The Young Riders was an American Western television series created by Ed Spielman that presents a fictionalized account of a group of young Pony Express riders based at the Sweetwater Station in the Nebraska Territory during the years leading up to the American Civil War. The series premiered on ABC on September 20, 1989 and ran for three seasons until the final episode aired on July 23, 1992.
Episode 1
Young men of the Pony Express brave harsh conditions.
Episode 2
The boys attempt to save Wild Bill Hickok from an unnecessary gunfight.
Episode 3
Buck is the target of hostility when Sweetwater is threatened by a local tribe.
Episode 4
Robbery witness Ike McSwain is pursued by the criminals he is to testify against.
Episode 5
The riders help Lou track down her younger brother and sister who were kidnapped by a ruthless gunrunner.
Episode 6
Col. Savage and a band of militia hunt down a runaway slave accused of murder.
Episode 7
A novelist avenges a beating by Hickok with writing a story that incites others to challenge the cowboy.
Episode 8
The Kid is torn when his long-lost brother turns up just as nearby fugitives are planning to steal a gold shipment.
Episode 9
A Sioux brave who claims to be innocent is denied justice when brought to trial for an Indian massacre.
Episode 10
Hickok and Emma face hostile Indians and a ruthless commanding officer at a remote Army post.
Episode 11
Hickok's heart is lassoed by a mysterious woman, but he is caught in a dangerous tangle when he discovers that she is bound to another man.
Episode 12
Teaspoon is given claim to a small fortune, but he may lose it to a young woman he thinks is his lost daughter, and to a crooked gambler willing to kill for the cash.
Episode 13
Hickok has a falling-out with Teaspoon, and he falls in with a gang of outlaws who are after a store of Army guns and ammunition.
Episode 14
Kid is sentenced to hard time on a trumped-up charge by a small-town sheriff carrying out the policies of the sadistic man who keeps the town under a cloud of fear.
Episode 15
Dressed as a lady for a night, Lou meets a vicious brute who develops an obsession for her, while he masterminds a series of heists in the territory.
Episode 16
After surviving a massacre of wealthy settlers near Sal Lake, Emma's estranged husband arrives in Sweetwater looking for shelter from Emma, and raising the suspicions of Sam and the riders.
Episode 17
On a wild ride to deliver a top-secret Government message, Cody helps a mortally wounded mountain man, who asks Cody to care for his pet bear. Meanwhile, back in Sweetwater, the other riders look after an abandoned baby.
Episode 18
A new girl in town has Buck in her sights, but he is caught in the cross-fire between her, her tyrannical father and her cruel suitor.
Episode 19
An Eastern college boy arrives with dreams of meeting his Western idol, Hickok, but he is used as an unwitting accomplice in a scheme that endangers all the riders.
Episode 20
Hickok helps a friendly rival search for their gunfighting mentor's kidnapped daughter, who actually has escaped with evidence of her dad's corruption.
Episode 21
Sam finds himself on the wrong side of the law in his own town when the man responsible for the murder of Sam's wife takes over Sweetwater.
Episode 22
Teaspoon sets out for Texas with an old comrade in arms to warn three other veterans that someone has been murdering the last men who truly remember the Alamo.
Episode 23
The Kid finds himself secretly helping the Army learn the identity of the Hawk.
Episode 24
The men of the Pony Express find themselves taking different sides as the start of the Civil War approaches.
