Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1909-01-24
"Blop, BIop, BIop," Heard in
Fort Myer Riding Hall.
SORE BUT SANGUINE MEN
Novices Have Been Hard at Work
for a Week.
JEERS OF CRITICAL TROOPERS
But the Young Physicians Are Game
and Will Continue Pluckily to
Pound the Saddle.

"Blop. blop. blop." No. they have not
| turned the riding hall at Fort Myer into
a laundry. and that regular, resonant
| sound Is not the thud of battery of
patent washing machines. but the doc
tors hitting the saddle as they learn how
to ride. This Is sad. but true. How
ever, 1t will not be true much longer II
the present class in equitation keeps up
and the backs of the troop horses do not
wear out.
They have taken thirty-siX of the young
doctors in. hand. and they are not only
going to give them chance to learn how
to ride, but the War Department Is going
to make proficiency in horsemanship part
of the requirements for examination in
the future. Capt F. B. Hennessy of the Sd
Artillery who is training the officers and
enlisted men in cross-country riding, mas
been given the class. and the enlisted men
are standing around and making soto
voce comments, unmindful of what those
same doctors may get chance to DO
to them later.
The first lesson for the doctors class
| was given week ago. At the outset the
| instructor said to them. Now, 1t has
always been the worst insult that could
be hurled at a man in the army to say
| that he rode like a doctor. There is no
rea son that should continue to be stand
| ing joke. and it will not be If you want
to make it otherwise. Now we will get
| to work.
At Work for a Week.
They have been working ever since. A
| striker has been detailed to each medi-
cal man. but he is only to look after the
| doctors mount in his absence and bring
him to the riding hall. All the rest of the
work. saddling. unsaddling and riding.
| too. the doctors have to do for them
selves The last is done up to date, with
| a good deal of assistance from the horse.
LAS a matter of fact said one of the
line officers. eff l had to be attended in
the. field 1 would a good deal rather be
| in the hands of tolerable doctor who
was fine horseman than in the hands
| of the finest sort Of a doctor who knew
| thing about riding. If man Is wound
ed or seriously hurt at distance from
assistance his life may depend on the
doctors ability to get to him. A second
| class doctor might be able to fill the bill
| If he could get on the spot before th(
patient died. but very high class doc
| tor would be no good If he could not get
| to the case. We want the doctor on the
spot in the army. and we don't want to
have to treat gunshot wounds by the cor
respondence method. There are a lot of
these youngsters here who probably could
perform a good operation for appendicitis.
but they are not able to do much of an
horse."
Doctors In the Saddle.
There are thirty-six of the doctors az
follows: First Lieut. Rozier c. Bayly,
MIRO: Danial p. Card, Henry c. Co.
burn jr.; Addison D. Davis, William r.
Dear. Charles E. Doerr. Lee Roy Dunbar,
Clarence E. Fronk. Leon c. Garcia. Ralph
H. Goldthwaite. Daniel w. Harmon,
George D. Heath, jr.; Eben c. HILL Rich
ard A. Kearny. Robert w. Kerr, Thomas
]. Leary, Norman L. McDiarmid, George
Miner. Armin Mueller, Sylvester F. O'Day
Alexander D. Parce. Henry F. Philips,
William S. Shields, William H. Smith
Corydon G. Snow, Morrison Slayer, Clar-
| B. III. Warning. James A. Wilson. Fred
erick S. Wright
| They are all sorts and conditions OF
men, too. There is at least one of them
who is six feet one and rides at about 12O
pounds, and another who Is about four
| feet eight and weighs close to 200 in
| training. 1t may be remarked that he Is
not in training enough to notice just now,
but will be If he does not draw an easier
| trotting horse.
two, who have ridden to any extent be-
fore One of them. is an ex-cowpuncher
and the other a Cuban, who was raised
| with horses. There is only one of the
Outf1t VINO dO6OluIcly udS CAliC hiA
ties He is afraid to ride and says so
frankly. 1t is just probable that he may
get a Job with the atrship division when
1t is organized. but as the appropriation
for aerial work was cut this year he may
have to wait some time for his chance.
Practice With the Bride.
The training party was lined up yes.
terday on the east side Of the hall and
given detailed instructions as to putting
on and taking off bride Most OF the
candidates for horsemanship honors prob
ably could have told how the nerve f1uid
travelled from the 'steenth ganglia to the
solar plexus and back. but they had the
| hardest sort of "a time remembering
whether the curb cham or the throat
| latch ought to be fastened first The
| troop horses seemed to realize that they
were not in the hands of their betters. as
the average enlisted man Is to troop
| horse. and they took an unholy delight In
refusing to open their mouths for the bit
| and going out for a quiet roll on the tan
bark just when they ought to have been
| standing still to be saddled
| The instructor had the horses backed
up close against the wall OF the riding
hall so there ought not to have been any
doubt as to which end of the horse the
bride went on, but an enlisted man on
the other side Of the hall. after viewing
the performance, critically ventured the
remark to the farrier sergeant next to
him. II think there's as much as seven
of them fellows really knows morse
bride goes on his head"
| "Guess again. Bill" said the sergeant
you're estimating pretty high.
| They brtdled and unbridled till the
chances were the troop horses NOUNS ms
order to mount There was one horse
that apparently. was a trained bucker, for
he insisted on travelling from one end
Of the hall to- the other first on MS