Mounted Reserve Unit
The Stearns County Sheriff's Mounted Reserve Unit was organized by volunteers in May of 1993 primarily to assist the department with search and rescue situations. There are 30 active members who have met the requirements and volunteer their time and efforts to organize and to develop further the training and certification of riders and their mounts.
There are two major reasons for the volunteers to accept these challenges:
- The members are committed to providing a public service for the community, similarly to a volunteer firefighter or first responder;
- The members are committed to promoting good horsemanship by demonstrating the untapped potential that a well-trained unit can render to the community.
Each member is responsible for their horse and transportation to and from civic functions, as well as for the extra training sessions attended by the members to further their expertise. Many long hours of hard work are invested by the individuals in the care of their animals and equipment. All members are required to maintain a minimum of a basic first-aid certificate level.
During October of 1997, 1998, and 1999, some of the members took time off from work to attend a training and competition sponsored by the Hennepin County Metro Park Department. Professional and volunteer mounted patrol units from across Minnesota, Iowa and Wisconsin displayed their skills in crowd control, desensitization, horsemanship, and teamwork. Stearns County was well represented, with an individual 1st place rider each year and the team traveling trophy in 1998. The competitive nature of horsemanship has helped the entire group to develop into one of the finest groups in the Midwest.
Every year, the Mounted Reserve Unit sponsors the annual "Wagon Train" event in Albany. This fund-raising event has increased the Unit's donation more each year to the Sheriff's Youth Program of Minnesota. The amount donated in 2001 was $10,000.
The Mounted Reserve Unit participates in parades across Stearns County, and for the past several years has worked at the Heritage Center during the Wheels, Wings and Water Festival by parking cars.
The future goals of the unit are to expand the services available to the Sheriff's Department and the local community by generating funding assistance for the Sheriff's Youth Program of Minnesota through equine-related events, and by parking/perimeter crown control and on-grounds security patrol for civic functions. these short- and long-term goals are attainable through training as a cohesive unit and through the dedication of the members of the unit.