“Te horses (and riders)
think that there is no way they can complete these challenges, yet they all do it and are delighted with themselves for their bravery…”
Bill’s clinics, as they are so organized and safe, yet challenging to horses. The horses (and riders) think that there is no way they can complete these chal- lenges, yet they all do it and are delighted with themselves for their bravery,” says Robin. Her current mare, Shequin (pronounced See-Quin) is a 2011 Oldenburg
(GOV) mare, bred by Maurine Swanson and is by Sir Gregory out of a Wolken- tanz II mare. Robin purchased Shequin when she was three years old. In 2014 they were USDF National Champions for 3-Year-Old Fillies Materiale and in 2015 they took the Reserve National Champion title in USDF 4/5-Year-Old Mares Materiale. She’s now ridden Shequin, whose barn name is Queen, in Bill’s clinics several times. “Queen’s done it three times and she’ll do two more this year. It’s not like she’s going to learn anything new, but it’s just really good to review it. And to remind her ‘Look honey, you can walk through fire, don’t tell me that you have to look at these flags,’” Robin says with a laugh.
Meet Bill Richey Bill Richey operates National Mounted Police Services in Glen Cove, New York. He is a certified mounted police instructor and was instrumental in creat- ing the mounted units for the city of Duluth, Minnesota, as well as units in Forsyth and Gilmer Counties in Georgia. He worked with the Atlanta Police Department’s mounted patrol unit in preparation for the 1996 Olympics and was the chief instructor for the Mounted Police Mardi Gras School in Mobile, Alabama. He has more than 30 years of experience as a mounted police officer and almost as many as an instructor. He has taught in every U.S. state except Hawaii so far, as well as in Canada, Colombia, Ecuador and, most recently, Israel.
Bill describes how he began riding and became a mounted police offi-
cer. “My start with horses is pretty funny. Being a typical guy, I started dating a young lady, who later became my wife, and accompanied her to a horse show. I didn’t really know what a horse show was—true story. Upon arrival, I saw many pretty girls in tight pants and decided getting a horse was the next thing on my to-do list! I was 22 when I started riding seriously and have competed in many disciplines: three-day eventing, halter, Western plea- sure and, of course, mounted police competitions. I started my career as a member of a reserve unit with the Mobile County Mounted Crowd Control Unit. In 1982 I became a supervisor with the unit and by ‘default‘ became a trainer and instructor.” National Mounted Police Services clinics include both classroom learning
TOP LEFT: Robin and Shequin go over a teeter totter as part of the mounted police horse training. TOP RIGHT: Clinician Bill Richey holds a smoke bomb while teaching a mounted police horse clinic. MIDDLE & BOTTOM L–R: Examples of obstacles at Cristin Kyle’s confidence-building clinic at Flintrock Farm: the Push Barrel obstacle, a “flag tree,” and parachute over the horse’s head.
32 March/April 2016
and riding or in-hand work, depending on the age and training of the horse. Bill prefers the horses to be ridden if they are able, but he says he does allow young, not-yet-started horses to be led by a handler or riders with confidence issues to participate with their horses in hand. The attendees learn about how the horse’s eyes and brain function, then are taught about using an effective “military seat” (which Bill says is the oldest form of dressage). Next they are teamed up with other riders to do drill team work. Finally they are introduced to obstacles, sights, sounds and smells, all designed to desensitize them to new things. Since the horses and riders encounter the obstacles in drill team formation, as long as the first horse goes the others are likely to follow. Both Bill and Robin say that the core benefit of completing a mounted
police clinic is safety. Robin also sees some advantages from a dressage judge’s point of view. “I think this training really builds a solid relationship with your horse. That translates to better attention and confidence, which may result in better scores,” she remarks.
One of the most amazing things that Bill asks the horses and riders to do is
walk through a ring of fire and smoke. Robin says that, while you would think this would be a big deal to the horses, it really isn’t. “Horses don’t care. But, the
Robin Brueckmann
Robin Brueckmann
Karen Havis
Karen Havis Robin Brueckmann
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