On April 3, 1860, the first rider set out to prove that mail could be delivered by horseback in no more than 10 days between St. Joseph, Missouri, and Sacramento, California! Founded by the firm of Russell, Majors, and Waddell, this daring enterprise broke up the 1,996-mile route into 165 segments with relay stations every 10 to 15 miles. The fleet of 400 horses and 200 riders would run 20 pounds of mail each way in a perilous relay across the Great Plains and Rocky Mountains! It was too expensive to maintain with the rise of the transcontinental telegraph, but it lives on in American folklore!