I grew up in Cleveland, my dad grew up in Cleveland, and my grandpa moved to Cleveland from Saskatchewan Canada after World War I with his war bride from England. I just learned last year from my dad, that while growing up on the family ranch in Canada, grandpa caught and trained wild horses and rode in the Calgary Stampede, the ultimate rodeo according to Joe. I also didn’t know until recently that when he applied for his job as a Cleveland policeman, he initially was supposed to be a member of the mounted unit. My grandmother put the breaks on that though since she was scared my grandfather would get hurt. I guess she thought being a mounted policeman was a lot more dangerous than being a beat cop. I don’t know about that, especially back in the 1920s ‘30s and ‘40s, but I sure wish my grandma had been a little more horse savvy so she wouldn’t have insisted my grandpa leave the mounted unit.
Most kids who grow up in the city are facinated when they see a member of the mounted unit on their faithful and well trained patrol horse. I was no different. Every year between the age of 5 and 15, I had to suffer through my annual piano recital downtown at the Higbee building on Cleveland Public Square. The only thing that made that yearly day of torture tolerable for a few brief moments was seeing, and sometimes even petting, one of the several patrol horses that were always present on those busy Saturdays in the center of the city.
Is the Cleveland Mounted Unit a fond part of my childhood memories; you betcha. So I am thrilled and extremely proud that the Horsemen’s Corral is a sponsor of the Cleveland Mounted Police Unit Fundraiser Downtown Ride, hosted by Friends of the Cleveland Mounted Police and The Cuyahoga County Farm Bureau, Equine Advisory Committee. If you can’t ride with us, then come on down and watch. The ad for the ride is on page 27; and please, take a few moments to read the article by Kathy King about this proud group with such a distingquished and interesting history.
Until next month,
