FAITH @ WORK A day in the life of PC Andrew Hill, Mounted Officer in the Metropolitan Police
The early shift at Lewisham starts at 7.00 am. The horses are fed and checked over for any signs of illness or injury. We then have a briefing. The stable work comes next, mucking out, adding fresh bedding and grooming the horses. They then receive their morning hay ration. The stable is washed down and swept through. As we are so visible on patrol, we pride ourselves both on our appearance and that of the horse. We then set off (in pairs) to patrol areas suffering from high rates of street crime and burglary. We may also carry out a pre-arranged community visit.
On return to the stable at lunchtime, the horse’s back is washed off and massaged and
its hooves checked, (‘no foot, no horse’ is the saying). The horse’s tack is cleaned and polished before giving the afternoon hay ration and sweeping up (again!). The day finishes at 3.00pm (unless I’ve made an arrest).
If on a football or other event (‘aid’ in Police jargon) then the morning routine is the
same. After this, we ride to the ground at Charlton, for example, and patrol the outside of the stadium and surrounding roads. During the match we dismount and feed the horses. We mount up again and take up our post-match positions well before the end of the game. If all goes well we are usually dismissed from the ground an hour after full time, ride back to Lewisham, turn in the horses and kit and finish at around 8.00pm. Bear in mind that we are out in all weathers, so we have to put up with being wet and cold. If we are posted to, say, Arsenal we travel by horsebox so the day is a good deal easier!
I am also involved in training the younger horses (remounts) and instructing the other
officers in riding and troop drill. It is a physically demanding job and also restrictive due to the shift work involved but I
am so lucky to be doing a job that some people would pay to do (well, the easier bits). I love interacting with the public, the teamwork between horse and rider, and the responsibility and leadership that comes with the job. It is quite a feeling using the horse to command and organise a large crowd when all else has failed and regaining control of a situation that was fast becoming out of control.
I have always treated the people I deal with as I would expect to be treated. Oh, and I forgot to mention, yes I have fallen off a few times!
PC Andrew Hill 17
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