VTCC EQUESTRIANS JOURNAL: ADVENTURES WITH CONRAD Issue 1
VTCC
Equestrians
Journal:
Adventures
with Conrad
LEADERSHIP - CHARACTER - MILITARY BEARING IN THIS ISSUE
Leadership Lessons with
Horses
by Erin Saylor
Beloved readers, oneself to a subordinate. The cadet is
responsible for reporting any new injuries or
The vision of the Virginia Tech Corps of health concerns noticed during this time, just
Cadets is to develop global ethical leaders and like how a leader would assess the status of
the program offers the leadership minor to their follower during a meeting. Caring is
cadets who excel. Conrad Cavalrys main being aware of and sensitive to the personal
tenet is leadership, which troop members problems of a follower and establishes a good
develop through horsemanship. Horsemanship relationship between leader and follower,
provides a new, unique, and interesting angle ensuring the followers continued support.
to cadet leadership development. The main
mechanism through which troop members Fearless leader is a term thrown around a lot
develop their leadership skills is equine care. in the VTCC and it is the goal of every troop
Maintenance of their four-legged comrades member to become one. The nature of the
comprises most of what troop members do at horse is fear, and the cadet rider is responsible
the barn, and is perhaps the most valuable part for managing the horses fear when riding.
of horsemanship! Retired marine colonel and Horses are a mirror of oneself, which means
Medal of Honor recipient Wesley Fox asserts that if the rider is afraid, the horse will sense
in his book Six Essential Elements of that and will also be afraid. Decisiveness and
Leadership that care for ones followers is bearing are two things cadets must learn to Riders on the Move Pg.2
[] the number one essential element of enhance to control their own fear, and in turn Troop members shovel stalls and
leadership, and when followers realize that manage their partners fear. Riding a horse
their leader doesnt really care about them, he can be scary, especially for an inexperienced August 2017 witnessed Conrad Cavalrys very first
is no longer their leader (P53). rider, so learning to control that fear presents Horsemanship camp! Troop members coalesced at
Advantage Ranch to undergo four days of intensive
a unique challenge to cadets and an
The relationship between a horse and a cadet horsemanship training which included riding, learning
opportunity to strengthen mental fortitude. how to care for the horses and tack, and investigating new
mirrors the relationship of a follower and their contexts of learning.
leader. Conrad Cavalry instills this leadership Horsemanship is a centuries old tradition that
lesson by nurturing relationships between has stuck around for many reasons. It is a true (C/LaRosa bringing in fresh sawdust to lay in stalls)
cadets and their horses. Before and after every test of dedication and character, and an
riding lesson, the rider grooms his or her exciting opportunity for leadership
horse with a curry comb, brush, and hoof development!
pick. This routine gives the horse and rider
time to connect with each other and relax in
each others presence, similar to introducing
VTCC EQUESTRIANS JOURNAL: ADVENTURES WITH CONRAD | 2
Issue 1
History of the
Cavalry
by Mark McVeigh
Conrad Cavalry was official founded in
January of 1972 by cadet Kenneth
Chapelle who would become its first
commander.
The organization made its first debut on
May 23rd, 1972 on Montgomery Country
Day. At first named "Conrad's
Trooper", Conrad Cavalry was named
after Thomas Nelson Conrad, the 6th
president of Virginia Tech and an
expert horseman. Disbanded in 1987,
the organization reformed in 1990's and
was officially recognized as a corps
organization in the fall of 1995. In the
spring of 2017 the troop began a period
of renewal in order to increase the
presence of the cavalry and to save the
fading organization. Since this time the
unit has undergone intensive training,
established a partnership with
Advantage Ranch, and has presented
the colors on two occasions, hosted an
end of the year presentation, and rode
in the annual homecoming parade.
.
Riders on the
Move
by Erin Saylor
The date was August 21st, a sizzling sunny
day, the day of the 2017 solar eclipse as well
as the first day of the very first Conrad
Cavalry horsemanship camp! The camp is
four days of intensive training that includes
riding, tack and barn maintenance, and other
skills that develop good horsemanship. This
camp aims to jumpstart Troop members'
skills for the upcoming year. Cadets chose to
learn in a certain context to focus their
development on weak areas. My choice was
riding, others chose teaching. The camp
presents a great way for the Troop to spend
quality time at the barn together as well as
develop new skills and improve old ones.
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Issue 1
Future Goals
by Tyler Parker
With the success of the Homecoming Parade on October 21st, we are
looking forward to growing our organization and working as
ambassadors to the University and to the Corps of Cadets. The next
big step for Conrad Cavalry is to continue to participate with pride in
more Corps events such as Pass and Reviews, Change of Command
ceremonies, and hopefully one day taking part in the march to Lane
Stadium for the football games.
One of the largest and the loudest challenge faced by the
organization is the Skipper Cannon. Horses are not the biggest fans
of loud noises. Therefore, we must train the horses to become
accustomed to the booming noise that Skipper produces in order to
safely participate in future Corps Events.
The second ongoing challenge is raising funds to continue to
participate in events. Conrad Cavalry does not want to deny anyone
from joining the organization for monetary reasons. Currently, that is
A Perfect Partnership a huge factor in preventing cadets from joining. However, lessons
Check out our article in the News Messenger by Jennifer
Cooper! https://montcova.com/local-stories/a-perfect-
arent our only cost, uniforms, hauling horses to events in trailers,
partnership/ getting equipment to ride, and caring for the horses costs money too.
Our partnership with Advantage Ranch enables us to
begin making our dreams realities. We cannot thank the
In an effort to reduce the out of pocket price for the training, we have
staff there enough for everything they have done for us opened a fundraiser through Virginia Techs Jump program. We are
and we look forward to a long-standing, successful
relationship with them. already 85% towards our goal and hope to reach our goal within the
next 6 days.
If you would like to learn more about the Conrad Cavalry or would
like to make a donation to the organization, please go to the link
below.
https://crowdfund.vt.edu/project/7386
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Issue 1
New Beginnings
by Marissa Einhorn
Early last spring, the members of the Conrad Cavalry looked long and hard at our organization and direction and
decided to embrace change. At that meeting we all pledged to give our hundred and ten percent to build our
organization into something we would be proud to leave behind. As an organization we envisioned a 16-
member drill team, supported by additional troop members, that would design and execute their own
equestrian drill. This dream is a long way off, but this year we are laying the ground work through training riders,
getting out of the home arena to present the colors at events, walking in the homecoming parade, and growing
our unit.
We partnered with Advantage Ranch, under the instruction of Deb Dyer, a professional horsewoman and world
champion coach. Debs role as our coach is a diverse one, she teaches equitation and horsemanship skills, but
also guides cadets to seek the most out of our ridding experiences, such as finding calm, perseverance, and
courage in the face of challenges. At an organizational level, Deb has been invaluable in guiding us through the
beginnings of creating an independent non-profit fundraising organization, working with university officials to
ensure space when bringing horses to campus, designing drill for performances and preparing both cadets and
horses for the Homecoming parade. We create leadership opportunities for troop members through instruction,
a small group will learn how to perform a given task and then turn around and teach the other members of the
troop. In addition to the inter-troop leadership opportunities, the riding method Deb teaches through develops
all cadets personal skills. Providing clear application of aids, and methodically escalating the force they applied
to achieve a given outcome has many applications to leadership. We also practice letting go of attachment to a
lesson to objectively evaluate our performance. All of these skills are applicable to leadership in not just the
Corps but in life as well, and will allow us to grow as
people who represent the VTCC with pride.
Look back at our struggle for freedom, trace your present days
strength to its source; and youll find that mans pathway to
glory is strewn with the bones of the horse.
~Unknown
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Issue 1
Homecoming Parade
by Fallon Fulgenzi
Our largest public event in four years, Conrad Cavalry had the
opportunity to ride in the Homecoming Parade with the Corps of
Cadets this semester. Our cadets were nervous, our horses reflecting
that nervousness. Riding down main street is something that I never
thought I would do in my time here as a cadet. Preparation for the
event involved more work than I thought. We trained by inviting out
band members to serenade the horses, by practicing our miniature
drill movements over and over again, and by taking ourselves and our
horses near Lane Stadium for a training field trip.
The Friday before Homecoming we met to bathe, groom, and clip
the horses. Four hours of work later, we had loaded the trailer with
our tack and equipment and had four beautiful horses ready to go for
the next morning. The morning of the parade, we met at the barn at
6:30am. The first ones to meet at the start off point for the parade,
we had plenty of space to prepare our horses (and riders) for what
was about to happen.
The parade started off with the cavalry immediately following the
Alumni Pipe and Drum Corps. As soon as our cadets relaxed, the
horses were acting like parade professionals. Drums, bagpipes, and
the Marching Virginians were just pleasant background noise to the
cheering crowds on the streets. If there were a way to take any
snapshot of time from college and save it, I would choose this one.
The parade ended with smiles all around, a photoshoot with the
Commandant, and some quality time with Growley II (a.k.a. Tank).
Conrad Cavalry is ecstatic at the success of the Homecoming Parade.
It is our hope that four years from now the comments wont be about
how long it has been but how much people look forward to seeing us.
Perseverance is not a long race; it is many short races one after
the other.
~Walter Elliot
VTCC EQUESTRIANS JOURNAL: ADVENTURES WITH CONRAD | 6
Issue 1
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Cavalry and on Instagram at
VTConradCavalry for more updates
We may encounter many defeats but we must not be defeated.
~Maya Angelou
