Picacho Weekend

Each year B Troop goes to Picacho Peak state park to help re-enact a series of battles that occurred in the southwest United States during the Civil War. The battles re-enacted include those at Valverde, Glorieta Pass, and Picacho Pass. Although our unit represents the Indian Wars period that occurred some 20 years after the Civil War, our uniforms and tack are considered close enough for the purposes of this event.

We left Fort Huachuca on Friday afternoon and set up our camp at the park in the usual spot. We are not re-enactors, so we do not establish an authentic camp. We do not circle the wagons so much as circle the RVs in a location far removed from the re-enactor camp. We are also constrained by a host of rules such as, "no mounted raids upon the Confederate camp", that were written in response to some of the activities of B Troop over the past 30 years or so.

Although I was not originally planning on riding in the event, I decided it was time for the Wonder Horse to get some training in battlefield activities. I have avoided taking him in previous years because I did not think he was ready. This year, I decided it was time. One of our horses was injured the first night in the camp (scratched eye and bent shoe), and so we ended up with more troopers than horses. As a result, I elected to ride in the morning and let someone else ride in the other battles. I figured it would be enough for Apache.

The battlefield is a traumatic experience for most horses due to the loud sounds of musket volleys and cannon fire. Our horses generally don't like it but tolerate it as best they can. I have never known a horse to completely lose it during these events but, they will shy away from the gunfire at times. I had no idea what Apache would do, but figured he was finally mature enough to handle it.

When we rode up to the battle area from our camp and waited for the march onto the field, I noticed that Apache was already lathered. Although that would be alarming for any other horse, it is quite normal for the Wonder Horse. He is an excitably boy. To his credit, though, he stood quietly as people gathered around to take photos and gawk at us. I looked forward with a mixture of curiosity and anxiety to what Apache would do once the battle started.

When we finally marched onto the battlefield, Apache was still calm and remained so until we were ordered to "advance carbines". Apache hates the carbine. We then trotted out to face the Confederate pickets. I say "trotted, but Apache was galloping at a trotting speed, if you can imagine that. It is like jogging in place. His feet were moving in a gallop, but we weren't going anywhere. Once onto the battlefield, we opened fire with our carbines from a skirmish line and then pulled out our pistols and blazed away. Amazingly, I was not involuntarily dismounted during the carbine volley although, it was close. After I somehow got the carbine back into the boot and pulled my pistol, the Wonder Horse began spinning in a circle. Each time we spun around I would fire off a round in the direction of the enemy. My comrades thought this was hilarious. Four times we did this, recovering to a rear area after each engagement to reload our weapons. Eventually, the battle scenario ended and we were able to ride back to the camp.

The best part of the Picacho weekend is the "camaraderie" that takes place around the campfire after dinner. It is hard to describe the beauty of a desert campfire beneath a bright canopy of stars. It is also hard to describe some of the activities that take place around the campfire after the whiskey bottle gets passed around a few times. Well, maybe not hard to describe but, not appropriate to describe. Needless to say, everyone had a great time and no rules were broken as far as the park rangers know.

The next day, was basically a repeat of the same. I again took Apache to the battlefield, and again, he got sweaty, but not as much. He also didn't spin around so much. He was much calmer. I do believe, though, that if I'd taken Apache out there for more than one battle a day, he would have dumped me out there. There is only so much change that the Wonder Horse can handle in one day. He did well for his first Picacho experience and will hopefully benefit from it.

After a long hot day of battles on Sunday we packed up and made the return trip to the fort. Everyone was tired but had a great time. I've given the horses a few days off to rest and recover as a lot was asked of them over the weekend.

The attached video by Ty Holland provides a good summary of the weekend. You can see me and the Wonder Horse in a few of the scenes. He is the sorrel with the blaze. Enjoy.

NFR Opening Ceremonies

The trip to Las Vegas went well for us. We drove up on Friday morning leaving at 0600 and arriving about 1500 local time which was an hour behind Arizona time. We arrived about the same time as all the rodeo contestants who were competing that evening. We unloaded our horses, parked the trailers, picked up our passes for the arena, and headed to the hotel. We had been put up in the Orleans Hotel and Casino which is a truly immense place--crowded and loud. We eventually got cleaned up and reassembled downstairs for dinner at one of the numerous restaurants in the hotel. We didn't stay up very late (about midnight, I think) as we were all pretty tired from the drive up.

The next day we got to the stables about 0800 and took care of the horses. We had a rehearsal at 1000 in the arena. We needed four horses for the ceremony but I brought two spares also. I had our two veterinarians ride the spares so I could get them desensitized to the arena. When we finally got into the arena, which was inside the Thomas & Mack Center, I noticed that my mount, Regent, wasn't enjoying the experience. He was very agitated--shaking his head and arching his neck. However, I also noticed that one of our spares, Charlie, wasn't having any problems at all. I switched horses with the vet and rode Charlie instead. It turned out to be a good decision. Even though Charlie had undergone colic surgery a little over three months before, he was steady as a rock through the whole thing. After the rehearsal we put the horses away and headed back to the hotel for lunch and a quick combat nap.

After an early dinner, we were back at the stables at 1700 to feed the horses and to go to the rodeo. We had been given tickets so we could watch the rodeo and then afterwards we were to attend a dress rehearsal for the following night's opening ceremonies. The rehearsal was pretty intense. We had to get the horses used to standing in a darkened tunnel with laser lights and loud music being played in the arena. They also added a fog machine to create a mist curtain through which we were supposed to ride for dramatic affect. The horses struggled with it at first but eventually got used to the fog. Getting them to go into the arena was another matter. We were arranged in a column of twos with the flag bearers up front. As we entered through the narrow gate into the arena, the second two riders split out to take positions on the ends with sabers drawn to act as the color guard. However, the first two horses would try to back up into the tunnel so the two in the rear would have to push them forward. After we got this down, we practiced escorting a stagecoach into the arena for the halftime show. This was less traumatic, so it went quicker. We practiced for several hours until the NFR people were satisfied we could pull it off. We finally got back to the hotel about midnight and had a quick bite before going to bed.

The next morning we went in at 0800 to feed the horses and prep our equipment for the show. Unfortunately, Las Vegas was holding a marathon that day and the city was split in two with no detour signs showing us how to get to the other side. It took us forever to get to the arena and then we had to endure the same ordeal on the way back to the hotel for lunch. We were to be back at the arena that night by 1730 for a 1745 ceremony. The live show was even more crazy than the rehearsal. The tunnel was lined with chutes that had broncs in them for the opening ceremonies and bulls in them for the halftime show. Plus, they added pyrotechnics to the opening ceremony that we had not experienced in the rehearsal.

However, it all went well enough. It was a great experience to ride into the arena with 18,000 screaming rodeo fans cheering us on. It was a lot of work getting to that point, but worth the effort. The crew was in the mood for celebration after the ceremony but I was pretty tired and knew I had a 10 hour drive in the morning so I begged off at midnight while the rest partied on. The trip back to Arizona the next day was uneventful and we finally got back to the fort about 1800. It was a good trip and I guess we did well enough that we might get invited back next year. Here's hoping.

Fort Bowie Ride

Geronimo and his warriors at Bowie station awaiting their journey into exile 124 years ago.

Yesterday we made our annual pilgrimage to the Fort Bowie National Historic Site to pay homage to the end of the Indian Wars and to the soldiers who died fighting it. We always make the trip on Labor Day weekend which is also the anniversary of the surrender of Geronimo. Since B Troop memorializes the unit that pursued Geronimo until his surrender and then protected him from the law enforcement entities that wanted to hang him, we have made it part of our tradition to remember the day.

We started out at the trail head where the new Apache Pass road crosses the old Butterfield Stage route near the west end of the pass. The starting point of our ride is not far from the scene of the wagon train massacre that occurred during the infamous "Bascom Affair". The trail is rugged and it is hard to imagine a stagecoach rumbling through at night up and down steep gullies and ridges. The Chiricahua Mountains have not seen as much rain as the Huachuca Mountains this year and I was relieved to see that there was not heavy undergrowth along the trail. The pass is very beautiful, nevertheless, and I never tire of making this particular ride.

When we arrived at the Fort Bowie cemetery, there was a small crowd of people waiting for us. The Troop Executive Officer, who was filling in for the commander, read the historical account of the site and then read aloud the names of all the soldiers who were once buried there (some are still there). After he finished a team of four troopers fired three volleys in their honor and then our bugler played taps. The sounds of the rifles and bugle reverberated off the canyon walls and added poignancy to our little annual ceremony.

We continued up the trail to the old fort ruins, passing the first Fort Bowie ruins on the way. Below the ruins we passed through Apache Springs which is still producing a trickle of water through the steep canyon, heavily wooded and cool. Emerging from the canyon, we saw the fort ruins and the little museum building where our cook awaited us with lunch.

After arriving at the museum we first tended to the horses first as required by the cavalryman's creed. After dismounting we removed their bridles, loosened their cinches, checked their legs for cactus spines and injuries, and then watered them.

About then, some tourists arrived and we posed for photos, answered questions, and discussed cavalry history with them. Most people who come to Fort Bowie on the day of our annual ceremony don't know in advance that we are going to be there. They are always delighted and really seem to get a lot out of it. We do the ceremony mostly for ourselves and in keeping with our mission to keep the cavalry history alive but it is always nice that a few people get so much out of it.

After a great lunch, we mounted up again and headed back down through the canyon to our waiting trucks and trailers in Apache Pass. The Fort Bowie trip is a long day of hard work but it is one of our favorite events. We've doing it for eight years now and hopefully for many more years to come.