The Second Company Governor’s Horse Guard will be welcoming perspective members on Saturday, September 15th, at 10 am, at its next Open House at the unit’s headquarters located on the Fairfield Hills Campus. Members of the unit will be on hand to provide information and answer questions.

 “People have a lot of questions about the unit and what membership in the Horse Guard involves,” said Robert Dahm, the unit’s Adjutant. The open house gives anyone interested in joining an opportunity to meet current members and have questions answered.

Mr Dahm indicated that the most frequently asked question is whether one needs prior riding experience to join and he said, “They are usually surprised to learn that most of the current members had no prior riding experience and learned to ride from the Horse Guard.”

Mr Dahm went on to explain the main benefit of membership.

“As with any volunteer organization, you share in the organization’s sense of pride and camaraderie,” he said. “Our members are volunteers who come from diverse backgrounds and enjoy giving back to the community. Besides representing the State in parades and ceremonies, the unit and its members are involved in other activities such as mounted search and rescue, wild mustang adoptions and a therapeutic riding program for disabled youth.”

 The Second Company Governor’s Horse Guard has a long history. It is one of the oldest mounted cavalry units in the nation, having been formed by an act of the Connecticut Legislature in 1808. The unit has been in continuous service since it was formed, serving both the people of Connecticut and the Nation in times of peace and war. This past January the troop rode in the inaugural parade of President George W. Bush.

Still a part of the Organized Militia in the State of Connecticut’s Military Department, the unit comes under the command of the Adjutant General, Major General William Cugno.

 “I would encourage anyone interested in joining, or even finding out more about the unit, to come to the open house,” Mr Dahm said.

More information can be obtained by calling 270-9246.