And he still looks great in his uniform!
More proof that horses keep you young!
That reminds me of a story my father told me. He fenced quite competitively in high school and college. He was watching a round robin sabre competition that was being dominated by a guy that, my father thought, should have been carded for aggressiveness. The last man to fence against this guy was a tiny, hunched, frail looking old man. My father honestly thought that this man would get literally murdered on the strip. The old man beat the aggressive guy with what my father said was the best fencing that he had ever seen. After the competition my father caught up with him and asked where on earth he had learned to fence like that. The man said one thing:
“I was the last sabre master for the Austrian cavalry.”
I’ll bet he has some great stories to tell.
He’s not the last. I know of three others. 
G.
Guilherme, you should notify the group linked to the photo so they can correct it.
Is Jonathan Burton dead? I hadn’t heard that he had died.
Jonathan Burton - He has judged me if that is the same guy?!
[QUOTE=Foxtrot’s;8661069]
Jonathan Burton - He has judged me if that is the same guy?![/QUOTE]
General Burton was one of the cavalry officers who was in the 1948 Olympics with the Army Team. At least I’m pretty sure he was, since I’ve recently seen a photograph of the Team together and he was in it. Very young looking sprout, too.
Found the Photo:
http://practicalhorsemanmag.com/article/jim-wofford-growing-up-with-the-u-s-equestrian-team
He went to the Olympics in eventing in 1956.
America never attempted to use horse cavalry in WWII, did it?
[QUOTE=vineyridge;8661107]
General Burton was one of the cavalry officers who was in the 1948 Olympics with the Army Team. At least I’m pretty sure he was, since I’ve recently seen a photograph of the Team together and he was in it. Very young looking sprout, too.
Found the Photo:
http://practicalhorsemanmag.com/article/jim-wofford-growing-up-with-the-u-s-equestrian-team
He went to the Olympics in eventing in 1956.
America never attempted to use horse cavalry in WWII, did it?[/QUOTE]
Yes, we did. The 26th Cavalry (Philippine Scouts) engage the Japanese in multiple mounted confrontations. The Japanese did not deploy any cavalry in the PI. They took 50% casualties in three weeks but really cause the invaders problems as they were the only real “mobile” force MacArthur had. At the village of Morong Lt. Edwin Ramsey lead the last charge of the U.S. Cavalry, defeating and scattering a Japanese infantry platoon. I was privileged to have known then Lt. Col. Ramsey through my work with the U.S. Cavalry Assn.
There was sporadic equine use in other theaters. I’ve got photos of U.S. Sailors using horses to patrol around bases on at least one of the larger South Pacific Islands (not sure if it’s New Guinea or Borneo; the photo does not have location information). The 10th Mountain Division in Italy formed a mounted company as part of their campaign in the norther Italian mountains toward the end of the war. There were other isolated uses. There was no large scale, organized use.
This was in contract to the German and Soviet forces, who fielded division sized mounted units on the Eastern Front.
G.
American forces have used horses more recently than you think. My husband who was in Army Special Forces was interested by this story. http://www.military.com/video/operations-and-strategy/afghanistan-conflict/secret-mission-the-horse-soldiers-of-9-11/1224907912001
[QUOTE=HappyTalk;8661266]
Americans forces have used horses more recently than you think. My husband who was in Army Special Forces was interested by this story. http://www.military.com/video/operations-and-strategy/afghanistan-conflict/secret-mission-the-horse-soldiers-of-9-11/1224907912001[/QUOTE]
Yes, this is correct. I understand that there is still some use in some places. The Marines operate a pack training school in CA. They have recently started to include mounted instruction as part of the program.
G.
[QUOTE=Guilherme;8661315]
Yes, this is correct. I understand that there is still some use in some places. The Marines operate a pack training school in CA. They have recently started to include mounted instruction as part of the program.
G.[/QUOTE]
The news reported not long ago about some US cavalry units formed for use in the Afghanistan mountains.
[QUOTE=Guilherme;8660980]
He’s not the last. I know of three others. G.[/QUOTE]
I know of one who was working in the Cavalry with mules and horses in the Fifties, before the equines were gone. Enlisted man, not an Officer. I believe he might haves been a Sargent.
He is still a mule owner today, rides her everywhere on hunting trips. We learned a lot from him when I purchased a weaning molly mule, that pretty much everything we were doing was wrong! “She’s no horse, don’t treat her like a horse!” Things did improve greatly following his suggestions.
He learned his Farrier craft in the Cavalry, was an amazing Farrier and teacher to help new Farriers improve their skills.
