WOMEN AND THE PONY EXPRESS Melba Leal, an amputee herself, has kindly donated 18 copies of her book “Women and the Pony Express – A modern tale of changing tradition” to the IFPD. "Women and the Pony Express" tells the story of an important part of USA history – how mail was delivered by horse and rider between Missouri and California, before the transcontinental railroad and telegraph made it obsolete. The original Pony Express started in 1860, and more than 100 years later it is still re-enacted yearly. For many years women were denied participation in the re-ride. Melba’s story tells the tale of how a few women stood their ground, wrote many letters and finally convinced the organizers that “a woman is a person” and therefore may participate in the re- ride. Melba Leal was one of 3 women to participate in the Pony Express re-ride in 1990. In 2004 Melba became very ill with a bone infection in her left foot. Melba’s love for horse riding made her delay the decision to amputate her left leg below the knee, fearing that her riding days were over. Once the decision to amputate had been made, Melba received a visit from an amputee, and when he left, she decided: “My horse riding days would only be over, if I choose them to be.” With a lot of patience, and a lot of tears, Melba and Mutt were getting on a horse, and riding. To Melba, “Mutt” seemed like a good name for her left leg prosthesis – named after the popular cartoon character from the forties and fifties: Mutt, a short, cute guy who was always getting into some sort of funny situation.... We are selling them for $14.95 (plus shipping and handling) and 100% of the sales of this book will go towards helping our applicants for assistance. |
| Melba J. Ray-Leal |
| www.theifpd.org |
| WORKING TO ENABLE THE DISABLED AROUND THE WORLD |
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| Contact Us: 2795 E Bidwell Street, Suite 100 #245 Folsom, CA 95630 USA information@theifpd.org 1-204-221-7067 |
| “To know where one is going, one needs to know where they have been...” - Melba Leal |
