The
riderless horse or
caparisoned horse (in reference to its ornamental coverings, which have a
detailed protocol all to themselves) is the single riderless horse with boots reversed in the stirrups that follows the caisson carrying the
casketA coffin is a funerary box used in the display and containment of deceased remains – either for burial or cremation.-Practices:Any box used to bury the dead in is a coffin...
in a
funeralA funeral is a ceremony marking a person's death. Funerary customs comprise the complex of beliefs and practices used by a culture to remember the dead, from the funeral itself, to various monuments, prayers, and rituals undertaken in their honour. These customs vary widely between cultures, and...
procession.
The custom is believed to date back to the time of
Genghis KhanGenghis Khan , ; 1162–1227), born , was the founder, Khan and Khagan of the Mongol Empire, the largest contiguous empire in history....
, when a horse was sacrificed to serve the fallen warrior in the next world.
The
riderless horse or
caparisoned horse (in reference to its ornamental coverings, which have a
detailed protocol all to themselves) is the single riderless horse with boots reversed in the stirrups that follows the caisson carrying the
casketA coffin is a funerary box used in the display and containment of deceased remains – either for burial or cremation.-Practices:Any box used to bury the dead in is a coffin...
in a
funeralA funeral is a ceremony marking a person's death. Funerary customs comprise the complex of beliefs and practices used by a culture to remember the dead, from the funeral itself, to various monuments, prayers, and rituals undertaken in their honour. These customs vary widely between cultures, and...
procession.
The custom is believed to date back to the time of
Genghis KhanGenghis Khan , ; 1162–1227), born , was the founder, Khan and Khagan of the Mongol Empire, the largest contiguous empire in history....
, when a horse was sacrificed to serve the fallen warrior in the next world. The caparisoned horse later came to symbolize a warrior who would ride no more. Others suggest that this tradition hailed from over a thousand years before Genghis Khan, when the Afghan people represented the Buddha as a riderless horse. It has been further deduced that the Buddhist representation of the Buddha as a riderless horse (vagin-Zunya) was a symbol of its reformation against the horse sacrifice practices of the Indo-Europeans who would kill their horse when their king died.
In the
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, the caparisoned horse is part of the military honors given to an
ArmyThe United States Army is the branch of the United States Military responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military and is one of seven uniformed services...
or
Marine CorpsThe United States Marine Corps is a branch of the United States armed forces responsible for providing force projection from the sea, using the mobility of the United States Navy to rapidly deliver combined-arms task forces. It is one of seven uniformed services of the United States...
officer who was a
colonelColonel is a military rank of a commissioned officer, with corresponding ranks existing in almost every country in the world. It is also used in some police forces and other paramilitary rank structures...
or above; this includes the
PresidentThe President of the United States is the head of state and head of government of the United States and is the highest political official in the United States by influence and recognition...
, by virtue of having been the nation's military commander in chief and the
Secretary of DefenseThe United States Secretary of Defense is the head of the U.S. Department of Defense , concerned with the armed services and military matters. This position roughly corresponds to Minister of defense in other countries...
, having overseen the armed forces. Historical records indicate that President
George WashingtonGeorge Washington was the commander of the Continental Army in the American Revolutionary War and served as the first President of the United States of America...
was the first president of the United States to be honored by the inclusion of the caparisoned horse in his funeral cortege, carrying his saddle, pistols, and holsters. Traditionally, simple black riding boots are reversed in the stirrups to represent a fallen leader looking back on his troops for the last time.
Black Jack
The most famous riderless horse was "Black Jack," a half-
MorganThe Morgan is one of the earliest horse breeds developed in the United States. Tracing back to the stallion Figure, later named Justin Morgan after his best-known owner, the breed excels in many disciplines, and is known for its versatility....
named for
General of the ArmiesGeneral of the Armies is the highest possible rank in the United States Army...
John "Black Jack" Pershing. Black Jack took part in the state funerals of Presidents
John F. KennedyJohn Fitzgerald "Jack" Kennedy , often referred to by his initials JFK, was the 35th President of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963....
(1963),
Herbert HooverHerbert Clark Hoover was the 31st President of the United States . Hoover was a professional mining engineer and author. As the United States Secretary of Commerce in the 1920s under Presidents Warren Harding and Calvin Coolidge, he promoted government intervention under the rubric "economic...
, (1964), and Lyndon Johnson (1973), and General of the Army
Douglas MacArthurGeneral of the Army Douglas MacArthur was an American general, United Nations general, and Field Marshal of the Philippine Army. He was a Chief of Staff of the United States Army during the 1930s and later played a prominent role in the Pacific theater of World War II...
(1964).
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).
Black Jack ended his dedicated, dignified military career on February 6, 1976, and was buried on the parade ground of Fort Myer's Summerall Field.
Sergeant York
"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 processionThe 40th President of the United States, Ronald Wilson Reagan, died on June 5, 2004, after having suffered from Alzheimer's disease for nearly a decade. A seven-day state funeral followed, spanning June 5 to 11th....
, walking behind the caisson bearing Reagan's flag-draped casket.
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.
See also
- Black Jack (horse)
- Military funeral
A military funeral is a specially orchestrated funeral given by a country's military for a veteran, a soldier who died in battle, or another 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 rites
Military rites are honors presented at a funeral for a member of a military or police force. These rites, which are performed at the burial, include the firing of rifles, presenting of a flag and or bugle calls. In Australia and New Zealand a Poppy Service is often held for members of the Armed...
- Missing man formation
The missing man formation is an aerial salute performed as part of a flyover of aircraft at a funeral or memorial event: typically in memory of a fallen pilot. The missing man formation is often called "the missing man flyby"...
- State funeral
A state funeral is a public funeral ceremony, observing the strict rules of protocol, held to honor heads of state or other important people of national significance. State funerals usually include much pomp and ceremony as well as religious overtones and distinctive elements of military tradition...
- State funerals in the United States
State funerals in the United States are funerals with ceremonial, military, and religious overtones which are granted by law to presidents-elect, sitting presidents, and former presidents in order for the nation to mourn and pay homage to their memory...