| STJOSEPH | City in NW Missouri. US: starting point of the Pony Express in l860 (2,6) |
| STJOE | City in NW Missouri, informally |
| USPS | Org. that trademarked "Pony Express" in 2006 |
| NUDISM | Minds us starting to change, being without dressing |
| MISSOURI | State at one end of the Pony Express |
| CHAMONIX | Short name for the resort on the north side of Mont Blanc that hosted the first Winter Olympics and is the starting point of the Haute Route ski touring trail ending in Zermatt (8) |
| HANNIBAL | City and port on the Mississippi River in Missouri, US; boyhood home of Mark Twain (8) |
| NEOPHYTE | Convert to the Pony Express, initially (8) |
| MAILBAGS | What the Pony Express transported |
| SACRAMENTO | City which was the western terminus of the Pony Express during its 18 months in operation (10) |
| BRACKENRIDGE | Marian, US sculptor who modelled bronze markers for the 1960 centennial of the Pony Express (12) |
| ENSENADA | Starting point of the Baja 1000 race |
| INDEPENDENCE | City in Missouri, US; point of departure of the California, Oregon and Santa Fe Trails in the 19th c |
| EDALE | Village in the High Peak of Derbyshire; the starting point of the Pennine Way (5) |
| OSAGE | ? River, tributary of the Missouri, US that flows into the Lake of the Ozarks reservoir |
| LANE | Location of Thomas Farriner's bakery, the supposed starting point of the Great Fire of London in 1666 (7,4) |
| PUDDING | Location of Thomas Farriner's bakery, the supposed starting point of the Great Fire of London in 1666 (7,4) |
| MUSTANG | Ford that's the namesake of the "pony car" class of autos |
| LIEGE | Belgian city, the starting point of the gruelling Marathon de la Route classic rally, first run in 1931 (5) |
| TROY | Start of a word ladder (and the starting point of the journey) |
