Page 7 - Demo

Our Next Adventure
After several more lessons in the paddock we were presented with our next adventure: jumping. This was to take place on the island at the edge of town. To get there we had to proceed down US 11, cross a bridge, and then circle under the bridge into the ring. The bridge had a loose section right at the center which had a rattle and a three-inch gap. My horse decided to get spooked and refused to go over it, holding up the column. The instructor was yelling at me, so with great trepidation I jammed my boot heels into my horse’s loins. He jumped side- ways and I ended up almost under his throat. By some miracle I was able to scramble back into the saddle.
On the island we dismounted and prepared for our first experience at jumping. We had to remove the saddle and knot the reins loosely on the horse’s neck. A classmate cupped his hands under my foot to boost me back on.
“This exercise is to develop your confidence in your knee grip. That is your only contact with your mount, so grip is essential,” Sergeant Henson told us. Henson, an Army career soldier, was assigned to VMI to oversee all the equitation activi- ties. He was there for many years and is still considered a legend.
At this particular moment in time the horse was an evil power over which I had no control. I clucked “Giddap” and squeezed so hard with my knees I was sure the animal would pop like a toothpaste tube. Since he had only done this routine a thousand times, he picked up a trot and then a canter and then gingerly stepped over the twelve-inch
bar. After my sigh of relief, my soul flooded with pride and accomplishment.
Back in our classroom we were concentrating on tactics. In 1939, in spite of the rumblings of German aggression
in Europe, the possibility of war seemed totally remote. It would be nearly two years before we would realize that what we were learning would have practical application under combat conditions.
Garrison Review
When we became upperclassmen we were finally capable of rid- ing in Garrison Review, a parade spectacle that took place only occasionally. Garrison Review in the 1940s was a pageant of color and power never to be forgotten.
The first indication of the importance of the event came from the flagpoles in front of barracks. The standard-sized Stars and Stripes and the Virginia flags would be replaced by Garrison flags so huge they hung more than halfway down the poles.
At “Assembly” the corps infantry formed on the bricks in front of the barracks. When the post band began to play, they marched onto the parade ground. From the stables the cavalry troop came up the street, each horse groomed to glossy perfec- tion, with polished brass buckles, white head bands and halter ropes, and red saddle blankets. Each rider carried a lance with a pennant. Strapped to his right boot was a leather cup into which the butt of the lance was placed so that the pennants all fluttered at the same height.
Photos courtesy of Brian Bowen
FALL/WINTER 2010 
A Garrison flag billows above an infantry battalion (foreground), with the cavalry troop in the rear, behind the field artilliary battery, at VMI in 1942. The house in the background has been replaced by Moody Hall and the George C. Marshall Museum.