A riderless horse is a single horse without a rider and with boots reversed in the stirrups, which sometimes accompanies a funeral procession. The horse, sometimes caparisoned in black, follows the caisson carrying the casket. [1] A riderless horse can also be featured in parades (military, police or civilian) to symbolize either fallen soldiers, fallen police officers or deceased equestrian athletes. [2] A motorcycle can be used as a substitute for a horse though such practice is very rare. [3] [4]
In the United States, the riderless horse is part of funerals with military honors given to Army or Marine Corps officers at the rank of colonel or above, as well as funerals of presidents, who served as commander in chief. [1]
Alexander Hamilton, who was Secretary of the Treasury (1789–1795) was the first American to be given the honor. Historian Ron Chernow noted that Hamilton's gray horse followed the casket "with the boots and spurs of its former rider reversed in the stirrups." [5]
Abraham Lincoln, who was assassinated in 1865, was the first president of the United States to be officially honored by the inclusion of a caparisoned horse in his funeral cortege, [1] although a letter from George Washington's personal secretary recorded the president's horse was part of the president's funeral, carrying his saddle, pistols, and holsters. [6]
In Australia, a riderless horse known as the 'Lone Charger' sometimes leads the annual Anzac Day marches. [7]
In 1865, Abraham Lincoln was honored by the inclusion of a riderless horse at his funeral. When Lincoln's funeral train reached Springfield, Illinois, his horse, Old Bob, who was draped in a black mourning blanket, followed the procession and led mourners to Lincoln's burial spot. [8]
A notable riderless horse was "Black Jack," a half-Morgan named for General of the Armies John "Black Jack" Pershing. Black Jack took part in the state funerals of Presidents John F. Kennedy (1963), [9] Herbert Hoover (1964), and Lyndon Johnson (1973), and General of the Army Douglas MacArthur (1964). [10] [11]
Black Jack was foaled January 19, 1947, and came to Fort Myer from Fort Reno, Oklahoma, on November 22, 1952. Black Jack was the last of the Quartermaster-issue horses branded with the Army's U.S. brand (on the left shoulder) and his Army serial number 2V56 (on the left side of his neck). He died on February 6, 1976, and was buried on the parade ground of Fort Myer's Summerall Field with full military honors, one of only four US Army horses to be given that honor, along with Chief, the US Army's last living operational cavalry mount at the time of his death, Sergeant Reckless, a highly-decorated packhorse who served with the Recoilless Rifle Platoon, Anti-Tank Company, 5th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division in the Korean War, and Comanche, one of the only survivors of the Battle of Little Bighorn. [12]
"Dolly", was the 22 year old charger (whose official name was Octave) of Admiral of the Fleet The Earl Mountbatten of Burma in his capacity as Colonel of the Life Guards. Following the assassination of Lord Mountbatten by the IRA in Mullaghmore, Dolly served as the riderless horse in the funeral procession being led ahead the head of the gun carriage with the Lord Mountbatten's boots (from his Colonel's uniform) reversed in the stirrups on 5 September 1979. [13]
"Sergeant York" was formerly known as "Allaboard Jules", a racing standardbred gelding. He was renamed (in honor of famous WWI soldier Alvin C. York) when he was accepted into the military in 1997. He served as the riderless horse in President Ronald Reagan's funeral procession, walking behind the caisson bearing Reagan's flag-draped casket. In the stirrups were President Reagan's personal riding boots. [14]
He was foaled in 1991, sired by Royce and out of the mare Amtrak Collins sired by Computer. He is a descendant of the great standardbred racing stallions Albatross, Tar Heel and Adios.
A catafalque is a raised bier, box, or similar platform, often movable, that is used to support the casket, coffin, or body of a dead person during a Christian funeral or memorial service. Following a Roman Catholic Requiem Mass, a catafalque may be used to stand in place of the body at the absolution of the dead or used during Masses of the Dead and All Souls' Day.
A military funeral is a memorial or burial rite given by a country's military for a soldier, sailor, marine or airman who died in battle, a veteran, or other prominent military figures or heads of state. A military funeral may feature guards of honor, the firing of volley shots as a salute, drumming and other military elements, with a flag draping over the coffin.
A state funeral is a public funeral ceremony, observing the strict rules of protocol, held to honour people of national significance. State funerals usually include much pomp and ceremony as well as religious overtones and distinctive elements of military tradition. Generally, state funerals are held in order to involve the general public in a national day of mourning after the family of the deceased gives consent. A state funeral will often generate mass publicity from both national and global media outlets.
The 3rd United States Infantry Regiment is a regiment of the United States Army. It currently has three active battalions, and is readily identified by its nickname, The Old Guard, as well as Escort to the President. The regimental motto is Noli Me Tangere. The regiment is a major unit of the Military District of Washington (MDW). The 3rd Infantry is the oldest regiment still active in the Regular Army, having been first organized as the First American Regiment in 1784. It has been the official ceremonial unit of the U.S. Army since 1948.
On June 5, 2004, Ronald Reagan, the 40th president of the United States, died after having Alzheimer's disease for over a decade. Reagan was the first former U.S. president to die in 10 years since Richard Nixon in 1994. At the age of 93 years, 120 days, Reagan was the longest-lived U.S. president in history at the time of his death, a record which was surpassed by Gerald Ford on November 12, 2006. His seven-day state funeral followed. After Reagan's death, his body was taken from his Bel Air home to the Kingsley and Gates Funeral Home in Santa Monica, California, to prepare the body for burial. On June 7, Reagan's casket was transported by hearse and displayed at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, California, then flown to Washington, D.C., on June 9 for a service, public viewing and tributes at the U.S. Capitol.
The United States Army Military District of Washington (MDW) is one of nineteen major commands of the United States Army. Its headquarters are located at Fort Lesley J. McNair in Washington, D.C. The missions of the units in the Military District of Washington include ceremonial tasks as well as a combat role in the defense of the National Capital Region.
A coal-black Morgan-American Quarter Horse cross, Black Jack served in the Caisson Platoon of the 3rd U.S. Infantry Regiment. Named in honor of General of the Armies John J. "Black Jack" Pershing, he was the riderless horse in more than 1,000 Armed Forces Full Honors Funerals (AFFHF), the majority of which were in Arlington National Cemetery. With boots reversed in the stirrups, he was a symbol of a fallen leader.
Philip Campbell Wehle was a major general in the U.S. Army and the commanding general of the Military District of Washington (MDW) from 1963 to 1965.
On December 26, 2006, Gerald Ford, the 38th president of the United States, died at his home in Rancho Mirage, California at 6:45 p.m. local time. At 8:49 p.m. local time, his wife of 58 years, Betty Ford, issued a statement announcing his death. The causes of death listed on the death certificate were arteriosclerotic cerebrovascular disease and diffuse arteriosclerosis.
Harry Rozmiarek was a noted veterinarian, academic, and laboratory animal care specialist.
In the United States, state funerals are the official funerary rites conducted by the federal government in the nation's capital, Washington, D.C., that are offered to a sitting or former president, a president-elect, high government officials and other civilians who have rendered distinguished service to the nation. Administered by the Military District of Washington (MDW), a command unit of the Joint Force Headquarters National Capital Region, state funerals are greatly influenced by protocol, steeped in tradition, and rich in history. However, the overall planning as well as the decision to hold a state funeral, is largely determined by a president and their family.
The state funeral of U.S. President John F. Kennedy took place in Washington, D.C., during the three days that followed his assassination on Friday, November 22, 1963, in Dallas, Texas.
Joint Base Myer–Henderson Hall is a joint base of the United States Armed Forces, located across multiple sites in the National Capital Region. It is jointly made up of Fort Myer, Fort McNair, and Henderson Hall. It is the local residue of the Base Realignment and Closure, 2005 process. It is commanded by the United States Army but has resident commands of Army, Navy, & Marines. Most conspicuous is the Arlington National Cemetery Honor Guard.
Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the first president of the Republic of Turkey, died at the Dolmabahçe Palace, his official residence in Istanbul, on 10 November 1938. His state funeral was held in the capital city of Ankara on 21 November, and was attended by dignitaries from seventeen nations. His body remained at the Ethnography Museum of Ankara until 10 November 1953, the fifteenth anniversary of his death, when his remains were carried to his final resting place at Anıtkabir.
A military funeral in the United States is a memorial or burial rite conducted by the United States Armed Forces for a Soldier, Marine, Sailor, Airman, Guardian or Coast Guardsman who died in battle, a veteran, or other prominent military figures or a president. A military funeral may feature guards of honor, the firing of volley shots as a salute, drumming and other military elements, with a flag draping over the coffin.
The Commander-in-Chief's Guard – also known as the CINC Guard but officially Company A, 4th Battalion, 3rd U.S. Infantry Regiment – is an infantry unit of the United States Army that also has public duties and riot control missions within the Washington metropolitan area. Posted at Joint Base Myer–Henderson Hall in Arlington, VA, it is the nominal continuation of George Washington's bodyguard. The Commander-in-Chief's Guard is designated by the U.S. Army as a "Special Ceremonial Unit" and is part of the 3rd Infantry Regiment, the United States' presidential escort regiment.
Old Bob or Old Robin was a driving horse used by Abraham Lincoln during the period prior to his presidency of the United States. He later participated in Lincoln's funeral. Old Bob's exact fate and date of death are unknown; he was sold to drayman John Flynn by Lincoln in 1860.
Kennedy is an American Standardbred horse who was owned by the United States Army.
Sergeant York is a retired horse that was previously owned by the United States Army.