Fort Lowell Park

Yesterday, the troopers put on a small demo at Fort Lowell park in Tucson as part of an event called La Reunion de El Fuerte. A local group puts on a festival every year to try and raise money to fund the restoration of the old neighborhood around the remains of Fort Lowell. Fort Lowell was a cavalry post during the later part of the nineteenth century. There is not much left now but a few adobe walls.

The troopers first participate in a mass held at a local chapel. The troopers provide a saber arch through which the people walk to get into the chapel for the mass. It is a struggle for the troopers to keep their sabers elevated while all the people walk through. After the mass, they have to cross a busy road to get back to Fort Lowell park. The event sponsors stop traffic so the horses can get across the road safely.

The riding demo in the park is done at a trot because the ground is so dangerous to ride on. They ride on a soccer field which is very hard and covered with a thin layer of grass which is very slick. The field also has a lot of gopher holes in it. They have had a lot of horses slip and fall on the field in past years so they have to keep their speed down. Also, there is no fence to protect the crowd should a horse get loose. The event attracts a small crowd, some who have been coming to watch the troopers perform for about 30 years now.

The video is by Ty Holland.