Undated photo, Fort Robinson. RG1517-44-3
“Thru These Portals Pass the Army’s Best Horsemen,” reads a sign above a barracks doorway at Fort Robinson, Nebraska. As the army’s largest quartermaster remount depot, the fort became known for its horse shows, rodeos—even polo games.
Polo player and his horse at Fort Robinson during the Remount Depot era. Equine activities were popular at the fort, and polo provided good training for horses and riders alike. RG1517-45-30
The undated photo at the top of this page is from a Fort Robinson public event during that era. We don’t have details, but the image speaks for itself. How much do these soldiers trust that horse and rider? A lot, apparently.
Another such event was promoted in The Chronilian, a newsletter published by and for the civilian employees of the Fort Robinson remount depot.
The Chronilian. RG1517b002f013i0013
As for the tranquil scene below, taken in Hall County in May 1942, it is a detail of a larger photo by John Vachon of the U.S. Farm Security Administration. We have no evidence of that horse having any connection to the U.S. Army Remount Service, but you never know: over the years, the program’s improvement of equine bloodlines spread far beyond the select group of horses deemed fit for army service, thanks to a partnership between the army and horse breeders and ranchers across the U.S.
Photo by John Vachon, U.S. Farm Security Administration. Library of Congress
https://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/fsa.8c22093
