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 Kansas National Guard Agribusiness Development Team conducts ‘spur ride’ tradition By Army Sgt. Kenneth Kumle
                Kansas National Guard
 LAGHMAN PROVINCE, Afghanistan - After dusk  Soldiers and Airmen, with the Kansas National Guard's 3/6 Kansas Cavalry  Agribusiness Development Team-III, were restless as they awaited the start of  the 'spur ride,' a tradition exclusive to cavalry units, here the evening of  May 24. The tradition of the spur ride and 'earning the spurs'  goes back to the origin of the U.S. Cavalry, with new riders learning the ropes  prior to donning the spurs that earmark a cavalryman. The official start time would be 3:30 a.m., May 25, to  take advantage of the cooler pre-dawn temperatures, but true to the Army spur  ride tradition, the cadre, known as spur-holders, arrived at 9 p.m. the night  before, calling forth the 'shavetails' to begin establishing their teams. The term 'shavetail' refers to their assigned horse  having its tail hair cut close, visible at a distance and serving the dual  purpose of identifying the novice riders and marking their time. There was an  understanding that by the time the horse's hair grows to a full tail, both  rider and mount will have learned the core skills of cavalry movement, orders  and tactics necessary to operate within a horse-mounted military unit. Participants donned their gear and team leaders raced to  fulfill their first assignments - gather three service members of higher rank.  Candidates were required to keep certain items on them. If they returned  without these mandatory items, they would "pay" for it. Service members without a camel back found themselves  carrying a series of water bottles tied together with parachute rigging cord.  No watch? A wall clock hung around their necks as a reminder of the importance  of keeping track of time. The boisterous cadre elicited laughs from all as they  singled out candidates for infractions, good-naturedly berating the unprepared  and making a ruckus as the shavetails looked anywhere but in the eyes of the  cadre, just as they had been instructed. At about 11 p.m. the night before the event, the spur  holders told the shavetails to go to bed, as the participants would need their  rest for the early morning start and long day ahead.
“Back to your bunks!” ordered the spur holders. Modern times have seen the retirement of the horse, but  not the pride or traditions. Hooves have been replaced with wheels, armor  tracks and rotor blades; the bugle call to "Charge!" replaced by radio-borne  affirmatives. However, the tether to the cavalry of old can be seen in the  spurs, Stetsons, and sabers Soldiers traditionally wear today for formal armor  and cavalry functions, and it is primarily through spur ride events that  Soldiers earn the honor of wearing the Stetsons and spurs. At 3 a.m., the shavetails poured from their living areas  into the predawn darkness into the teams they formed the night before. The  cadre rearranged the teams, dictating the rosters. “The whole time it reminded me of basic training, but  this time I got to talk back,” said Army Spc. Jason Cook, a truck crewman with  the ADT. 
The exchanges between the spur holder cadre and the  candidates, seeking to earn their spurs, maintained its tempo and humor as the  shavetails mustered for their next task - a two mile ruck march called the  "hump-walk." The teams marched around the perimeter of Forward  Observation Base Mehtar Lam, past the living areas, firing range, maintenance  bays, and airfield. Each of the seven teams split to performance stations:  six static stations with additional ruck march iterations serving as the  seventh station. During the spur ride, the cadre graded the candidates on  weapons, maintenance, emergency resupply, marksmanship, medical and a written  exam on cavalry history. Candidates traversed two-mile ruck marches between  each station. Teams earned more points for faster march times, and the  timer only stopped when last member crossed the finish line. “It was good for the simple fact that so many guys  haven’t seen a traditional spur ride ....,” said Army Master Sgt. Michael L.  Crist, a personnel officer for the ADT. “The biggest thing is [if the service  members can] think outside the box with their skill sets." The first casualties of the spur ride were a few  "extra" team members, soft-boiled eggs each team was required to  name, protect and carry throughout the spur ride. By the end of the day, three  eggs were lost, and in the heat, fried to perfection. Significant to this particular spur ride, despite being  in a combat zone, was the entry of Air Force Senior Airman Melissa Hidalgo, a  medic attached to the ADT. Female spur holders are rare, and Air Force spur  holders even more so. Hidalgo may be the first female Kansas Air Guard spur  holder, said Crist and Army Col. Howard E. Wheeler, commander of the ADT. “It was an honor to ... partake in the spur ride,” Hidalgo  said. “To find out I’m the first female Kansas Air Guardsman to receive spurs,  just brings it closer to home.” The competition remained fierce, with the ultimate prize  of having Wheeler pay for the winning team's Stetsons. In the end, Team Sweets prevailed. The team members were  Army Spc. Richard Tyson Kane, a truck crewman; Army Staff Sgt. Timothy  Schloetzer, a truck commander; and Army Sgt. Chase Taylor, a gunner, all with  the ADT. The clincher for Team Sweets was their quick ruck march times, as they  were the only team to earn all available points in that category. With the conclusion of the spur ride, the teams retired  to their hooches to rest and refit for the traditional dinner. The candidates  capped their day serving a meal to the cadre and current spur-holders, and the  good-natured jibes, an undercurrent of the event, continued. Each team was  prompted to sing the team theme song they'd sung numerous times that day, to  the obvious delight of the gathered crowd and chagrin of the team. Everyone  smiled as the cadre got their final ribbing in and the candidates knew the day  was concluding, their spurs all but on their boots. Twenty-seven members of the ADT, from specialists to  lieutenant colonels, male and female alike, earned their spurs that day. Two soldiers earned special recognition. Army Sgt. Paul  Olson, a truck gunner for the ADT, was chosen as most motivated by his peers,  while Army Spc. Jason Cook, also a truck gunner, was chosen as most motivated  by the cadre. The Soldiers received a special plaque commemorating their  achievement. The pride and traditions of the U.S. Army Cavalry will  carry on in the 3/6 Kansas Cavalry and though the hoofed thunder of a mounted  charge may never again be heard on the modern battlefield, it will echo forever  in the hearts and minds of the cavalrymen anointed here.
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