Neither rain, sleet, nor dark of night can stop the Hashknife Pony Express.

Each January for the last 56 years, the old west is brought to life as an elite group of riders thunder across Arizona. This exciting event is the oldest officially sanctioned Pony Express in the world.

Each rider is sworn in as an honorary mail messenger braving weather, terrain, and modern-day obstacles to deliver the United States mail.

Beginning on Wednesday morning, Jan. 28, from Holbrook, the horseback mail route covers over 200 miles from the Mogollon Rim through the wilderness of the Mazatzal range to the desert city of Scottsdale where it kicks off the Scottsdale Jaycees’ Parada del Sol celebration.

The group will ride up Avenue of the Fountains to arrive at the Post Office in Fountain Hills at about 3 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 29.