In 1909 Sergeant Harry Denton was detailed by the War Department to instruct the Troop in the arts of war. The coming of this excellent soldier marked the advent of a new era for the unit. Riding classes were organized for ladies and large squads turned out every week for "monkey drill." Monkey drill taught the men the rudiments of trick riding and many of them became very well versed in handling their mounts and themselves in the difficult manœuvers. One of the best squads developed in the Troop included George Condren and John Paton, who later commanded the Company in France, Frank E. Wolf, who led the Company to its training area on the other side, George Wallace and Harold W. Herrick, who were commissioned officers during the great War, and others who were prominent in home activities during the period of hostilities. Always ready for any action, the Troop was not called upon to aid the State authorities until June 4, 1911, when rioting in Middletown by striking employees of the Russell Brothers' mills resulted in a call received at the Troop armory at 1:30 in the afternoon on that date. The first platoon, comprised of two officers and thirty-two men, was loaded on a special train and arrived on the scene of the trouble three hours later, fully equipped and ready for any eventuality. However, the presence of the Troop and the businesslike deportment of the men proved sufficient to prevent further outbreaks, and after four days of duty the Troopers were ordered home. For nearly nine years the original officers remained on the active roster. In 1910 Second Lieutenant Robert J. Woodruff found it necessary to resign because of his duties in the courts, and Frank E. Wolf was chosen by the men to take his place. The retirement of First Lieutenant William J. Bradnack three years later caused the advancement of Lieutenant Wolf to that rank and then to captain in 1915, when Captain Luzerne C. Ludington left the service after more than thirty years as an officer in the old Horse Guards and the Troop. [Illustration: REMEMBER YOUR FIRST MOUNTED DRILL AT THE ARMORY?] When Lieutenant Wolf became captain, his junior officers were First Lieutenant F. T. Maroney and Second Lieutenant William H. Welch. It was these three men who headed the remodeled Troop which left Niantic, Conn., their summer manœuvering grounds, for the Mexican border on June 29, 1916, when National Guard units of the different states were answering the call to mobilization in order to quell the vicious raids being made upon American lives and property along the Mexican border line.