HOLBROOK, Arizona — The annual Hashknife Pony Express was chosen by Gary Hayes Jr., a locomotive engineer for the Winslow-based BNSF, to deliver one of the game balls in Glendale, making Super Bowl history. This year was especially special because it became part of the

Hayes was selected from among a team of Pony Express riders for the final leg of the nearly 180-mile journey from Holbrook to Scottsdale. When he arrived at the Museum of the West in Scottsdale, he handed over the team’s special cargo, the Super Bowl ball for his LVII, for his February 12 game.

This special delivery by Hashknife Pony Express was just one of the NFL’s many commemorative events leading up to the Super Bowl.

“It was awesome,” Hayes said on BNSF social media. “It was definitely a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. I am honored to have been selected to run that final leg and hand the ball to the chairman of the Super Bowl Host Committee.”

Hash Knife Pony Express History

For the past 61 years, the Old West has come to life each winter as an elite group of riders race through Arizona. This exciting event is the oldest officially licensed Pony Express in the world. Each rider is sworn in as an honorary mail messenger who braves the weather, terrain and modern obstacles to deliver the mail of the United States.

Beginning in historic Holbrook, Arizona, the horse-riding mail route covers more than 200 miles from the Mogollon Rim through the wilderness of the Mazazzal Mountains to the desert town of Scottsdale, Arizona.

The Hashknife Pony Express is the world’s oldest officially licensed Pony Express, a tradition that dates back to the 1950s. This event is a tribute to the original Pony Express, a mail delivery service that operated in the United States in the mid-19th century.

The Hashknife Pony Express is not only a historical homage, but also a celebration of Arizona’s western heritage and culture. Riders dress in authentic Western costumes and ride horses to deliver mail. On his way he stops at several communities to exchange mail bags. The event is often accompanied by live entertainment, food he vendors, and other festivities.

Hash knives were originally tools used by chuck wagon cooks to cut meat for hash and were often given to cowboys on ranches. The Hashknife brand began in Texas in 1866 as an identity for the Aztec Land and Cattle Company where he moved to Holbrook. Then, in 1957, the Navajo County Sheriff’s Posse retained limited use of the brand. The Hashknife brand now identifies Pony Express. Ryder is a member or guest of the Navajo County Sheriff’s Board.

The Hashknife Outfit has the longest contract with the U.S. Postal Service, sending nearly 20,000 first-class emails with valuable “Via Pony Express” cachets hand-stamped by riders before the ride begins. We deliver every year. The “Official Pony Express Envelope” can be purchased by him at the local post office for $1.

This year’s Hashknife Pony Express took place on February 11th and 12th. The event drew large crowds, eager to celebrate Western traditions and see riders in action.