The Young Riders
A group of young Express riders are based at the waystation in Sweetwater, Kansas. Running the station was ex-Texas Ranger and all-around eccentric Teaspoon Hunter. The role of cook, housekeeper and mother hen was filled first by Emma and later by Rachel. The riders included the future "Buffalo Bill" Cody and James Butler ("Wild Bill") Hickok, as well as Ike, a mute, Buck, a half-White/half-Kiowa scout and the Kid, a quiet Southerner. Their final member was Lou, a young woman who lived and worked with the riders disguised as a boy. They were later joined by Noah Dixon.
- 1989-1992
- 3 seasons
- ABC
- Drama, Action & Adventure
- TV-PG
A group of young Express riders are based at the waystation in Sweetwater, Kansas. Running the station was ex-Texas Ranger and all-around eccentric Teaspoon Hunter. The role of cook, housekeeper and mother hen was filled first by Emma and later by Rachel. The riders included the future "Buffalo Bill" Cody and James Butler ("Wild Bill") Hickok, as well as Ike, a mute, Buck, a half-White/half-Kiowa scout and the Kid, a quiet Southerner. Their final member was Lou, a young woman who lived and worked with the riders disguised as a boy. They were later joined by Noah Dixon.
Season 1 Episode Guide
24 Episodes 1989 - 1990
Episode 1
The Kid
Wed, Sep 20, 1989 47 mins
In this, the pilot episode, we are introduced to six Pony Express riders, their sage mentor and boss, Teaspoon, their station mother, Emma, and the local marshal, Sam, as well as the concept of the Pony Express itself. More specifically, The Kid earns his trusty horse, Katy, learns a little about the nature of good and evil, and becomes the first to discover Lou's secret.
Episode 2
Gunfighter
Thu, Sep 21, 1989 46 mins
When a gunfighter comes to town and when he crosses paths with Jimmy. Feeling that Jimmy insulted him, he challenges Jimmy to a gunfight but Kid stops him. Emma tries to keep the man from going after Jimmy. A friend of Sam shows up with his son. Later the gunfighter challenges him and kills him. His son wants Jimmy to get him cause if not he will.
Episode 3
Home of the Brave
Thu, Sep 28, 1989 47 mins
When the Kiowa begin to attack white settlements and civilians, Buck must decide between loyalty to his Kiowa brother and to the obligations and friendships he has found with the Pony Express. In the meantime, Lou, Hickok and Cody get into a fight with Tompkins and his men because of the shopkeeper's insults against Buck.
Episode 4
Speak No Evil
Thu, Oct 5, 1989 46 mins
While on an Express run, Ike witnesses a terrible stagecoach massacre and finds himself unable to take the life of the gang's leader. The man is apprehended, however, and it is up to the Riders to ensure Ike's safe passage to the courthouse where he can testify.
Episode 5
Bad Blood
Thu, Oct 12, 1989 46 mins
Lou ventures back to the orphanage where she grew up in order to see her younger brother and sister for the first time in five years. However her estranged father, a villainous gunrunner, has taken the children to his canyon fortress. Can Lou rescue her siblings and keep her secret from the other Riders?
Episode 6
Black Ulysses
Thu, Oct 26, 1989 46 mins
When an escaped slave helps around Emma's farm and saves The Kid's horse, Katy, from a fire, the Riders must decide whether to obey the law - the Fugitive Slave Act - or act to save a man who has suffered a life of injustice and cruelty.
Episode 7
Ten-Cent Hero
Thu, Nov 2, 1989 47 mins
After Jimmy insults a dime novel author named Marcus, he suffers the consequences of much unwanted notoriety as the exaggerated subject of Marcus's newest novel. Guns blazing, hired hitmen and toughs arrive in Sweetwater, determined to take down Wild Bill Hickok, the fastest gun in the West.
Episode 8
False Colors
Thu, Nov 9, 1989 47 mins
The Kid's estranged brother Jed is up to no good. After bushwhacking an Army detachment and stealing their identities, Jed and his gang ingratiate themselves with the Riders while angling to receive a gold shipment intended for the US Government. When Sam becomes suspicious, The Kid must decide between family and justice.
Episode 9
A Good Day to Die
Thu, Nov 16, 1989 46 mins
The Kid discovers a half-Hunkpapa warrior, Curly, at the sight of an apparent Sioux massacre and takes him into custody. Curly's smart mouth does nothing to ease tensions in Sweetwater, but The Kid and the Riders come to trust him. Were the Sioux really responsible for the massacre or is someone trying to set up the tribe?
Episode 10
End of Innocence
Thu, Nov 30, 1989 47 mins
When Emma insists on traveling to Ft. Reunion to help deliver her friend's baby, Hickok accompanies her. They become virtual prisoners of an ambitious captain who schemes to incite an Indian war and make a name for himself on the frontier. Trapped, Emma and Jimmy must rely on each other for survival and comfort.
Episode 11
Blind Love
Thu, Dec 7, 1989 47 mins
Hickok falls hard for a young woman named Sarah who, unbeknownst to him, is married. When her husband is shot dead, Jimmy is imprisoned and tried for murder. But what is it Sarah's deceptive nature and a lying cattle wrangler that feels all wrong? Sam and the Riders work together to solve the mystery before Jimmy hangs.
Episode 12
The Keepsake
Thu, Dec 14, 1989 48 mins
A card sharp conwoman and her partner convince Teaspoon that she is his long-lost daughter, offering him proof in the form of a silver hair comb that matches one he still owns. The hair comb promises riches for the false heiress, but does she think her partner's designs on Teaspoon's life have gone too far?
Episode 13
Fall from Grace
Thu, Jan 4, 1990 47 mins
Hickok has a fight with Teaspoon and agrees to go to work in a brothel where the madam, Grace Rollins, has taken a fancy to Jimmy. But deceptions abound: Grace has her eye on a secret Army cache of weapons she plans to sell on the black market, and Jimmy has his eye on her illegal schemes.
Episode 14
Hard Time
Thu, Jan 11, 1990 47 mins
Cody and The Kid, on special assignment, stop for refreshments in a little town called Prosperity. When The Kid tries to defend a woman and gets into trouble with local lawmen, Cody suspects that not all is right with the strange town. He seeks the Riders' aid to help rescue The Kid from terrible punishment.
Episode 15
Lady for a Night
Thu, Jan 18, 1990 46 mins
While away from Sweetwater on a run, Lou impulsively buys a dress and tours a new town as the young woman she is. An insurance salesman, Tyler Dewitt, takes Lou out to dinner, and she becomes enamored of him. But is the polite salesman all he appears? And what will The Kid think?
Episode 16
Unfinished Business
Thu, Feb 1, 1990 46 mins
Evan, Emma's estranged husband, returns, reminding Emma of her difficult past and driving a wedge between her and Sam. But despite any reluctant loyalty she feels for him, even Emma must admit that Evan's behavior is suspicious. Just what is his link to a terrible stagecoach massacre?
Episode 17
Decoy
Thu, Feb 8, 1990 47 mins
The Army requests a rider to deliver a special dispatch, and Cody volunteers for the job. Along the way, he encounters brigands, a bear, and a desolate widow, but he remains committed to his task. Meanwhile, the Riders tend to an abandoned baby.
Episode 18
Daddy's Girl
Thu, Feb 15, 1990 47 mins
At a town celebration, Buck falls for the daughter of an ambitious banker, but her motives in the relationship are questionable. Meanwhile, the Riders help a desperate woman whose husband was killed by the banker's henchmen, and they investigate accusations of illegal claim jumping.
Episode 19
Bull Dog
Thu, Feb 22, 1990 47 mins
When the Pony Express ownership wants to move the mail route north through Sioux burial lands, they send a college boy - Ambrose - to secure the arrangement. Ambrose has a serious case of hero worship for Hickok and, despite his naiveté, he refuses to be a pawn to anyone's manipulative plans.
Episode 20
Matched Pair
Thu, Mar 8, 1990 46 mins
Jimmy reunites with a friend and rival from his youth, Brad, both of whom trained under a Machiavellian mentor named Enright. When Enright's daughter goes missing, Jimmy helps Brad try to find her. But why did Clara really run away, and what does Enright have to do with corrupt land prospecting?
Episode 21
Man Behind the Badge
Thu, Mar 22, 1990 47 mins
A corrupt businessman from Sam's violent past, Van Dorn, arrives in Sweetwater as the saloon's new owner. Van Dorn's henchmen are appointed as the town's new racketeering law enforcers, ousting Sam Cain as marshal. When Sam is accused of murder, Teaspoon, the Riders, a reluctant witness, and an alcoholic lawyer come to his aid.
Episode 22
Then There Was One
Thu, Apr 5, 1990 47 mins
When aging survivors of the Alamo are found murdered, one by one, Teaspoon and his old friend travel to Texas to get to the bottom of the killings. Jimmy and Buck follow in search of the truth and to lend a hand, and they learn that there is more to their mentor's past than they realized.
Episode 23
Gathering Clouds: Part 1
Mon, Apr 30, 1990 48 mins
The Kid infiltrates Hawk's Raiders as a spy for the government, but is caught and about to be hung. James Welch Henderson Arkansas September 23, 2026
Episode 24
Gathering Clouds: Part 2
Mon, May 7, 1990 48 mins
The men of the Pony Express find themselves taking different sides as the start of the Civil War approaches. James Welch Henderson Arkansas September 23, 2026