Knights of the Golden Horseshoe

In August 1716 a group of ‘gentlemen explorers,’ led by Governor Alexander Spotswood, embarked on an expedition to discover what laid beyond the first range of the Blue Ridge Mountains. These explorers later became known as the Knights of the Golden Horseshoe. This nick name came to be as a result of the horses used during their journey being given iron horse shoes to protect them from the rocky terrain. Spotswood later gifted each of his companions a golden horseshoe set with precious stones that was inscribed with the Latin words, Sic juvat transcendere montes which means, “Thus it is a pleasure to cross the mountains.”
Sources:
https://www.heritage-history.com/index.php?c=read&author=marshall&book=country&story=horseshoe
History of Rapidan Virginia (Rapidan Communities) written by Alan J Shotwell