MOUNTED TRAINING

Bombproof Your Horse

20th Annual Mobile (Alabama) Mardi Gras Mounted School 2012
Wednesday, February 15 to Wednesday, February 22, 2012

Mounted School Information Flyers

To download the documents individually (PDF format), click the following links:
Registration Form, Mounted Training Release Form, Photo Release Form, Training Supply List

Electronic registration requires the latest version of Adobe Reader

The Mobile Mardi Gras Mounted School is held in conjunction with the Mobile two-week Mardi Gras celebration. This is a complete school that includes basic equitation techniques, sensory training, obstacle courses, defensive tactics, arrest procedures, vehicle extractions, formation riding, crowd control tactics and strategies and other advanced law enforcement maneuvers.

Expert instructors employ a variety of practical scenarios combined with on-the-street training. (Note: Only participants and mounts with demonstrated skills, and the approval of Mobile Police Department Mounted Unit supervisors, will be allowed to patrol on the streets.) Our instructors emphasize the practical application of mounted patrol within urban environments, and the development of a working team between horse and rider.

The combination of expert training in controlled settings, along with an incomparable experience of street work during Mardi Gras, yield two major benefits:

• A horse and rider team that is trained to meet most challenges of
  mounted patrol work.
• A bond and trust between horse and rider that will serve them well
  in any situation.

MOUNTED UNIT TRAINING COORDINATOR: Don Leland

Don Leland has been involved in Posse/Auxiliary mounted police work since 1981 as a working member and instructor. He has attended mounted police schools at Lexington, Kentucky, New Orleans, Louisiana and numerous Mardi Gras schools in Mobile and has received three reserve championships at National Police Competitions on his Arabian Stallion, SKI. Don has been certified as an instructor by three National Mounted Police groups.

MOUNTED UNIT INSTRUCTOR: John Dalziel

John Dalziel has 30 years experience as a mounted officer and riding instructor. Retired from the London Metropolitan Mounted Police, he was master instructor there for 17 years. During his mounted career, John served as an officer, riding instructor, and unit horse trainer. He was retained by the Saudi Arabian National Guard with the rank of "Major" and the title of "Riding Master." John is an accredited riding instructor and trainer with the Classical Riding Club, UK. His classical riding experience encompasses dressage, show jumping, and cross-country. John is the UK Director/Riding Master for the National Mounted Training Group.

MOUNTED UNIT INSTRUCTOR: Officer Richard Bettner, MPD Mounted Unit

Officer Bettner has been employed with the Mobile Police Department for 14 years with 10 of those years assigned to the Mounted Police Unit. He has attended numerous clinics and is a certified instructor in general police instruction. He has over a thousand hours of crowd control training and many more hours patrolling the streets of downtown Mobile from horseback. During his years with the Mounted Police Unit, Officer Bettner has been assigned numerous horses to train.

MOUNTED UNIT INSTRUCTOR: Lawrence Beall

Lawrence Beal founded the County Mounties in 2007 which is a multi-county volunteer mounted unit deployed for search and rescue, crowd control and security. He received instructor certification from The National Mounted Police Services and has attended numerous mounted police clinics and schools. Mr. Beal has assisted with Mardi Gras mounted patrol for 8 years.

MOUNTED UNIT INSTRUCTOR: Officer Lisa Rakes, Lexington Mounted Police

Officer Lisa Rakes joined the Lexington Division of Police in 1990 and was assigned to the Mounted Police Unit in 1996. Officer Rakes became the unit trainer in 1998. She was assigned a mount named Jake, who is a Percheron/Thoroughbred cross that stands 17.2 hands. Jake has served as a Mounted Police Horse since 2002. Officer Rakes and Jake took first place in both equitation and obstacles at the 2009 North American Police Championships.

MOUNTED UNIT INSTRUCTOR: Officer David Johnson, Lexington Mounted Police

Officer David Johnson joined the Lexington Division of Police in 1991 and was assigned to the Mounted Police Unit in 2000. Officer Johnson became an assistant trainer in 2001. He was assigned a mount named Jester, who is a Percheron/Thoroughbred cross that is 16.2 hands. Jester has served as a Mounted Police Horse since 2002.

BACKGROUND:

It isn’t just by chance that the Mobile Police Department’s Mounted Unit can navigate through the raucous sights and sounds of a Mardi Gras street parade. The horses and riders of the MPD Mounted Unit train constantly to assure that their horses can maneuver through rowdy revelers, flying doubloons, towering floats and all the unexpected noises and sights of Mardi Gras.

“The goal is to produce a mount that will be calm and obedient under the most stressful conditions by building up a horse's tolerance to unusual sights and sounds.

The Mobile Police Department Mounted Unit was created through a grant of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) in 1991 with a mission to patrol the public housing developments of Mobile. After two years, HUD turned over the unit to the city. Currently, there are six mounted patrolman, 10 horses, and 22 stalls.

The MPD Mounted Auxiliary, started in 1997, is a volunteer organization of civilian riders who are trained to patrol with officers as a support unit. The members train regularly and are required to put in patrol time each month.

The Horse Barn facilities include two arenas and a large complement of training equipment. Both the sworn officers and auxiliary members have competed nationally and in three of the four national competitions, they have taken first place.

The MPD Mounted Unit hosted its first nationwide training school in 1993.