XP2001 -- Retracing the Pony Express Route


Exactly how tough are Akhal-Tekes?  Jas Shearer felt America's equine community needed to see firsthand. In June of 2001 Jas joined 104 other riders from throughout the United States and Canada in a 2000-mile trek retracing the original Pony Express Trail.  Their journey began in St. Joseph, Missouri and ended in Sacramento, California. 

Over the eight-week ordeal, 230 horses were ridden 67,400 AERC miles by 104 riders in eight weeks -- which works out to 1,348 fifty-mile rides.    Throughout the ride, Jas's mounts, the stallion Astrakhan and her veteran endurance mount MV Moondancer, displayed the Akhal-Teke's natural ability to prevail over long, grueling miles.