What can now be identified as the first formed UVF regiment owed its inspiration to neither the Orange Order nor the Unionist Clubs. The Enniskillen Horse came into existence as a result of Sir Edward Carson’s visit to the town to launch the Ulster Covenant campaign on Wednesday 18 September 1912. The Enniskillen Horse was initially 200-strong and had been formed by William Copeland Trimble, the editor of the local newspaper, The Impartial Reporter. Trimble, writing in a circular letter on 3 September 1912, encouraged his fellow unionists to establish a mounted escort for Carson, stating:
‘Other places may have their meetings. Enniskillen must have one great distinctive feature of its own . . . This escort will be the greatest feature of the day. As the Enniskillen meeting will be the first to be addressed by Sir Edward Carson in this campaign, unusual importance attaches to it, and newspapers will be represented from all parts of the globe. It is, therefore, all the more incumbent on us that our mounted escort be no childish affair with clumsy men and unmanageable horses, but a fine turn out of smart soldierly-looking men, well-groomed horses, and all showing the effects of organisation and discipline.’