Horsemanship of Ulysses S. Grant

At age five he was noted for doing difficult stunts bareback and soon after was also performing responsible chores, hauling timber, and driving teams of horses for long distances by himself.

[5] When Grant was little more than a toddler he was often found out by his father's shop with the teams of horses, restlessly crawling and playing about their legs and swinging from their tails.

Riding at a fast pace, he would stand on one leg while holding the reins, maintaining his balance as the horse galloped about–a feat that amazed his onlookers.

Upon his father's return he discovered that after his son managed to bridle and harness the colt, he had amassed "a pile of brush as big as a cabin" all by himself.

[10] When Grant was eleven he established a reputation among his peers and neighbors by riding a trick pony belonging to the circus that came to town.

Not wanting to go back empty-handed, Ulysses devised a method by hitching the logs and pulling them aboard the wagon one at a time by use of the horses.

[1][16] Biographer James McClure describes how the young Ulysses' "exhibited a remarkable self possession of mind" on an occasion when he was transporting two women in a two-horse wagon across a creek swollen from a heavy rain where he found the water level much deeper than usual.

The women became greatly alarmed and began to scream, but the young Grant, though in a very precarious situation, kept his calm, simply looked over his shoulder and assured the ladies by saying, "Don't speak I will take you through safe", and continued on undaunted without further incident.

[19][7] Grant, reflecting on his youthful experiences with horses, would later write in his Personal Memoirs: I began hauling all the wood used in the house and shops.

For this I was compensated by the fact that there was never any scolding or punishing by my parents...[20]Grant also gained a reputation for excellent horsemanship during his military career,[21][22] and subsequently would sometimes receive horses as gifts from admirers.

During the American Civil War Grant owned several horses, riding them on scouting missions, while inspecting the troops and formations, and during battle.

After being accepted, he made his way across Pennsylvania to New York City and traveled up the Hudson River to West Point, arriving there and signing the register on May 29.

Every day he would devote time to it, bridling, mounting and riding it about with ease, while the entire class would watch and admire in amazement his excellent command of this horse.

The academy riding master, Henry Hershberger, approached the high-jump bar, raised it another foot (30 cm), higher than an average man's head, and then called out, "Cadet Grant", prompting a low murmur of wonderment from among the crowd.

He dashed forward, gauging his pace, and with a great leap, horse and rider cleared the bar with apparent ease.

He commanded, sat, and jumped a horse with singular ease and grace; was seen to the best advantage when mounted and at a full gallop; could perform more feats than any other member of his class, and was, altogether, one of the very best riders West Point had ever known.

[37] After graduation, Grant naturally requested service in the cavalry, but despite his excellent horsemanship, there was no opening available and instead was assigned to the 4th Infantry Regiment, his second choice.

[33] During the Mexican–American War Grant expressed his amazement of the great herds of wild mustangs roaming between the Nueces and Rio Grande rivers, moving about like buffalo in a continuous mass.

Longing to participate in battle and share in its dangers, Grant found such an assignment beneath his ability and respectfully submitted a protest to this effect to his colonel, which was denied.

[43] During the war Grant owned and rode more than ten different horses, including Cincinnati, Claybank, Egypt, Fox, Jack, Jeff Davis, Kangaroo, Little Reb, Methuselah and Rodney.

It was a strong horse, but while Grant was leading his regiment from Springfield, Illinois, to Missouri the mount proved to be unfit for military duty.

[36] While Grant was encamped on the Illinois River for a few days, a local farmer brought in a cream-colored stallion named Jack.

[36][45][a] During this time Grant purchased a second horse, called Fox, a powerful and spirited animal with exceptional endurance, which he also rode during the siege and battles around Fort Donelson and also at Shiloh.

"[47] Cincinnati was a bay, said to have been 17.2 hands (70 inches, 178 cm) high and was a son of Lexington, considered to be the fastest thoroughbred in the United States at that time.

[51] Shortly after the Vicksburg campaign, Grant suffered his most serious horse-related injury while visiting General Nathaniel P. Banks in New Orleans.

There the two generals sat on their horses for hours, Grant astride Cincinnati, and Lee on Traveller, and discussed the terms of surrender and the condition of the South in sight of their soldiers.

According to Albert Hawkins, the stable master at the capital at that time, Grant, during his second term, arranged for a statue of him mounted on Cincinnati.

Hawkins also noted that Grant's other horse, Jeff Davis, was a kicker and had the habit of biting when the stable hands got close to him.

[63] Grant remained involved in equestrian activity during his presidency, including by many accounts racing his carriage on city streets.

While West's account of the events cannot be fully verified, it is generally accepted that the arrest occurred and that Grant paid a fine (or forfeited a collateral) of up to $20 (equivalent to $509 in 2023), had his buggy impounded, or both.