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Throughout the world, the image of the red-coated
Mountie in a broad-brimmed Stetson hat is
instinctively associated with Canada. However, there
is more to the Mounties than just this romantic
image. The stage was set in 1873 for a role that
would intimately connect the Mounted Police and its
members with the development of Canada as a great
nation. From the beginning of its long history, the
Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) have served
Canada and its people by establishing law and order
in the frontier reaches of this vast nation. As the
country grew in population and diversity and
communities became more established, the Mounted
Police adapted, ensuring the peace and security for
its citizens.
Representing a colourful tradition
and ceremony through the horse and the scarlet
uniform, the RCMP created a spectacle known around
the world as the Musical Ride. The Musical Ride
provides Canadians, from coast to coast, with the
opportunity to experience part of our heritage and
national identity.
The Musical Ride was developed from a
desire by early members of the North-West Mounted
Police to display their riding ability and entertain
both themselves and the local community. Considering
the original Mounted Police members had a British
military background, it was inevitable that the
series of figures they performed were traditional
cavalry drill movements. These movements formed the
basis of the Musical Ride.
Although legend has it that the first
Musical Ride was performed as early as 1876, the
first officially recorded Musical Ride was performed
in Regina under Inspector William George Matthews
in1887. Over the years the popularity of the Musical
Ride has grown - today it is one of the most popular
Canadian symbols around the world.
For more information, please visit
the RCMP website at
www.rcmp-grc.gc.ca
or contact National Communication Services
Directorate at 613-993-2999 (Fax: 613-993-1095).
 The
Musical Ride Today
Members of the Musical Ride are,
first and foremost, police officers who, after at
least two years of active police work, volunteer for
duty with the Musical Ride. Most members are
non-riders prior to their equestrian training with
the RCMP; however, once they complete the courses of
instruction, they not only become riders but
ambassadors of goodwill. Working through a unique
medium, they promote the RCMP's image throughout
Canada and the world. RCMP members only remain with
the Musical Ride for three years which ensures an
annual rotation of approximately one third (33%) of
the riders.
Today, in keeping with tradition, the
Musical Ride is performed by a full troop of 32
riders and horses, plus the member in charge. The
Musical Ride consists of the execution of a variety
of intricate figures and cavalry drill choreographed
to music. Demanding utmost control, timing and
coordination, these movements are formed by
individual horses and riders, in two's, four's and
eight's at the trot and at the canter. Months of
training, practice and many kilometres/miles around
the riding school make horse and rider one. The
horses must not only appear in the Musical Ride, but
on Parliament Hill, in parades, special events and
have the ability to travel and adapt to different
environments, not to mention, hours of petting and
photo-taking that the horses must patiently endure.
One of the most recognizable Musical
Ride formations is the "Dome,"once featured on the
back of the Canadian fifty-dollar bill. The
highlight of the Musical Ride is, without a doubt,
the CHARGE when lances, with their red and white
pennons, are lowered and the riders and their mounts
launch into the gallop. The conclusion of the
performance is the March Past performed to the
strains of the RCMP's Regimental March where the
Musical Ride traditionally salutes the guest of
honour.
The RCMP Musical Ride tours
throughout Canada, the United States and other
international venues, performing at approximately
forty to fifty locations a year between the months
of May and October. Thirty-six riders, thirty-six
horses, a farrier, a technical production manager
and three Non-Commissioned Officers travel with the
Musical Ride on tour.
For more information, please visit
the RCMP website at
www.rcmp-grc.gc.ca
or contact National Communication Services
Directorate at 613-993-2999 (Fax: 613-993-1095).
The Horses of the Musical Ride
In 1873, the horses of the North-West
Mounted Police had to be rugged and tough since they
were the primary mode of transportation for
officers. Today an RCMP horse must be black,
elegant, athletic with a good nature and enough
heart and stamina to carry it through approximately
one hundred performances of the Musical Ride.
The RCMP has bred and raised its own
horses since 1939 and today the national police
force is known to produce some of the finest horses
in the country. The RCMP horse breeding program
began at Depot Division, Regina, Saskatchewan, and
was subsequently moved to Fort Walsh in 1942, the
site of a North-West Mounted Police Fort built in
1875 in the beautiful Cypress Hills of south western
Saskatchewan. Fort Walsh was home of the breeding
program until 1968 when the operation was moved to
Pakenham, Ontario about 50 km. west of Ottawa.
The RCMP Breeding Farm in Pakenham is
built on one hundred and forty hectares of lush
Ottawa Valley land where the Remounts spend the
first three years of their life, growing, developing
and maturing before becoming Musical Ride horses and
moving to the home of the Musical Ride, the
Rockcliffe Park Equestrian Centre in Ottawa,
Ontario.
For more information, please contact
National Communication Services Directorate at
613-993-2999 (Fax: 613-993-1095 |
County of
Smoky Lake
VILLAGE OF WASKATENAU
TOWN
OF SMOKY LAKE
VILLAGE
OF VILNA
