Horse Guard Wins A Place In The Inaugural Parade

By Steve Bigham

The Second Company Governor’s Horse Guard of Newtown will head to Washington, DC, later this month to take part in the inauguration parade for President-elect George W. Bush.

The horse guard will be one of three units representing Connecticut in the parade, which will make its way down Pennsylvania Avenue to the White House. Mr Bush, his family, and other members of the new administration will lead the procession. A total of 11,000 marchers and 360 horses are expected to converge on downtown Washington for the event.

The First Company Governor’s Horse Guard of Avon and one of the state’s two foot guard patrols will also represent Connecticut. Governor John Rowland, reportedly a close friend of Mr Bush, will also make his way along the parade route, as will the Trumbull High School marching band.

The Second Company also marched at inaugurations for both Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagan. President Clinton chose not to have a military presence at either of his two inauguration parades. 

Each of the 50 states will have some form of representation at the parade. However, Connecticut and Texas are the only states to have more than one unit. Major Bill Harris of Newtown, who will lead the horse guard down to the nation’s capital, speculated that Connecticut was given a larger presence because of the fact that Mr Bush was born here.

The horse guard, which is stationed at Fairfield Hills, is one of the oldest horse cavalry units in continuous service in the nation. The all-volunteer unit is part of the Organized Militia in the Military Department of the State of Connecticut under the command of the Adjutant General, Major General William Cugno. It was formed by an act of the Connecticut Legislature in 1808. The horse guard can be seen each September in Newtown’s annual Labor Day Parade.

The January 20 parade will be much different, however. For one thing, the horse guard will be limited to just 16 yards of space. And, instead of being at the front of the parade, the Second Company will bring up the rear of the procession in the fifth division. The horse guard will use a formation called a “column of squads,” eight horses across and only two horses deep.

Mr Bush is scheduled to be sworn into office at noon and the parade is supposed to start at 2 pm. However, the second company probably will not step off until around 4 pm. The actual march is little more than 30 minutes.

“Unfortunately, we have to be in the assembly area for about six hours. We’ll probably assemble around 10:15 am,” Major Harris noted.

The horse guard is scheduled to depart for Washington on Thursday, October 18. The 30-member unit will bring with it 21 horses, each of which will be housed at the Prince George’s Equestrian Center in Upper Marlboro, Maryland.

The horse guard will be wearing either its 1808 or 1812 uniforms.

The Second Company unit currently consists of nearly 50 members and 31 horses. The unit was activated for a border conflict with Mexico in 1916 and during World War I. It also served as a machine gun unit in France. During World War II, it served as an anti-aircraft unit in the Philippines. Members were activated for Y2K emergency management at the regional command center in Litchfield a year ago.

The horse guard takes part in weekly drills that include basic military skills and US Army Horse Cavalry Drill. Mandatory Annual Training (AT) is eight days long and is conducted at the National Guard Training facility at Camp Rowland in Niantic, Conn. The unit rides in authentic 1928 model McClellan saddles, the last issued by the US Army.

Unit missions range from ceremonies and parades to search and rescue and Opposing Force (OPFOR) Field Training Exercises.

Charitable community support activities include fundraiser events for anti-cancer programs like “Swim Across the Sound,” Saint Jude’s Children’s Hospital, and our own “Saddle Up for Life” special needs therapeutic riding program.

Horses are donated to the State of Connecticut for use in the two horse guard units. They are all geldings and are mostly Morgans and Quarter Horses.