The American army began to use seven old Kladrubian crows during state ceremonies

The courtship between the Czech breeder of these horses, the National Stud in Kladruby nad Labem, and the Army of the United States of America, more precisely with the US Caisson Detachment, took place for a year. In May, representatives of the American army came to see the horses in person.

“Seven young horses were selected from the collection of demonstrated Old Kladruby Vraník, which underwent special training in Slatiňany and Heřmanov Městec and met the requirements for exterior, temperament and character. On May 27, we took them to the airport in Belgium, from where they flew to America the next day,” said Jaroslav Pavel, deputy director for horse breeding and cultural landscape.

On Tuesday, November 18, the US Army already used some of the horses delivered to the United States during an official ceremony. This happened during the visit of the Saudi Arabian prince Muhammad bin Salman to the USA. When US President Donald Trump welcomed the prince in front of the White House, there was a parade of honorary horse riders, three of whom were Old Kladrubian crows from the national stud.

The Caisson Detachment of the 3rd Infantry Regiment of the US Army is one of the most famous parts of the American military tradition, as it serves in state ceremonies and also as a cavalry escort for fallen American soldiers. He is entitled to military funeral honors accompanied by all Medal of Honor recipients, former prisoners of war, soldiers killed in action, officers O-4 and above, and service members who have attained the highest NCO and ensign ranks.

“He is also entitled to all state funerals. For these purposes, the American army also uses sleds, which accompany the fallen on their last journey. For this reason, they were looking for suitable horses for this service. Currently, they use around fifty horses for this purpose, however, the goal is to increase this number,” said the director of the Kladrub stud farm, Jiří Machek.

The sale of old Kladruby crows for use in ceremonies with the American army is a very prestigious matter for the Kladruby nad Labem National Stud. “This is the first time ever that Old Kladrub horses are used as state ceremonial horses outside the European continent. We have the honor of breeding Old Kladrub horses for the purpose for which this unique breed was bred several centuries ago”, added Machek.

This year, the national stud is commemorating the 80th anniversary of the beginning of breeding the old Kladruby sparrow in the former castle stables in Slatiňany. It was here that they succeeded in reviving the breeding of the crow variant of Starokladrub horses, which was almost doomed due to the great restriction after 1918. It took decades before, thanks to the efforts of numerous experts and employees, the breeding of Old Kladruby cranes stabilized, the regeneration was successfully completed and the “black pearls” were saved.

The Vranícs were moved to Slatiňany in 1945 from Průhonice near Prague. The crow variant of the horse was in danger of disappearing completely, in 1931 it was bred vearly adopters almost eliminated. They were saved by hippologist František Bílek, who collected the last horses in 1939 and regenerated the breeding. UNESCO named Bílek the fourth most successful geneticist of his time in the world.

The Danish Royal Court and the Swedish National Guard buy the Starokladrub whites for ceremonial purposes. The Vrana variant was used, for example, by the mounted units of the city police in several places in the Czech Republic.