“I would highly recommend the desensitiza-
tion and obstacle training to all riders. Te drill training is great to help riders learn to move their horse with precision.”
excellent jumper and Kristi loved the thrill of work over fences. Kristi’s father Greg Spetz was a police officer in Portage, Indiana, so she also wanted to participate in law enforcement in some way. She joined the Porter County (Indiana)
Sheriff’s Posse in 2001. She has participated in parades, crowd-control duties and other posse activities with five different horses, including her two Trakehners, Risa (foaled 1997, by Advo- cate *Ps*, out of Romanze Rhapsody by Pikör, bred by Loon Creek Enterprises) and Risa’s son Redi or Not (by Tanzeln *Ps*, foaled
in 2005 and bred by Kristi and her mother Kathy Spetz). Not content to participate in just one activity, Kristi
and Risa also competed in competitive mounted orien- teering and fun shows with contest classes and mounted games. Kristi, her husband Fred and son Kevin and their horses were also a part of the Chellberg Farm pioneer days re-enactment at the Indiana Dunes National Lake- shore. On top of that, the family has had several driving horses over the years. When they moved to southern Tennessee last fall, their horses, donkeys and the rest of the menagerie moved with them.
Kristi Crowe’s and her horse Redi or Not’s certificate of completion from the 2014 National Mounted Police Colloquium.
Training the Mounted Police Way The posse participation introduced her to mounted police horse training. In 2005 she took a Welsh Cob-Section A Welsh Pony cross gelding named Scooter (by Penrhym Gwillym, out of Little Miss Sassy, bred by Loon Creek Enterprises) through a session organized by the Kensington Police Mounted Unit near Detroit, Michigan. Then in September 2014 she and a friend from the posse packed up their horses and attended the National Mounted Police Colloquium held at the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexing- ton, Kentucky. “Several members had attended the Mounted Police Colloquium in the past. I
always wanted to go, but didn’t have a horse with the right temperament until Redi. He has the drive to face new obstacles boldly,” says Kristi. Kristi shares one tense situation in the colloquium obstacle course that actually
TOP TO BOTTOM: 1) The participants in
the Kensington Mounted Police Unit train- ing near Detroit, Michigan, in 2005. Riding in drill team formation Kristi Crowe and the Welsh Cob-cross gelding Scooter are pass- ing in front of the police car which has lights and sirens going. 2) Captain Lisa Rakes of the Kentucky Horse Park Mounted Police has been a police officer for 26 years. 3) Members of the Kentucky Horse Park Mounted Police Unit acting as color guard at the Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event (left to right): Officer David Johnson riding Jake (Percheron/Thorough- bred cross); Captain Lisa Rakes riding Oliver (Shire/Paint/Thoroughbred cross), and Ser- geant Dan Haun riding Samson (Percheron/ Thoroughbred cross).
34 March/April 2016
translated into a great teachable opportunity. “Redi and I had one moment during the individual obstacle competition that will not be forgotten. We had to back into a 10-foot by 10-foot enclosure made of blue tarps, then side pass out of it through streamers of caution tape. Redi was halfway in and his claustrophobia got the better of him. He reared straight up. I leaned forward until he came down, let him settle a bit, then gently backed him a few more steps. Instead of making him side pass out, we walked forward at a bit of an angle. Redi recovered and finished the course flawlessly.” At the colloquium in Kentucky, Kristi had the benefit of learning from the instructors and the other attendees from many different places. “Redi and I built a better relation- ship. Sometimes, when you are not able to get your horse to do something, it can be difficult to come up with a different way to encourage cooperation. At a training session, such as the colloquium, there are many knowledgeable trainers to help participants.” The National Mounted Police Colloquium was first held in Kentucky in 1983. The
event is a cooperative venture between the Lexington (Kentucky) Mounted Police and the Kentucky Horse Park Mounted Police. It is partially funded by the Friends of the Lexington Mounted Police, as well as by the tuition fees paid by the participants. In addi- tion, some of the proceeds from the colloquium are donated to the Kentucky Horse Park Foundation.
Kristi Crowe
James Shambhu/Kentucky Horse Park
Chris Meyer
Greg Spetz
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