Culver's Black Horse Troop and Equestriennes have received and accepted an invitation to participate in the 54^th Presidential Inaugural Parade in Washington, D.C., at 2:30 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 20, 2001.   

The contingent, all riding black horses, will be the largest mounted unit in the Parade and will be comprised of Culver students from nine countries and 19 states.  Culver is in the first of five parade divisions, which total several thousand parade participants.

  Culver officials were informed Dec. 22 of the Presidential Inaugural Committee's decision to include the Troop and Equestriennes in next month's parade.  Because the parade was shortened to two hours, Culver was asked to reduce its mounted contingent from 93 students to 54.  Forty-two Troopers and 12 Equestriennes will represent the school, and two additional Troopers will carry The Academies' banner to lead the unit.

  "An invitation to a Presidential Inaugural Parade is a great honor, and we are especially proud to see Culver's tradition of participation continue," said Head of Schools John Buxton.  "It's regrettable that all 93 of our students, who have practiced for four months, are not able to participate, but we understand the Presidential Inaugural Committee had little time to prepare and that the option to reducing the number of Troopers and Equestriennes was to not participate at all."

  January's trip to the Inaugural Parade will mark the 13^th time Culver's Black Horse Troop, the boys' unit, has participated in the event, and it will be the Equestriennes, the girls' unit, fourth appearance.

  The parade will be the culmination of months of preparation.  "We started training for the parade in September even though we didn't know if we would be going," said Director of Horsemanship Ed Little.  "It takes months to prepare 93 horses and riders for a parade the size of the Inaugural.  Traditionally, the boys ride black horses and the girls ride off-colored mounts.  Since we will only mount 54 students for this parade, all will be on black horses." 

Culver tradition will see each Trooper carrying a 3-by-5-foot American Flag along the 1.6-mile parade route.  Movement of the parade units has been planned to the minute by the Armed Forces Inaugural Committee, and the parade will travel at 2.9 miles per hour.  Travel time is approximately 30 minutes. 

Six vans of horses will leave Culver the same day the students fly to Washington for the four-day trip.  Students and horses will depart Culver on Thursday, Jan. 18, and return on Monday, Jan. 22. 

Culver's participation in the parade is a tradition stretching back 88 years, to President Woodrow Wilson's inaugurals in 1913 and 1917.  In both parades, the Black Horse Troop served as the personal escort of former Indiana Governor, and then Vice President, Thomas Marshall. 

  The Black Horse Troop made its third appearance in an Inaugural Parade during President Eisenhower's second inauguration in 1957, and it has participated in every Inaugural Parade since, with the exception of President Clinton's first Inaugural in 1993.  The Troop and Equestriennes participated President Clinton's second Inaugural Parade in 1997.

    The Black Horse Troop was founded in 1897 when the Culver family purchased 16 mounts from the Cleveland National Guard shortly after H.H. Culver, the school's founder, saw Cleveland's Black Horse Troop participate in President William McKinley's Inaugural Parade.  Today, the Troop is the largest remaining mounted cavalry unit in the United States and is comprised of the best horsemen in Culver Military Academy.

    The Equestriennes, an honor organization for Culver Girls Academy students, was founded in 1982 and made its first trip to the Presidential Inaugural Parade in 1985.  That parade was cancelled because of weather.

     Graduates who were members of the Troop, or in the Summer Horsemanship program, include Tennessee Titans owner Bud Adams '40; Jack Warner '36, CEO of Gulf States Paper; John Gaines '46, founder of the Breeder's Cup; Jack Vaughn '72 and Rob Vaughn '74 of Dallas' Vaughn Petroleum; Boston architect Graham Gund '55; Olympic equestrians Warren Wofford '54, Jimmy Wofford'62, and Matthew Firestone '83; and professional polo player Dale Schwetz '85.