The Mounted Patrol Partners (MPP), a group of volunteers who wish to contribute time and energy to support the Polk County Sheriff’s Office Mounted Patrol, will host a preview party Thursday, Oct. 6, at Giardini Trattoria Pavilion, Columbus. Proceeds from the event will go to help pay for the mounted patrol’s equipment.
Mounted patrol members provide their own horses, trailers, saddle and some of the uniform. The rest of the required tack will be acquired through fundraising efforts such as this preview party, along with grant applications.
A frequently asked question concerning the qualifications for the Polk County Mounted Patrol is, “How much training will my horse require?” The short answer is a lot.
Just ask any of the 15 candidates who are training on a regular monthly schedule in preparation for the upcoming 50-hour, week-long training program. The training program will be conducted by the Mounted Police Training Academy, the only accredited mounted police academy in the nation. Only those applicants who successfully complete this training will be deemed suitable for the Polk County Sheriff’s Mounted Patrol, an all-volunteer group.
Every equine discipline requires specific training and skills, from hunter/jumpers, barrel racing, endurance riders, show jumpers and trail riders to dressage. For mounted patrol, one of the key factors is “desensitization” to sounds, sights and smells.
As with any new project, many hours of planning have gone into the structure of this unit. Polk County Sheriff Donald H. Hill, Lt. Michael Capps, Director Don Lyons and Sue Truitt (training and development) met extensively to develop the format and criteria for this unit, as well as to establish budgets.
Lyons and Truitt met with the Henderson County Mounted Patrol for guidance as the Henderson group has been in existence since 1994. Additional research led Lyons and Truitt to a Police Mount police program at Asbury University in Wilmore, Ky. Asbury University had performed at the 2010 World Equestrian Games (WEG) in Lexington, Ky.
This highly accredited program brings mounts to the Asbury 341-acre farm as weanlings, and equine students train each of the horses for three years. At the completion of this three-year program, the horses are sold to a police department or a private citizen for use in community service.
Lyons and Truitt, along with their distribution team, traveled to Asbury University for a firsthand look at these trained mounts. As a result, three of the horses, Desi, Duke and Douglass, were purchased for the Polk County Sheriff’s Mounted Patrol.
Truitt, a John Lyons and Richard Shrake certified trainer, said “We were impressed with the training and temperament of these horses. Although they are still young, they exhibit the traits required for mounted patrol.”
As part of the demo, Lyons and Tuitt rode the horses over and through various obstacles and watched as fireworks were fired in close proximity to the horses.
The preview party on Oct. 6 will offer hors d’oeuvres, beverages, silent auction items and chances to win a trough of wine. For ticket information, contact plynn@windstream.net.
– article submitted by Peggy Lyons