{"id":48673,"date":"2023-11-23T10:00:00","date_gmt":"2023-11-23T10:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/uncategorized\/2023\/11\/23\/how-west-point-chose-a-mule-as-its-mascot\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T04:00:40","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T04:00:40","slug":"how-west-point-chose-a-mule-as-its-mascot","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/off-duty\/military-sports\/2023\/11\/23\/how-west-point-chose-a-mule-as-its-mascot\/","title":{"rendered":"How West Point chose a mule as its mascot"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">West Point cadets went nearly a decade in their rivalry with the Naval Academy before adopting a mule as their school\u2019s counterpart to the midshipmen\u2019s goat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But the horse and donkey hybrid has a lineage in Army service that predates this storied matchup \u2014 going back to 1890.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">For centuries, armies had used mules as the engine of land operations, hauling guns, ammunition and supplies across the globe. The first U.S. Military Academy at West Point mule mascot, however, pulled an ice wagon before being enlisted to rally the Corps of Cadets as they cheered on their team, according to the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westpointaog.org\/\" target=\"_blank\">West Point Association of Graduates<\/a> website.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Navy had brought their goat to the game since 1890. By 1899 an officer at the Philadelphia Quartermaster Depot took charge, taking an ice-wagon mule and outfitting the pack animal with a collar, leggings, and a gray blanket. Soldiers adorned the mule\u2019s ears and tail with black, gold and gray streamers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">West Point legend has it that the first meeting of the two mascots ended rather colorfully. The mule \u201choisted that astonished goat toward the Navy stands to the delight of the yelling, laughing crowd.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"4256\" height=\"2832\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/2013-male-lead-female-rider-mule.jpg.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-87232\" srcset=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/2013-male-lead-female-rider-mule.jpg.jpg 4256w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/2013-male-lead-female-rider-mule.jpg.jpg?resize=300,200 300w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/2013-male-lead-female-rider-mule.jpg.jpg?resize=768,511 768w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/2013-male-lead-female-rider-mule.jpg.jpg?resize=1024,681 1024w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/2013-male-lead-female-rider-mule.jpg.jpg?resize=1536,1022 1536w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/2013-male-lead-female-rider-mule.jpg.jpg?resize=2048,1363 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 4256px) 100vw, 4256px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">U.S. Military Academy cadets pose for a photo before the Army-Navy football game Dec. 14, 2013, at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia. (Staff Sgt. Sean K. Harp\/Army)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This legendary meeting took place at the first Army-Navy Game held at Franklin Field, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania before a crowd of 25,000 and an Army victory of 17-5.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The mascot may play a role, as the Navy\u2019s first use of its goat mascot 1890 resulted in a 24-0 victory for the \u201cMids.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Cadets continued bringing a mule to the games over the ensuing years, as photos in the Academy\u2019s annual publication, \u201cThe Howitzer,\u201d show. But little else is documented on the mules who were selected to be mascots, though they were typically chosen from the stables at West Point.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">That changed in 1936 when \u201cMr. Jackson\u201d became the <a href=\"https:\/\/goarmywestpoint.com\/sports\/2015\/3\/6\/GEN_2014010171.aspx\" target=\"_blank\">first officially designated<\/a> mule mascot for West Point. A second mascot named \u201cPancho,\u201d a small Ecuadorian burro, joined \u201cMr. Jackson\u201d in his duties in 1939. Pancho, also called \u201cSkippy\u201d was a gift from the Ecuadorian Ambassador Colon Alfaro, who presented her to the Academy the same year his sons Eloy and Jaime graduated from the institution.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cMr. Jackson\u201d continued until 1948 while Army won two national championships and earned 83 wins, 28 losses and 19 ties over those 12 years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">During the 1942 Army-Navy Game, cadets disguised \u201cPancho\u201d in a goat\u2019s skin and horns with her rider dressed in a midshipman\u2019s uniform.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"5176\" height=\"3984\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/NH-765.tiff_.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-81485\" srcset=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/NH-765.tiff_.jpg 5176w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/NH-765.tiff_.jpg?resize=300,231 300w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/NH-765.tiff_.jpg?resize=768,591 768w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/NH-765.tiff_.jpg?resize=1024,788 1024w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/NH-765.tiff_.jpg?resize=1536,1182 1536w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/NH-765.tiff_.jpg?resize=2048,1576 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 5176px) 100vw, 5176px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Army and Navy football game, Chicago Illinois 1926, with the Navy goat mascot and the Army mule. (Naval History and Heritage Command)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Ranger Association of World War II formally presented \u201cRanger I\u201d to the Corps of Cadets during pre-game ceremonies at the Army-Virginia football game in 1978.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The mules are cared for entirely by cadets, according to the West Point website. Each year one Mule Rider is chosen from each of the incoming class of cadets, making a team of four that cares for the mules.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The currently serving mules are \u201cRanger III\u201d and \u201cStryker,\u201d who made their <a href=\"https:\/\/www.army.mil\/article\/70764\/west_points_new_army_mule_mascots_ranger_iii_stryker_assume_duties\" target=\"_blank\">debuts in 2011<\/a>. Mules can live as long as 40 years. The pair spent four years being conditioned for their West Point assignment, which involves learning to stay calm during raucous, loud events such as roaring fans, cannon fire and crowds of people milling nearby.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Former Army officer with the 75th Ranger Regiment, Steve Townes, a West Point Class of 1975 graduate and former mule rider and mule donor, said at the time that his only stipulation for providing the Academy a mule was that one of the West Point mules will always be named \u201cRanger\u201d in honor of all Army Rangers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"4658\" height=\"7360\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/2013-mule-vertical-snow-female-rider.jpg.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-87239\" srcset=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/2013-mule-vertical-snow-female-rider.jpg.jpg 4658w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/2013-mule-vertical-snow-female-rider.jpg.jpg?resize=190,300 190w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/2013-mule-vertical-snow-female-rider.jpg.jpg?resize=768,1213 768w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/2013-mule-vertical-snow-female-rider.jpg.jpg?resize=648,1024 648w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/2013-mule-vertical-snow-female-rider.jpg.jpg?resize=972,1536 972w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/2013-mule-vertical-snow-female-rider.jpg.jpg?resize=1296,2048 1296w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 4658px) 100vw, 4658px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">A West Point cadet rides the mule mascot as she watches the 2013 Army-Navy football game in Philadelphia Dec. 14, 2013. (Sgt. Sean K. Harp\/Army)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>West Point traditionally has at least two mules, cared for by cadet mule riders, to carry out the mascot duties for its games and events.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":87221,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_acf":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":71,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":[]},"categories":[71,12,13,19,65],"tags":[],"coauthors":[3405],"class_list":["post-48673","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-military-sports","category-news","category-off-duty","category-veterans","category-your-navy"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"LY6H7YR5PNFPNB3P3WQ74QZKPA","arc_canonical_url":"\/off-duty\/military-sports\/2023\/11\/23\/how-west-point-chose-a-mule-as-its-mascot\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented By:"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.0 (Yoast SEO v28.1) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>How West Point chose a mule as its mascot - Navy Times<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"West Point traditionally has at least two mules, cared for by cadet mule riders, to carry out the mascot duties for its games and events.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"How West Point chose a mule as its mascot\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"West Point traditionally has at least two mules, cared for by cadet mule riders, to carry out the mascot duties for its games and events.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" 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