The Army Equestrian Olympic Team
Part 2

The Berlin Olympics of 1936 are one of the most controversial and studied events in the history of sports. The Olympics were a show piece for Hitler’s Nazi Germany and therefore as much a political as athletic event. The equestrian events were no less politically charged than the games themselves. The US team went to the games with high hopes of repeating and building upon the success of its efforts in Los Angeles, however that was not to be. The European competitors in Berlin were more numerous and competing on their home turf. The dressage team, always the toughest event for the US, finished in the middle of the pack and won no medals. The jumping team fared a little better, but still finished a disappointing fourth of eighteen teams, with Captain Carl W.A. “Rags” Raguse on Dakota tying for third individually but then dropping to fifth after a jump off. In the three day event however, the US team fielded an internationally respected team led by the returning Captain Thomson and Jenny Camp.

Lieutenant Tommy Thomson on Jenny Camp
Finishing the Cross Country Course enroute to a Silver Individual and Gold Team Medal (USET)

As the defending team gold medal winners, and because of the US’s historical strength in the event, the Americans were slight favorites to win as a team. They were definitely the only team who anyone considered capable of challenging the Germans on their home ground. After the dressage phase of the competition the US team was slightly behind the leading Germans but sitting well for the most important and their strongest phase -- the cross country obstacle course. The 1936 Olympic cross country course would go down in history as one of the most difficult and notorious because of one jump: the number four jump into the pond. The obstacle’s design required the to horse jump a three foot post fence and then land in about three feet of water. The horse then had to cross the pond and jump out on the far side. In concept it was not any more challenging or difficult than all the competitors had faced dozens of times before.

The first indication of trouble for the Americans came when Captain Raguse arrived at the jump riding Trailolka, the smallest horse in the contest. In keeping with planned strategy he jumped what appeared to be the most inviting and shortest way: just to the right of center. Upon landing the horse and rider were in trouble. The water was deeper than the reported three feet. More serious, the bottom was not hard but soft and muddy. The conditions surprised both horse and rider, causing them to tumble head over heels. Trailolka injured her shoulder in the fall but was on her feet quickly. Captain Raguse quickly remounted and, despite his mount’s shoulder injury, continued the course without further mishap.

With no way to communicate back to the starting point the true nature of the jump, each succeeding rider became a victim. Riding second for the US team, artilleryman Captain John Willems on Slippery Slim arrived at the jump with no faults and with a perfect time. His flawless ride ended at jump four. Captain Willems, like Captain Raguse, jumped to the right side as had previously been determined. He and Slim sailed over the jump with full confidence that they were on their way to one of the best rides of their lives. It ended abruptly as Slim landed hard in the soft mud and deep water. Again, both horse and rider tumbled forward. This time however, the horse’s front legs were trapped in the deep mud and the fall broke Slim’s right foreleg. Willems and Slim struggled to the bank where Willems immediately recognized the catastrophe. The disaster eliminated Captain Willems and the US team from the competition and Slippery Slim had to be destroyed.

Captain Thomson and Jenny Camp were toward the rear of the starting order and by the time of their start the pond had unhorsed dozens of riders. The word was filtering back not to jump to the right. With this insight Thomson and Jenny jumped to the left, stumbled slightly, but made it through with no faults. They completed the course without serious problems. All totaled, only fifteen of forty-eight horses negotiated the number four obstacle with no difficulty. Twenty-eight horses fell, and three refused to jump at all. The obstacle injured three horses so badly they had to be destroyed while dozens of others lost confidence or at a minimum lost time on the course due to the experience. One rider had to chase his horse for several miles before mounting and continuing on.

In the politically charged environment of the games, rumors abounded that the German team was well aware of the actual conditions of the pond and intentionally withheld the information from the other teams. Interestingly, not a single German rider fell at jump four, and all the Germans jumped the left side, which had the appearance of being the most difficult and the longest way. The political atmosphere, the controversy over jump number four, and other questionable judgments by the German officials caused a storm of protest from all eighteen teams. Reinforcing the chilled atmosphere among the equestrian community was that for the first and only time in Olympic history one country, the host country Germany, captured all six equestrian gold medals. Captain Thomson and Jenny went on to win their second individual silver in the three day event, but the fate of Captain Willems and Slippery Slim eliminated the US from the team competition. The 1936 three day event was the most challenging to that point in Olympic history. So challenging that of eighteen teams, only three could finish the minimum requirement of three riders for a team score. Two teams, France and Italy, did not have a single rider complete the competition. No fourth place team position could be awarded.

The Berlin Olympic Team
Captain C.C. Jadwin, Major W.B. Bradford, Major Hiram Tuttle, Captain I.L. Kitts,
Captain C.S.Babcock;(2nd Row) Lieutenant H.S. Isaacson, Lieutenant R.W. Curtis,
Captain E.F. Thomson, Captain M.H. Matteson;(3rd Row)Captain J.M. Willems,
Major A.H. Moore, Captain C.W.A. Raguese (USET)

The results of 1936 games disappointed the Army team, but they returned to the US with great hopes for the 1940 games. One of the most encouraging results of 1936 was the overall performance of the US horses bred by the remount service. Thus, with Berlin behind the them the Americans felt that their best days were yet ahead. They were both right and wrong.

Between the 1936 Olympics and the next Olympics two very significant events occurred. One was World War II, which eliminated the Olympic games of 1940 and 1944. The other was important from the stand point of equestrian sport in the US: the demise of the US Cavalry.

The Army did not disband the cavalry officially until 1948, but its end was foretold years before. In 1940 the Army formed the Armor Force, panzer divisions roamed and conquered half of Europe, the Cavalry School graduated its last ever class of advanced equitation, and the Army equestrian team sent its members to their regiments. With war looming the days of the military horse were number in the minds of all but the most fanatical horse advocates.

For the US the war began in 1941, and during the four years of combat not a single US mounted regiment would see action. The Army’s First Cavalry Division fought dismounted as infantry in the Pacific Theater. The Second Cavalry Division deactivated. The Army mechanized most of the remaining cavalry and cavalrymen and sent them to combat in Africa, Italy, and Northwestern Europe.

With no horse cavalry in the fighting forces, the veterans of the 1936 Olympic team went to war in assignments reflecting the diversity of an army at war in every corner of the globe: Captain Cornelius Jadwin of the jumping team served with the Military Assistance Command in Turkey; dressage rider Captain C. Stanton Babcock was wounded and earned the Bronze Star with the 6th Marine Division in the Pacific theater; Lieutenant Raymond Curtis went on to earn the Silver Star and Bronze Star for Valor ending the war as the G3, Operations Officer, for IV Corps in Italy; Captain Isaac Leonard Kitts became the chief of staff of Z Force in China; Captain Harold Isaacson lead Fifth Army’s 77th Field Artillery Group in the Italian Campaign; Captain Milo Matteson became the commander of Texas’s 124th Cavalry in the China-Burma-India Theater; and Slippery Slim’s rider, Captain John Willems, landed in North Africa as part of Operation Torch and served as the II Corps Chief of Staff throughout the Italian Campaign. Whether fighting in the mountains of Italy or managing miliatry assistance in China, World War II demonstrated that the professional military prowess of the Army’s horsemen extended well beyond the saddle.

By the end of World War II not a single regular mounted unit remained in the Army. Fort Riley and the Cavalry School converted instruction and facilities to the purposes of mechanized cavalry. However, one final task remained for Fort Riley as an institution of mounted equestrian excellence: the formation and training of the last Army Equestrian Team for the 1948 Olympics. At the London Olympics in 1948 the Army Equestrian Team, mounted in dress blues, took its traditional place at the forefront of the US contingent in the Olympic parade for the last time. The Equestrian Team, loaded with prewar talent, represented the best the Army ever produced.

Although Jenny Camp was long retired, Colonel Tommy Thomson at age 48, was back as riding team captain for his third Olympics in sixteen years. During World War II Colonel Thomson earned the Silver Star, served in the Pacific Theater with the 1st Cavalry Division, and ended the war in Europe with the Army’s 10th Mountain Division. He now faced the tasks of organizing a team, gathering riders scattered across the globe, and tracking down suitable mounts. He also had to prepare himself as a member of the three day eventing and the dressage teams. His final Olympic performance would demonstrate that the war years had not dulled his talents in the saddle and assured his place in history as one of the country’s greatest horseman.

The quality of talent available to assist Colonel Thomson made the task he faced easier. The team’s chief trainer was Brigadier General John Tupper Cole, a Silver Star and Purple Heart Medal winner. General Cole had led the mounted 2d Cavalry Regiment when the war began and presided over the regiment’s last mounted review in 1942. He went on to become the commander of a combat command of the 5th Armored Division in Europe. Chef d’Equipe for the team was the retired but still very active General Guy V. Henry.

The jumping team was lead by two remarkable cavalrymen: Colonel Franklin Wing fought throughout the war in the Pacific theater, commanded the 1st Cavalry Division’s dismounted 5th Cavalry Regiment, and earned the Silver Star during the liberation of Manila; and Colonel Andrew Frierson who earned both the Silver Star Medal and Bronze Star for Valor, served initially as the Executive Officer of the 1st Cavalry Division’s 2nd Brigade in the Pacific, and then commanded the 11th Mechanized Cavalry in the European Theater. Many of the younger men on the team were also combat veterans: Lieutenant Colonel Charles Symroski was an artilleryman with the 12th Armored Division in Europe; Captain John Russell on the jumping team served with the mechanized cavalry in Europe; and Captain Jonathan Burton had served with the First Cavalry in the Pacific. All these men were gifted horseman, but as combat veterans, they provided the team a rare depth of character and discipline.

Not only were the riders a little longer at the tooth than usual, but the horses were also. Most of the mounts available for the US team in 1948 had originally been trained and prepared for the 1940 games. They were solid horses, but older and less practiced than would have been hoped. Nonetheless, the team’s performance in 1948 was exceptional. The US earned medals and clearly was the dominant team on the field. Lieutenant Robert Borg turned in a forth place in Dressage, which combined with the performances of team mates Colonel Frank Henry and Colonel Thomson, was good enough for a team silver. The dressage team Silver Medal is the highest placing ever earned by a US team in that event. Henry and Thomson then teamed up with Lieutenant Colonel Charles Anderson, another decorated World War II veteran, to take the team Gold in the three day event. Colonel Henry led the three day team riding the same remount horse, Swing Low, who had been his mount in 1938-39, and won a silver individual medal. This medal made Colonel Henry the only American equestrian in Olympic history to win three medals in one Olympic competition. In the Jumping competition luck was not with the US team. Colonel Frierson was eliminated. Colonel Wing riding Democrat, a horse trained for the 1940 games and related to Jenny Camp, ended in a three way tie for second, but then finished forth after a jump off. Overall the US team turned in an outstanding performance, and did even better as it toured European horse shows throughout 1948. Unfortunately, within months of the Olympic success the Cavalry branch was dissolved, thus officially ending the military use of the horse in the US Army. This also ended the official relationship between the US Army and the US Olympic Equestrian Team.

Although the official participation of the Army ended after the 1948 games, the Army continued to be a key factor in US equestrian Olympic sport through the interest and expertise of its veteran horsemen. To compete in the Olympic games with a civilian team the US had to create a civilian equestrian organization. This organization eventually became the US Equestrian Team, USET, charged with organizing, training, and administering US teams in international equestrian competition. The first president of USET was Colonel John Wofford, a retired cavalryman who was a member of the 1932 Olympic team and horsemanship instructor at Fort Riley. Beginning in its formative years and continuing through the early 1960s, Army officers were critical to running, maintaining, and improving USET. Retired generals Frederick Wing, Tupper Cole, and Fred Boye played key roles. General Cole, among other things was the Chef d’Equipe for the 1956 USET. Virtually all the Olympic veterans operated behind the scenes organizing and judging local competitions, assisting with administration, and training young horseman.

To ensure the first civilian team acquitted itself well, the Army itself also became involved. For the 1952 games the Army lent the Fort Riley facilities to USET and leased veteran Army horses to the team for a dollar. Democrat, the horse which Colonel Franklin Wing almost won a silver jumping medal on in 1948, was one of the one dollar Army horses. Nineteen years old in 1952, Democrat became Major John Russell’s mount and contributed to the Bronze Medal achievement of the ‘52 jumping team. After the Olympics Democrat competed in the US and ended his career with a phenomenal winning streak on the show jumping circuit. He was then retired with full honors. In addition to the jumping team’s bronze team medal, the ‘52 eventers, coached by Colonel ”Gyp” Wofford and Major Robert Borg also captured a team bronze. All of these efforts by the military, small and large, served to launch USET in its formative years. USET still would have years of hard work before they were to field a team equal to the best military teams, but the path to future Olympic gold was laid. The Army Equestrian Teams over the course of seven Olympiads earned a total of five team medals (two gold and three bronze) as well as six individual medals (four silver and two bronze). More important, they provided the foundation and tradition upon which much of American civilian equestrian sport was built. This foundation still exists and is one of the keys to the success of American equestrian sport and the USET’s Olympic success since the 1950s.

This review of the history of the Army Equestrian Team in the Olympics demonstrates how the Army’s role in equestrian sport in the US has been key. It is the history of a different Army than the one that exists today, but it is a history that should both make the Army proud and serve as an example of how the efforts of the Army of the past continue to effect the life of the nation. The fascinating fact of the Army’s Olympic accomplishments is that those superlative accomplishments were achieved not by professional riders, but by officers who were professional soldiers first. Many of them achieved General officer rank, and many more reached the pinnacle of their career not on the Olympic field but on the battlefields of World War II. Like the Army they were a part of, the Army’s horsemen have mostly passed on to traditional final destination of all cavalrymen -- Fiddler’s Green, but their legacy is represented and honored each time a USET Olympic rider takes to the field. “Boots and Saddles” and “Stable Call” no longer sound across the parade fields of America’s Army posts, but the spirit of Army horsemen still rides every four years under the nation’s colors at the Olympic games.