Winnetka resident Greg Welch says his daughter Lucy has loved horses for so long, “I don’t ever remember her not riding.”
Lucy, 17 and a senior at Culver Girls Academy in Indiana, seconds that: “I grew up playing with My Little Ponies, and my American Girl horses. I’ve been riding for 11 years.”
On Friday, Lucy got to ride in an event she will remember all her life – she and almost 80 of her Culver schoolmates took part in the inaugural parade in Washington, D.C.
It’s a tradition that Culver – a boarding school that includes the Culver Military Academy for boys as well as the Girls Academy – has maintained since 1913, sending mounted student representatives to 17 inaugurals, according to the schools’ website.
The Culver contingent includes the 56-man Black Horse Troop – male students from the military school – and the Culver Equestriennes, 24 Girls Academy students.
Joining either of the teams requires students to maintain a 3.0 GPA, and to stay in good citizenship standing, Lucy said last week, as she readied herself and her horse Benneton for their inaugural date. She tried out for the Equestriennes as a freshman and has been part of the team ever since, she said.
Although the groups participate in other parades, their Washington journey required plenty of preparation, Lucy said. Practice for the inaugural parade started in October, which was actually before Culver officials learned they would be accepted as parade participants, “so we were biting our nails until we heard,” she said.
The riders practiced four times a week, work that includes what Lucy called desensitizing their mounts from loud noises and other distractions that can be expected in a parade the size of the one in Washington.
“We do it so they’re calm and collected,” she said. Her mount, a last-minute substitute for a different horse, is very laid-back, she said, so she was not expecting any problems.
Lucy and her teammates made the 12-hour trip from school to Washington by bus, coming arriving late Jan. 18. They were scheduled to get up at 4 a.m. Jan. 20 to be in position by the time the parade started, she said.
Riding in the parade might not have happened had Lucy not been determined to attend Culver, both she and Greg Welch said. His daughter had to convince her parents to let her go to Culver, where older brother Austin attended years earlier, Welch said. Lucy concurred.
More Top Picks Best Steel Toe Sneakers For Men
“I visited my brother when I was eight, and he told me I had to visit the barn,” she remembered. “He knew I liked horses. I saw the horses and I told my parents that I was going to go to Culver. It took a lot of convincing, but I think they’re really glad they agreed.”
Lucy, who turns 18 in February, plans to study nursing, and has already been accepted at the University of Michigan, she said. She is also waiting to hear from other universities. She plans to continue riding in university if she can.
Welch and his wife Sandy traveled to Washington, D.C. to watch their daughter.
“As a proud Papa, I can say she is incredible,” Welch said Jan. 19. He also marveled at the logistics involved in transporting students, their mounts, and their mounts’ lodging and nutrition all the way to the nation’s capital.
Both Lucy and her father said they were excited at her involvement in the parade. That excitement transcends politics, Lucy said.
“We’re here representing our school, and Indiana,” Lucy said. “It’s a tradition that I’m really proud of.”
“It’s the first inauguration for us,” Welch said. “We’re not doing it as a political event, we’re just glad to celebrate the tradition. We’ve got our cameras to make sure we capture it.”
Twitter: @pioneer_kathy