Series Description

Young Riders was a 60 minute western action series on ABC about a group of young pony express riders who worked out of the Sweetwater, Kansas station just prior to the Civil War. The station was run by an ex-Texas Ranger named Teaspoon Hunter. While the series was fiction and highly dramatized, it often captured the hard life experienced by those early postal workers.

The Young Riders Cast

Ty Miller .... The Kid
Anthony Zerbe .... Teaspoon Hunter
Stephen Baldwin .... William F. "Buffalo Bill" Cody
Josh Brolin .... James Butler "Wild Bill" Hickok
Gregg Rainwater .... Running Buck Cross
Yvonne Suhor .... Louise "Lou" McCloud
Don Collier .... William Tompkins
John-Clay Scott .... Mr. McClarren
Travis Fine .... Ike McSwain (Seasons 1 and 2)
Brett Cullen .... Marshal Sam Cain (1st Season)
Melissa Leo .... Emma Shannon (1st Season)
Don Franklin .... Noah Dixon (1990-1992)
Clare Wren .... Rachel Dunne (Seasons 2 and 3)
Christopher Pettiet .... Jesse James (1991-1992)

The Young Riders Trivia

The Young Riders was filmed in Mescal, Arizona and other spots in the state including the "Old Tucson Studios" located at 201 S. Kinney Road in Tucson, Arizona. Old Tucson is a 320 acre old west town with 75 buildings and thousands of movie props. It's open to the public and offers gunfight shows and other attractions. Many feature films have been made there including Rio Bravo, Gunfight at the O.K. Corral, The Three Amigos, and Tombstone. It was used as the town on the TV series, "The High Chaparral". Many other TV series had scenes filmed there including "Bonanza" and "Little House on the Prairie". It has also been featured in numerous TV commercials.

Emma Shannon was the Young Riders' cook, housekeeper, and substitute mother for the first season. For the last two seasons, Rachel Dunne took her place. In addition to the famed Buffalo Bill Cody and Wild Bill Hickok, the other Young Riders included "The Kid" who was a quiet character from the South, "Running Buck" who was a half-white/half Kiowa indian, Ike McSwain who could not speak, and Lou McCloud who was a young woman disguised as a boy. In the second season, Noah Dixon, a free-born afro-american, was added to the cast.

The Young Riders TV show won two Emmys and was nominated for a third. In 1990, Frances Harrison Hays (costume supervisor) won the Emmy for "Outstanding Achievement in Costuming for a Series" in the pilot episode and John Debney (Composer) was nominated for "Outstanding Achievement in Main Title Theme Music". In 1991, John Debney was nominated again but won this time for "Outstanding Achievement in Music Composition for a Series (Dramatic Underscore)" for episode #37, "Kansas".

Wild Bill Hickok was not a pony express rider in real life, however, Buffalo Bill Cody was!

Lou McCloud's character was actually modeled after the real life "Calamity Jane". Jane actually swore that she had been a pony express rider but she had a reputation for telling tales and there is no existing proof to back up the claim.

Episodes List With Original Air Dates

Young Riders - The First Season

1. The Kid (9/20/1989)
2. Gunfighter (9/21/1989)
3. Home of the Brave (9/28/1989)
4. Speak No Evil (10/5/1989)
5. Bad Blood (10/12/1989)
6. Black Ulysses (10/26/1989)
7. Ten-Cent Hero (11/2/1989)
8. False Colors (11/9/1989)
9. A Good Day to Die (11/16/1989)
10. The End of Innocence (11/30/1989)
11. Blind Love (12/7/1989)
12. The Keepsake (12/14/1989)
13. Fall from Grace (1/4/1990)
14. Hard Time (1/11/1990)
15. Lady for a Night (1/18/1990)
16. Unfinished Business (2/1/1990)
17. Decoy (2/8/1990)
18. Daddy's Girl (2/15/1990)
19. Bulldog (2/22/1990)
20. Matched Pair (3/8/1990)
21. The Man Behind the Badge (3/22/1990)
22. Then There Was One (4/5/1990)
23. Gathering Clouds - Part 1 (5/7/1990)
24. Gathering Clouds - Part 2 (5/14/1990)

25. Born to Hang (9/22/1990)
26. Ghosts (9/29/1990)
27. Dead Ringer (10/6/1990)
28. Blood Moon (10/13/1990)
29. Pride and Prejudice (10/27/1990)
30. The Littlest Cowboy (11/3/1990)
31. Blood Money (11/10/1990)
32. Requiem for a Hero (11/17/1990)
33. Bad Company (12/1/1990)
34. Star Light, Star Bright (12/15/1990)
35. The Play's the Thing (12/29/1990)
36. Judgement Day (1/5/1991)
37. Kansas (1/12/1991)
38. The Peacemakers (1/19/1991)
39. Daisy (2/2/1991)
40. Color Blind (2/9/1991)
41. Old Scores (2/16/1991)
42. The Talisman (2/23/1991)
43. A Noble Chase (3/9/1991)
44. Face of the Enemy (4/6/1991)
45. The Exchange - Part 1 (5/4/1991)
46. The Exchange - Part 2 (5/4/1991)

47. A House Divided (9/28/1991)
48. Jesse (10/5/1991)
49. The Blood of Others (10/12/1991)
50. Between Rock Creek and a Hard Place (10/26/1991)
51. The Presence of Mine Enemies (11/9/1991)
52. Survivors (11/16/1991)
53. Initiation (11/25/1991)
54. Just Like Old Times (11/30/1991)
55. Spirits (12/7/1991)
56. A Tiger's Tale (12/28/1991)
57. Good Night, Sweet Charlotte (1/4/1992)
58. Song of Isiah (1/18/1992)
59. Spies (1/25/1992)
60. Shadowmen (5/21/1992)
61. Mask of Fear (5/28/1992)
62. Dark Brother (6/4/1992)
63. The Road Not Taken (6/11/1992)
64. The Sacrifice (6/25/1992)
65. Lessons Learned (7/9/1992)
66. The Debt (7/16/1992)
67. 'Til Death Do Us Part - Part 1 (7/23/1992)
68. 'Til Death Do Us Part - Part 2 (7/23/1992)