More of the Force

So I got an email back yesterday from a Senior Sergeant at the New South Wales Mounted Police. Here are her replies to the questions I've sent out:

Do you have to be a certain rank as a police officer to become a mounted police officer?
To join the Mounted Police you need to have 3 years of general duties policing experience.

Do you need horse skills or are these taught?
You really need to have some basic horse knowledge and skills to be a successful applicant. And also a good level of fitness as it is quite a physical job riding all day and working with horses.

Why did you join the Mounted Police?
I joined the Mounted Police along with most of my collegues to combine a love of horses and riding with a worthwhile career in policing. It is a very unique job and I feel priviliged to be a part of this organisation and the continuance of such a historical institution.

How much of the job is horse related?
All of this occupation is revolved around horses being the riding of and management of. Obviously when we do Police work on our horses we have to do relevant paperwork and go to court etc...

How long have you been a mounted police person?
I have been with the NSW Mounted Police for 18 years.

Is lots of training involved for the horses?
Yes the horses have quite extensive assessment and training. This training is pretty much on going for the horses to keep them fit and obedient.

What would a normal day consist of for you?
For me a normal day could be anything from completing my relevant paperwork, to attending a demonstration or public protest, patrolling the streets of sydney or a country location, training at randwick racetrack or just mucking out some stables, grooming horses and doing general tasks that need to be completed every day such as vetting horses and checking shoes etc taking horses for spells, assessing new horses and instructing new riders.

New South Wales Police Website:
http://www.police.nsw.gov.au/

"How to ride a horse:
Step One - Mount the horse...
Step Two - Stay mounted..."

Straight to the Source

And my current source? This week, the force. Mounted Police if you want to get down to specifics.

I've sent out a request to the London, Royal Canadian, New South Wales and Victoria Mounted Police to see if they'd answer a half dozen questions or so for me. I'm waiting on the answers from Canada as they agreed to answer my questions but as yet haven't heard back from London or NSW.

A Victorian Sergeant was kind enough to answer them and promptly returned his replies:

Do you have to be a certain rank as a police officer to become a mounted police officer?
No a constable can apply but only after they have completed their probationary period of 2 years

Do you need horse skills or are these taught?
Yes you do require horse skills as the positions available are highly sought after and for safety reasons you have to be competent on a horse before attempting to become a member of the Mounted Police.

Why did you join the Mounted Police?
I grew up with horses and I wanted to use my experience with horses in a policing role.

How much of the job is horse related?
At the Mounted Branch all of the tasks we attend are horse related.

How long have you been a mounted police person?
I have been a member of the Mounted Branch for 13 years.

Is lots of training involved for the horses?
Yes the horses are constantly undergoing training even when they are a fully qualifed troop horse.

What would a normal day consist of for you?
Stable work in the morning for an hour depending on the current tasks riding my horse at a variety of activities (patrols/ceremonial jobs training or protests).


Victoria Police Website:
http://www.police.vic.gov.au/

"Our hoofbeats were many, but our hearts beat as one."