Atop gleaming black horses, riders in bright red uniforms concentrate as they steer the horses in graceful manoeuvres.
Then a rush of thunderous hooves pound the ground as the 32-member troop charges together.
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police Musical Ride, a famous Canadian performance, returns to Wellington County in September.
The Musical Ride dates back to the late 1800s as a way to break up the calvary drills in the sparsely populated west. It has become a proud Canadian tradition.
Donning polished boots, a red serge and a felt Stetson, Constable Anne Howitt becomes one of the most recognizable Canadian symbols: a Mountie.
The Guelph native joined the RCMP in 2009. She was posted in Manitoba until she decided to apply to the RCMP Musical Ride, encouraged by her co-workers.
In 2013, she was selected for the five week tryout course in Ottawa.
“They put you through rigorous horse training drills and see how you do, see if you’re teachable or not and how well you get along with your co-workers, because you’re going to be spending six months of the year with them, non-stop,” said Howitt in an interview with the Advertiser.
She had ridden only a couple of times in her life.
RCMP public liaison Corporal Terry Russel said the Musical Ride receives around 1,000 applicants each year, filling only 10 to 12 open spots in the 32-member troop.
Howitt was selected and transferred to Ottawa where she spent eight months in an intermediate course.
The course trains the officers, many who have never ridden before, to ride and practice performing the drills.
“We ride with two hands initially, then we are introduced to riding with one hand then we are introduced to riding with the lance,” explained Howitt.
“During the performance, we ride with one hand and we’re carrying a lance at the same time.”
During the training session, which is taught by the RCMP, the chosen officers ride each horse in order to match up with one of them. The officers then perform a “form up” in January where the troop joins together, are assigned a horse and start practicing for the Musical Ride.
Once the Mountie has been matched with a horse, they are with them for the entire show season.
Howitt bonded with Warren, a 14-year-old Hanoverian warm-blood. Not only has Howitt been able to extend her position on the musical ride for a third season, but she has also been able to continue riding Warren.
“I’ve actually been with him for three years. Typically you change horses every year but we just got along so well. We work well together, he’s good to me and likes me so they kept me with him,” she said.
Howitt initially joined the RCMP because of the opportunities to see Canada. With the Musical Ride, she gets to do just that.
“I loved what it stood for and the opportunities that it gives you to travel across Canada and meet new people and go to small communities that you would probably never vacation to or go see in your personal time so it’s a great experience,” she said.
On the Musical Ride day, Howitt and the rest of the troop start grooming the horses a couple of hours before the show.
“We’ll groom our horse, get them ready, tack them up, polish our boots and our kits, and get dressed up in our red serge,” she said.
The horses are warmed up before the show, which lasts for about 25 to 30 minutes. At the end of the performance, the officers and their horses allow the crowd to meet and greet to learn more about the Musical Ride.
“It’s a really nice change from regular police duties to be on the Musical Ride, to have the public come and want to see you and happy to see you and the horse,” said Howitt.
During the show, the riders and their horses complete a series of manoeuvres including the diamond, star, wagon wheel and maze foundation.
Howitt explained the dome formation, famous for being on the back of the $50 bill in the 1970s and 80s, is one of the most difficult.
“Once we get to that formation, the horses know it is near the end and they get to charge. So out of the dome they get a little bit more difficult to control because they’re a little more excited,” she said.
For Howitt, being part of the Musical Ride is more than just a performance. She explained the Ride is a positive economic impact to the communities visited. It also has an impact on those that attend the show.
Howitt explained a women approached her at a recent show, saying her daughter was at the RCMP training academy.
The daughter was inspired after speaking with Howitt at the Musical Ride in Quebec two years prior.
Howitt herself was starting her application process for the RCMP when she attended the Musical Ride in Fergus in 2008.
As for being a Canadian icon, Howitt didn’t think about it before.
“The pictures you see of the RCMP, you picture a Mountie on a horse with a red surge, it’s pretty recognizable … it’s cool to be known as that I guess,” she said.
Two shows
Those in Wellington County can catch the RCMP Musical Ride at two locations this year.
The first stop for the Ride will be in Erin on Sept. 10 at 1 or 6pm at the Erin Fairgrounds.
Tickets for the Erin shows are being sold through the Erin Agricultural Society website at www.erinfair.ca. Tickets are $10 for an adult or $5 for a child. Family rates are available.
The second show will be held at the International Plowing Match in Harriston from Sept. 20 to 24.
The Ride will be performing on Tuesday at 1:30pm and on Wednesday at 9:30am and 1:30pm.
The entry fee to the IPM will include entrance to the performance. Tickets are $17 and can be purchase online and at the gate.
RCMP breeding program
The RCMP has a systematic program when it comes to their horses. All horses are sourced from the RCMP breeding farm in Pakenham, outside of Ottawa.
Of the approximately 20 horses born every year, five or six “try out” with the Musical Ride, explained Russel. Those horses spend anywhere between eight and 19 years doing the show.
Those that do not go into the Ride, are sold at a horse auction held every two years.
The “prestigious equine event” gives those interested the opportunity to buy a horse “well trained and Hanoverian certified, from the world famous Musical Ride breeding program,” states the RCMP Foundation website.
Since 1995, the auction has raised over $1 million for the breeding program and funds the RCMP Foundation, which supports youth-at-risk programs across Canada.
The last auction, held in 2015, sold 21 horses raising $342,000. The horses sold for between $5,500 for London, a chestnut gelding, and $40,000 for Helen, a black mare.
