FORT RILEY -- The Commanding General's Mounted Color Guard is seeking the public's help in naming its newest mount, a buckskin Mustang.
The Mustang came to the CGMCG on Feb. 18 from the Hutchinson Correctional Facility's wild horse training unit in Central Kansas. He arrived in Hutchinson on Nov. 1, 2013, and was trained by minimum custody inmates participating in a special program between the prison and the Bureau of Land Management, according to information from the Kansas Department of Corrections.
The horse is 5 years old and 15 hands high. He weighs 1,000 pounds and was captured in the High Rock Complex in California.
The Mustang excelled in its training and was chosen to be one of five Mustangs showcased by the bureau at the 2014 Equifest show in Wichita to promote the Wild Horse and Burro adoption program, Capt. Casey Wolfe, CGMCG commander, said.
It was at Equifest where leaders and troopers of the CGMCG first saw him.
"We were so impressed by his disposition and movement that we decided to adopt him on the spot," Wolfe said.
The CGMCG uses bays, as they are the standard cavalry horse color, but the unit is authorized three off-color horses: one for the commander (the new buckskin), the senior noncommissioned officer (a sorrel named Jake) and the guidon bearer (a gray named Cyclone).
This Mustang is the first buckskin for the CGMCG and is replacing Victory, an American Paint Horse who served as the commander's horse until he retired last spring.
"This horse is one of the calmest Mustangs I've ever been around, and he likes being around people," Wolfe said. "He is also one of the fastest, hardest-working horses I've ever been around, and he has proven during his integration training here that he can outlast any rider we put on his back. He is a one-in-a-million find, as most Mustangs shy away from people, gun shots, large crowds and other things we commonly run into during our events."
Mounts' names are a mix of traditional cavalry and division-related words. The public is asked to choose their favorite of the following names:
Ranger: An Army unit isn't complete without a Ranger;
Recon: A cavalry word describing the gathering of intelligence and information;
Dakota: The CGMCG is already home to Apache and Comanche;
Rocky: The Mustang was captured in High Rock Complex in California;
Duke: In honor of the 3rd Infantry Brigade Combat Team, the "Duke" brigade.
Those interested in participating can go to www.facebook.com/1stInfantryDivision and vote for their favorite name with a "like." Voting ends at noon CST Monday, April 7.
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