The weekend after the colloquium, there are also two one-day Civilian Equine
Sensory Clinics hosted by the two mounted police departments and the park. All events are held in the Alltech Arena, which provides a climate-controlled, enclosed environment. Instructors come from across the U.S., Canada and Europe. The horses and riders are put through drill team work, obstacle courses and sensory training. At the end of each session there are competitions for both the mounted police and civilians and completion certificates are awarded at both events as well. The colloquium and sensory training sessions are coordinated by Kentucky
Horse Park Mounted Police Captain Lisa Rakes and Lexington Mounted Police Sergeant Joseph Eckhardt. Captain Rakes has been a police officer for 26 years and a mounted officer for 20. Her equine partner is Oliver, a seven-year-old Shire/ Paint/Thoroughbred cross. Sergeant Eckhardt is a 17-year police veteran and has served as a mounted police officer for three; his current horse is Gandalf, a 15-year- old Percheron-Quarter Horse cross who has been serving since 2014. Kristi says that while there are a few differences between the mounted police and civilian courses, there are many things offered at both that would be benefi- cial for riders from all disciplines. “I would highly recommend the desensitization and obstacle training to all riders. The drill training is great to help riders learn to move their horse with precision. The rider will learn how to control their horse in difficult or potentially dangerous situations. And there is a great bond that can be formed between horse and rider at training such as this,” she explains. According to Captain Rakes, police horse training addresses the horse’s natural
reaction to things that scare them and helps the rider comfort and guide the horse. “Sensory training is very important to introduce to the horse because one can see how a horse will react to certain stimuli,” she says. “This will allow one to help teach a horse to overcome his fears. Many horses are afraid of harmless things such as plastic, flowers, clippers, fly spray, etc. We, as good horseman, should take the time to build the confidence level in the horse. Riders need to get away from the philos- ophy of ‘just getting by’ or ‘hoping that nothing happens’ and move on to ‘I have trained myself and my horse for this situation and I am confident in our abilities.’ There are no days off when working with your horse. You are constantly training your horse to be ‘good’ or ‘bad.’” Sergeant Eckhardt affirms that the training gets to the root of a horse’s psyche.
“Horses are naturally prey animals who would rather avoid something that fright- ens them instead of dealing with it. They are ingrained with flight and good at it. This doesn’t change between equine disciplines. When sensory training with your horse, you develop a bond of trust while negotiating the obstacles together as a team. This translates into whatever you are doing with them,” he says.
FOR MORE INFORMATION You can catch up with both Robin and Kristi on Facebook. Robin also has a number of videos showing her bravery training work with her horses on YouTube. To find out more about Bill Richey’s National Mounted Police Training go to
www.mounted-
police.org or contact his assistant Karen Swanson at
kswanson@mountedpolice.org. For more information about Cristin Kyle’s confidence-building training and to see many examples of her obstacles, go to
www.stablerelationships.co. The 2016 National Mounted Police Colloquium will be held at the Kentucky Horse
Park in the Alltech Arena Monday, September 26 through Friday, September 30. The Civilian Clinic will be in the same location Saturday, October 1 and Sunday, October 2. Go to the Kentucky Horse Park website at
www.kyhorsepark.com for registration forms and/or contact Captain Lisa Rakes for more information at
lisa.rakes@ky.gov or Sergeant Joseph Eckhardt at
jeckhardt@lexingtonpolice.ky.gov. More informa- tion about the Lexington Mounted Police Unit can be found on the Friends of the Lexington Mounted Police website,
www.friendslexingtonmountedpolice.org. To learn about the Kentucky Horse Park Foundation, go to
www.khpfoundation.org.
TOP TO BOTTOM: 1) A police horse demonstra- tion during the Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event. Sergeant Dan Haun is riding Samson while Offi- cer Johnson uses the crowd-control bag. 2) Offi- cer Brian King of the Lexington Mounted Police and Finley stand as Sergeant Joey Eckhardt covers Finley’s face with a flag during a demon- stration at the Lexington Mounted Police stable. 3) Officer Marty Parks on Nomar chases down a “perp” portrayed by Kentucky Horse Park Offi- cer David Johnson as part of a police tactics demonstration at the Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event. 4) Participating in the North American Police Equestrian Championships in New Castle County, Delaware, Officer Scott Lynch and Aden lift a barrel to find the hidden contraband.
Warmbloods Today 35
James Shambhu
Courtesy Lexington Police Department
Officer Brian King/Lexington Police Dept.
Courtesy Lexington Police Dept.
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