The Cavalry Riding School

While doing some research on how the riding school at Fort Huachuca has changed over the years I discovered some interesting facts. In the 70's there wasn't any formal training for new recruits. The troopers would get together maybe once a month and practice riding. When the senior leadership thought a new guy was ready they would permit him to start riding in ceremonies. Over time the training became more frequent until they were riding once a week on Wednesdays. In the 90's Bob Phillips became the commander and he instituted some formal training. New recruits were required to ride bareback for a while and then given a saddle. Specific training criteria were incorporated and a formal test was given which included bareback riding and several charges while in saddle. Recruit training was moved to Thursday nights so as to not interfere with Wednesday night muster. The training was conducted each Thursday but there was no specific schedule. Whoever showed up was trained and when the instructors thought the student was ready he was administered the riding test. In the new millennium the test began to get more complicated as more of the demonstration riding was incorporated into it. There was also an attempt to institute levels of training to match specific performance requirements. Finally, in the last couple of years a formal school was established with specific class schedule and a lesson plan to teach recruits specific skills and knowledge needed to be a trooper. The changes in the Fort Huachuca riding school are somewhat similar to the evolution of riding training in the old cavalry which went from very little training for new recruits to a very formal school at Fort Riley, Kansas.