During the inaugu-
ration every horse unit is required to stable at Prince George Equestrian Center in Maryland, all under police escort. “It’s a lovely facility with a beau- tiful indoor arena,” Mark explains, who was previ- ously a mounted police- man in London, England. “It’s almost like a theatre— it reminds me of Wembley in London, like a stadium.” So that students wouldn’t miss too much school, they
The horses were loaded on the semis at 5:30 a.m. on Wednesday, January 18th.
drove down Wednesday and got the horses bathed and braided and hooves blacked on Thursday so that on Friday they could just flick the dust off early in the morning. They were able to do some sightseeing on Thursday afternoon and on Saturday there was a large Culver alumni event at Quan- tico. “It was the largest off-campus Culver event since 2002— it was marvelous, the support we had there,” Mark says.
The Big March This was the third time Mark Waller has taken part in an inauguration, with his first being Barack Obama’s first inau- guration in 2009. “Honestly it’s a bit frustrating in the early morning because there’s always a lot of hanging around, a lot of ‘hurry up and wait,’” he says. “But once you get on the route itself, it does not stop. The horses obviously have been standing around or hand walked and then mounted for a bit, and it’s two or three hours from when you get there until it starts. There was some starting and stopping and some of the horses got agitated, but boy those kids worked hard and pulled it off! I’ve never been so proud!” “I watched the TV playback and they looked wonderful. All of the staff and everyone who works with the kids and horses walked along in case a horse—or a kid—needed to calm down. It’s a lot of pressure and of course show nerves come to all of us. The parade halted when we were passing the president and it’s like a surface of marble right there—for some reason the pavement at that point is very slick. I had to coach the kids not to apply too much leg there. That particular piece of road right in front of the review line is particularly slippery, so we have to prepare for it. All of the shoes were drilled and tapped and fitted with studs for traction, and the kids handled it perfectly. I was so proud. I really was.”
38 March/April 2017
Two South Bend TV stations came out for the loading of the horses and interviewed historian Jeff Kenney as they were loading up the horses.
It was also an exciting day for family members. Shelley
Bankston of Wayne, Oklahoma is mother to Culver student Bryson Bankston, who rode in the parade. “We were honored to be able to share this experience with our son and his classmates,” she says. “It was wonderful to watch them ready themselves and their horses with the utmost attention to detail to make sure everything was just right. To see the pride they displayed in themselves, their school and their country was beyond words. We were so blessed to be able to share in this experience with these future leaders.”
Jan Garrison
Jeff Scudder
Jan Garrison
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