Arlington caisson riders endure grueling 18-week horse training

Arlington caisson – Mounted soldiers in the US Army Caisson Detachment train for nearly four months before they can ride in funeral missions at Arlington National Cemetery—often starting with little or no horse experience. The unit returned from a nearly two-year suspension in 20

The first lessons for an Arlington caisson rider don’t look like ceremony. They look like learning how to stay calm while a horse moves the way a horse moves—fast, unpredictable, alive.

In the US Army Caisson Detachment, the job is ultimately among the military’s most sacred. Soldiers transport fallen service members to their final resting places inside Arlington National Cemetery. The casket is placed on a wagon called a caisson and conveyed through the cemetery by three soldiers—each soldier riding one horse and controlling another with their right hand.

For many, that responsibility starts far from familiarity. Many of these soldiers begin with little to no experience with horses. Selection is built around traits the Army wants to see before anyone climbs into the saddle: composure. discipline. and physical fitness. After being selected, they must complete an 12-week basic horsemanship course. Then comes another six weeks of advanced instruction. where the training shifts from learning fundamentals to preparing for the specific demands of funeral missions.

The training wasn’t always the same, and the change matters to the horses as much as the riders. The Caisson Detachment returned from a nearly two-year suspension in 2025 after an investigation revealed that the deaths of multiple horses were connected to unsanitary living conditions. The investigation forced the Army to rethink how it could protect the animals that carry the ceremony.

To revamp the program, the Army hired equestrian champion Chester Weber, an heir to the Campbell’s Soup fortune. Weber assembled a team of world-class equestrian professionals. He also provided a base for the work: his family’s Florida stud farm. which became the location for the advanced training program.

The goal is not just to teach soldiers how to ride. The program culminates in a validation test that all soldiers must pass before they can take on funeral missions.

Chief video correspondent Graham Flanagan went inside training to document what it takes to become a mounted soldier in the US Army Caisson Detachment—showing the point where discipline and physical fitness meet horsemanship. and where the unit’s long pause in 2025 is translated into tighter standards for both people and horses.

Arlington National Cemetery US Army Caisson Detachment caisson riders mounted soldiers horse training Chester Weber Campbell's Soup heir Florida stud farm horsemanship course funeral missions equestrian program 2025 suspension unsanitary living conditions