Parsons Mounted Cavalry
The horse Cavalry Program at Texas A&M was originally founded in 1919 as part if the program to commission reserve officers into the Cavalry branch of the Army. Within a few years, horse drawn artillery instruction was added to the curriculum. At its peak in 1942, the Cavalry unit boosted 500 members. The unit thrived until 1943 when the horse branches of the Army were disbanded and considered obsolete. Thus the equestrian unit would become another closed chapter in the history of Texas A&M....or so it seemed. In 1972 three motivated cadets approached the Commandant of Cadets and asked for his help in reviving the fading memory of the horse cavalry. Colonel Tom Parsons ‘49 gave his blessing to the enterprise and solicited a $10,000 grant from the Association of Former Students. The Parsons’ Mounted Cavalry was named in his honor. Mike Collins was the first Commanding Officer in the 73-74 school year.
In the early years, all the horses were supplied by the cadets who assumed most of the costs to run the until, as it was not et a University financed organization. Many people aided the new "Cav." As the "Cav" gained national attention, in 1975, it also gained the staunch support of Dean John Fritz of Dickinson College in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. Dr. Fritz donated blankets, riding gloves and leggings for the horses that would later garner him a post on the U.S. Olympic Equestrian Team.
The first home of the PMC was a small plot of land at the Bryan Airfield Annex. This was unsuitable for their needs. In 1977, a piece of land called Hernia Hill was loaned to PMC by the Association of former Students. This home was even more temporary because in 1979, A&M president James Miller gave a 27 acre tract of land to the PMC located at Turkey Creek Road an FM 2818. The "Cav" named this place Fiddlers Green.
