. Only the best horse and rider teams complete the course, and it takes a superb team to be crowned the champion. (ponyexpressrace.com)

Enter Bobby Clay. Bobby Clay recently moved into Cascade, buying the house that formerly belonged to Dave and Becky Dobbins. I met him one Tuesday night at the Cascade Senior/Community Center as a few men gathered there to play pool. While talking to him, he mentioned something that intrigued me. He said that he was a former Pony Express Rider. Now, Bobby is a little old, but not that old! I thought he was talking about the original Pony Express of the 1860s, but that would put him over 100 years of age! Bobby was born in Denver in 1938, although he jokingly says that he's got a piece of paper that says he's over 100 years old. No, he was actually talking about the Pony Express races described above.

Bobby lived in a ranch, growing up in Black Hawk, Colorado, near Central City. There he did a lot of riding. Everybody knew he could ride. In the early 1960s, they started some Pony Express races in Idaho Springs, Colorado. The course went from Idaho Springs to Central City. The race pitted 2 riders, riding their own personal horses. They took actual mail, carried in mail bags with the Pony Express logo on them. The course was 15 miles over unpaved roads and they changed horses and saddles three times. He entered the races three years, winning the second and the third year. He is proud of his trophies and his beautiful Championship belt. The races were eventually discontinued over insurance issues.

Married 61 years this coming December, Bobby and his wife Shirley are happy to be in Cascade. He likes to work with leather, making sheaths for knives and other items, and is currently learning to play guitar. Shirley makes beautiful unique greeting cards.