Staff writer
Fifteen Marion County horseback riders will meet riders from Abilene at Diamond and 360th Roads on April 29 to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the Chisholm Trail.
At 6 p.m., they will receive a hand-off from the Abilene riders of the governor’s proclamation, signed March 22, announcing the trail’s sesquicentennial.
After the exchange, the group will ride one mile east to Chisholm Trail Rd. and six miles south to 300th Rd., where they will meet at Gerald and Pam Unruh’s Chisholm Valley Farm with other guests for a meal and entertainment around a campfire.
The next morning, riders will travel south on Chisholm Trail Rd. and west on 210th Rd. to the site of the Santa Fe Trail Monument just off US-56 for the next exchange of the proclamation.
It will be read and handed off at noon to riders from the Newton Saddle Club, which includes several riders from Marion County. They will take it south on Chisholm Trail Rd., passing east of Goessel to the Harvey County line and beyond.
People who are interested in seeing the procession are invited to come to the crossroads to view exchanges.
The ultimate Kansas destination is Caldwell on May 6.