New Ulm review. (New Ulm, Brown County, Minn.) 1892-1961, 1907-10-16
ARMY RIDING TEST,
How Officers Performed Task
Prescribed by President.
A SPLENDID SHOWING MADE.

.
A SPLENDID SHOWING MADE.
Only Casualties on Trips Were Two
Pairs of Split Riding Breeches-No
Work For the Ambulance-A Heavy
weight Causes Some Delay.
Whoever told President Roosevelt
that army field officers were too big.
unwieldy and inexperienced to ride
horseback for any reasonable distance
let his fancy run away with his In
the recent Craftsmanship tests ordered
by the president the officers showed
themselves to be quite at home In the
saddle and went the route without any
mishaps to speak Of. In the first test
tWenty-nine army officers, mostly fat
ones, who have been doing desk work
In the war department for years, par
ticipated. They started from Fort
Myer one afternoon at p. NJ, and two
and half hours later the party was
back at the fort, having traversed
something over fifteen miles of good
and bad Virginia roads.
Early that morning one Of the old
colonies who had been a little timor-
GUS as to the outcome in his case look
ed out Of his window at the wild swirl
Of rain driving over Washington and
thought with a comfortable sensation
that the test would have to be post
poned He turned back to bed for an
other nap, but was instantly routed out
by this terrifying suggestion:
IF Roosevelt hears that the ride
was called off on account Of rain he
will get out Of the canebrakes and be
here to take us out himself"
1t was beautiful afternoon for
drive, and the road was in fairly good
condition despite the heavy rain of
the night Just beyond Ballston the
first rest call sounded, and everybody
dismounted in a field beside the road
The column had been followed by four
troopers with led horses and by big
automobile ambulance from the Wash
ington barracks hospital. The ambu-
lance furnished a lot of fun to the
crowd during this rest period.
The oldest man in the party and one
Of the wiriest was Colonel George
Ruhlen Of the quartermaster's depart
ment, who takes perhaps 100 pounds
to carry around his sixty years with
and is the hottest rival Of Colonel Nc
Cain for the thin championship. Nc
Cain called solicitously to Ruhlen:
what you going to do with that
wagon?"
'Put you in it," replied Ruhlen as
promptly.
While the men rested the officers
hurled gibes at each other, such as
"Keep away from those medical
stores!' ''You needn't be shying up to
that ambulancev' and others of similar
test, as by that time some Of the men
were beginning to feel the effects Of
the jolts, and it was no easy matter to
reach the stirrup when it came time to
remount. However, all negotiated it,
and Major Galbraith, inspector general,
who was serving as monitor, found
nothing to score against any Of them.
On the last round the pace got too
hot for the ambulance horses, and as
the wagon dropped back some one
shouted, Nobody knocked out but the
sponge holderv'
During the journey the only casual
ties were two pairs of split riding
breaches and the detection of two
newspaper men, one Of whom gave
up the job right after the start, and
the other had to quit when his horse
was kicked by a restless army animal
The second test, made on the follow
Ing day, was covered in good time and
without mishap. Some little delay
was occasioned at the outset of the
jaunt by difficulty in finding an ade-
quate mount for one Of the field Off
GERS, who has a professional record
second to none in his branch of the
service. He was said to weigh $50
pounds, and his appearance certainly
gave corroborative evidence to that as
sertion. The first horse mounted by
him gave way under the heavy bur-
den, literally fell to his knees and
seemed unable to rise. Two other
horses were produced, but each in turn
was declared to be unsuitable The
fourth horse, however, was a big
strong fellow, who looked as if he
could carry a ton, and he was chosen.
Throughout this testing Of the mounts
the big field officer was in the best of
humor and never showed signs of irri-
tation over the jokes made at his ex-
pense. He made the ride in excellent
| shape