<P> In 1844, years before the Pony Express came to St. Joseph, Israel Landis opened a small saddle and harness shop there . His business expanded as the town grew, and when the Pony Express came to town Landis was the ideal candidate to produce saddles for the newly founded Pony Express . Because Pony Express riders rode their horses at a quick pace over a distance of 10 miles (16 km) or more between stations, every consideration was made to reduce the overall weight the horse had to carry . To help reduce this load, special lightweight saddles were designed and crafted . Using less leather and fewer metallic and wood components they fashioned a saddle that was similar in design to the regular stock saddle generally in use in the West at that time . </P> <P> The mail pouch was a separate component to the saddle that made the Pony Express unique . Standard mail pouches for horses were never employed because of their size and shape, as it was time consuming detaching and attaching it from one saddle to the other, causing undue delay in changing mounts . With many stops to make, the delayed time at each station would accumulate to appreciable proportions . To get around this difficulty, a mochila, or covering of leather, was thrown over the saddle . The saddle horn and cantle projected through holes which were specially cut to size in the mochila . Attached to the broad leather skirt of the mochila were four cantinas, or box - shaped hard leather compartments, where letters were carried on the journey . </P> <P> During its brief time in operation, the Pony Express delivered approximately 35,000 letters between St. Joseph, Missouri, and Sacramento, California . Although the Pony Express proved that the central / northern mail route was viable, Russell, Majors and Waddell did not get the contract to deliver mail over the route . The contract was instead awarded to Jeremy Dehut in March 1861, who had taken over the southern Congressionally favored Butterfield Overland Mail Stage Line . The so - called' Stagecoach King', Ben Holladay, acquired the Russell, Majors and Waddell stations for his stagecoaches . </P> <P> Shortly after the contract was awarded, the start of the American Civil War caused the stage line to cease operation . From March 1861, the Pony Express ran mail only between Salt Lake City and Sacramento . The Pony Express announced its closure on October 26, 1861, two days after the transcontinental telegraph reached Salt Lake City and connected Omaha, Nebraska, and Sacramento, California . Other telegraph lines connected points along the line and other cities on the east and west coasts . </P>

Who were the riders of the pony express