MOUNTED RIFLES

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume LII, Issue 17158, 7 October 1926, Page 7

MOUNTED RIFLES

SUITED FOR COUNTRY THE MISSION TO COAST That the best possibility of forming a mounted rirle squadron in this district lies in interesting the country trainees under the Defence Act. is the conclusion formed by the Commandant 1 «f the Military District, and Capt. Burge, area officer, will undertake a mission to the coast shortly with that object in view. It is recognised that the great advance in the use of motor-ears, with the steady improvement in road conditions throughout Poverty Bay and the East Coast, has militated against the breeding and upkeep of horses for ordinary riding purposes, and that it would be a difficult matter to find a sufficient number of young men able to provide their own horses in the urban area, particularly. The gradual diminishing of the numbers of hacks exhibited at the annual shows and sports meetings near Oisborne has been laid to the account of the encroaching motor-car, and the experiences of the Poverty Bay Hunt Club and other equestrian bodies all have emphasised the fact that horses arc only kept by those who require them for business, and in a few cases by those to whom the eost of upkeep for non-utilitarian purposes means little. The average young man in the town area has many distractions, and the speed of motor travel has engendered in many, indeed, a distaste for horsemanship. Under these circumstances, is is hardly' likely that substantial support, will'be found in the town area for the formation of a mounted unit. BETTER PROSPECTS On the East Coast and in the country districts behind Gisborne, there arc still many good horses of the type used in the old days for mounted iniantry work. There is Work for these animals, in the pastoral industry which fully warrants their upkeep, apart from the pride their owners may have in their excellent blood. From among these horses it is hoped to mount a satisfactory number of young men who are keen on undertaking a highly interesting side of the military life. That the training of a mounted iDfantrvman can be highly interesting, and at times is greatly to be preferred to that of the "foot-slogger/ . is borne out by the reminiscences ot members of that well-known unit, the East Coast Mounted Rifles, now and for many years defunct, The corps was recognised as one of the most efficient in the country, and its members made it their aim "to maintain its good repute- ■'■■'+ j i The record of service rendered during the war by officers, non-commis-sioned officers and men of the East Coast Mounted Rifles would indicate in some measure the value of the training they had received in the volunteer days. Not only the men, but the horses of the East Coast district were recognised as capitally adapted for the serious side of the military business, and many of the animals taken into camp by the early drafts from Poverty Bay saw the whole of the Egyptian and Mesopotamian campaigns, and were still full of service at the close of the war. They came of the excellent stock which the earlier generations of Poverty Bay residents introduced! and refined through 'manv years of breeding. Whether there will be any further demands for men and horses for the business of war is a question that only time can settle. In the interim it' is the policy of the Dominion Government to maintain the nucleus of a force which in the event of necessitv would be immediately available. There has been ■ a tendency of late years to nnder-esti-mate the value of mounted 1 infantry, but recently a new appreciation of the necessity of preserving this arm. of the service has been gaining ground. Since mounted infantry must form an integral part of any system of defence followed in New Zealand, it is argued that Poverty Bay .should have its corps, and a considerable degree of interest will hang upon the response of the district's vonth. i