Politics & Government

Officials, Supporters Rally Behind Second Company Horse Guard

Plans to consolidate the Newtown-based Second Company with the First Company in Avon have supporters mobilizing in support of the 203-year-old outfit.

Local residents and state representatives have launched an effort to save the 203-year-old Second Company Governor’s Horse Guard in Newtown from being consolidated with the First Company in Avon as part of a state budget saving measure.

 “If it goes away, there’s a lot of pride and history that goes away,” said Bethel resident Ken Fay, who has become an unofficial spokesman for the Second Company. “It makes you shake your head.”

Every year, the Second Company undergoes a precarious period, particularly during budget season, as state officials debate the future of the outfit, often with talk of eliminating funding for it. This year is no different, although with the state deficit estimates at $3.2 billion, the fiscal pressures appear greater than ever.

Find out what's happening in Bethelwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

“This is a very difficult year,” said Rep. Chris Lyddy (D-Newtown), who along with Rep. DebraLee Hovey (R-Monroe, Newtown) have voiced support for the Second Company continuing to exist.

Lyddy and Hovey expect to meet later on Tuesday and they also want to broach the subject with Gov. Dannel P. Malloy, Lyddy said, adding their concerns extend beyond preserving the cultural and historical tradition of the horse guards.

Find out what's happening in Bethelwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

They also question what will happen to the land and facility if the Second Company were no longer in Newtown.

“How can we either make this work or how we can we do this without the people affected, like the people of Newtown?” Lyddy asked.

If the Second Company were consolidated with the First Company in Avon, the state would be leaving behind acres of land on which the company practices and the horses graze, in addition to facilities, such as the horse stable and ring. The land and structures could possibly be sold off to a developer or equally troubling, left to deteriorate, Lyddy said.

Those are real concerns considering that nearby on Wasserman Way, two state-owned structures that were left dilapidated for decades finally collapsed under the weight of heavy snow earlier this year.

“We really have to look at the cost to Newtown will be if the state abandoned that facility,” Lyddy said. “Newtown should be concerned with that.”

Lyddy said the state should have a plan for the facility before any decisions were made about the Second Company’s fate.

Fay, who got to know members of the Second Company after producing a documentary on the horse guard, said the outfit is staffed solely of volunteers and they contribute freely of their time through many programs, such as providing recreational riding activities for disabled people, including wounded veterans.

“There are other things offered here beyond the scope of what people see in the parade,” Fay said.

Combining the First Company Governor’s Horse Guards of Avon and the Second Company Horse Guards of Newtown would save the state a projected $78,632 in fiscal year 2011-12, as well as an additional $141,501 in 2012-13, according to the state Office of Policy Management.

The First Company was established in 1778 and chartered in 1788, and the Second Company was chartered in 1808. Initially, the Second Company would escort the governor from New Haven to Middletown and the the First Company would take over from there to Hartford, according to the Second Company's Web site.

Each unit usually is currently allocated slightly under $80,000 a year, Major Michael Downes of the First Company Governor's Horse Guards, said.

Supporters of the horse guards said a possibility may be to move the horse guards from the jurisdiction of the state’s military department to another agency or a nonprofit that would still allow the unit to continue to exist but with little impact to taxpayers.

“Perhaps this horse guard shouldn’t fall under the military department,” Lyddy said, adding he was hoping to explore that possibility further with the governor.


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here