Notable Appearances

Each year, Horsemanship students and staff attend a number of performances, parades, and special competitions. Below are just some of the notable appearances that have been made in past years.

Presidential Inaugural Parades

The Culver Academies’ Black Horse Troop and Equestriennes accepted an invitation to participate in the virtual Presidential Inaugural Parade on Jan. 20 for President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. and Vice President Kamala Harris.

The “Parade Across America” marked the 108th anniversary of the primary reason the Black Horse Troop made that first trip to Washington, D.C. The mounted unit served as the official escort for Vice President Thomas Marshall during Woodrow Wilson’s inaugural parade in 1913 and again in 1917.

Forty-eight boys from Culver Military Academy’s Black Horse Troop and 22 Equestriennes of Culver Girls Academy, plus members of the Horsemanship staff, have been practicing for this moment since October. They represent 14 states and six countries.

The 2021 inaugural marks the 18th appearance for the Troop and the ninth for the Equestriennes. After the 1917 inaugural parade, Culver went 40 years before returning to Washington in 1957 for President Eisenhower’s second term. The Indiana boarding school has been represented by mounted units at every parade since, except in 1993 when an invitation for President Clinton’s first inaugural parade was not extended.