Mounted Police force

[Hevz2001]

Anyone have any information on it?

[Anja]

HEVZ2001 my old instcutor used to be in the mounted police force (( shes a police lady)) I have even riding one of her police horses what do you want to find out coz I could ask her
Anja

[qwerty]

It would be my ideal job! :D
I've looked into it and it is a dying trade. Many of the horses and being lost (along with the riders).
You have to do 2 years on the beat first and there is little chance of getting in the area anyway.
I spoke to someone on here who's dad was in the force and said he hated it because they kicked the horses so much to make sure they are ready to charge :( I don't know how true that is!

[Hevz2001]

I am interested in joining it when I'm older, if I fail to get vet school! (at the moment i want to be a vet, but I'm exploring all my options whilst I have the time to decide!) What grades do you need? What is an 'average' day like? What is the average pay? Whats the trainin like? How lng would I train for, etc.

I'd be greatfull for any information really!

Thanks!

[al-pal]

I have some info on the mounted police!!! i hope it helps

To become a member of the mounted police ypu need to have served as a police officer for at least 2 years. You also need to have had experience of public order situations and you willhave to pass a physical fitness test,too. As far as riding experience is concerned, to become a mounted police woman, you dont need any equestrian experience! successful officers are given an intensive course of riding instruction,together with stable management nd basic veterinary care. Of course, you can already ride you will find this easy:) - but it is not essential. You can find out more at www.policecouldyou.co.uk

i hope this helps:D

[qwerty]

"Police horses work under the guidance of very skilled riders and play a vital role at events where there are larger crowds, such as football matches, race meetings and political demonstrations."

http://www.stopstart.fsnet.co.uk/smilie/bttt.gif

[al-pal]

OK I was only trying to help it was in the pony magazine the January 2002 issue were are you getting the smiles from?


Ok im confused:confused:

[ilovebacara]

i dont really no that much about the mounted police force. I used to want to be in the mounted police force but then i found out that the training that the horse has to go thru is really rough and they are mean to them :( i dunno if it is true but it put me off goin anyway.
How do ya get those cool smilies???

[Wally]

Mounted Divs. are being dispanded all over the country, They'll rue the day, there is nothing better in public order situations.

As stated before, you need to serve 2 years probation before you can specialise, then you may apply, but it's not a forgone conclusion, to make the grade you have to be fearless on horseback.

Last time I drove past my old patch the indoor school was being used to store police cars. :mad: :(

[ponyvet]

I have worked with two mounted police divisions in the past, and have a friend who works for them as a groom.

As said before you have to become a regular police officer first - which is actually really hard. An old school friend tried after he left uni and went through a long interviewing and selection procedure only to be told that yes - he could join, if they were recruiting but they wouldn't be for another 2 years!

After that you have to work on the beat and you don't take on the job with a view to going straight into being in the mounted div. You must then apply and be selected according to a lot of different criteria, not necessarily related to horses, as I know many of them have never ridden a horse before they start.

They are given intensive training and are wll very good riders, and I think the horses are treated really well. The horses are carefully chosen too, and are only ridden by one person, so are usually well cared for. Medically they also will pay for the best treatment and don't mess about with anything at all.

Hev you may well enjoy that and might make it a career but like I said it's not something you can guaruntee you'll end up doing. So you need to be sure you want to be in the police force anyway, not just as a mountie!! COz you might get there and never get into the mounted division (even if there are some left!).

[MadWoman]

I have a friend who is a Special and has hacked with the Mounted Branch. He originally wanted to join the police and go mounted, but has had to resign himself to just joining to be on foot, as they won't take people who already know how to ride, as they want to train them their own way. As an ex-PSG rider, he was somewhat surprised by the lack of riding skills of the mounted officers he rode with as well.
So, certainly if you are looking at the Met (are there any other Mounted Branches left now), you cannot join them if you can already ride. - sorry:(

[Hevz2001]

I guess I won't be joining the mounted police force then, but thankyou for all your advice etc. How do I go about becoming a groom for the horses?

[Jobi-Wan Kenobi]

What you actually need is to have been accepted into the force, completed your basic training and two years probationary service under the guidance of a more experienced officer. You ALSO need to have served a further two years on the beat before you can REQUEST a transfer into any other section of the force, be it the mouted division or dog handling etc.

It all seems to be turning full circle a the moment, with forces now encouraging the public to take notepads and pencils on their rides with them to note down anything suspicious. There have been quite a few articles in H&H recently, have a look at www.horseandhound.co.uk for more information.

Over the past couple of years, although cuts have been made to mounted divisions with several forces sharing divisions in some cases, it has been realised that they play an important and integral role within public law and order enforcement.

The best people to ask are your local force. They will be able to put you in touch with the relevant officers. Also many mounted divisions have an open day at the stables once a year. Some will even allow you a private tour if you approach it in the correct manor.

As far as I am aware you will need at least 5 GCSE's grade C or above to be accepted for the police. They will take you on from as young as 18 years and 6 months, but you have to be something special to get in at that age. They much prefer you to have "life experience" such as moving away to university or a few years in other jobs after leaving school. There is a graduate "fast track" approach in which you can reach the position of Sargeant within 5 years of joining, details are available from the home office. You will need to attend a medical, fitness test and pass an interview with senior officers.

Starting salaries are around £14k for trainees and £17k for police constables.

If you are over 18 years of age you may wish to explore the option of joining the Special Police. This is a voluntary thing much the same as the Terratorial Army is.

If you are still exploring the options of what to do when you leave school/ college, speak to you careers advisor as they will have a whole load of information, contacts and phone numbers.

Confession! I looked at all this about three years ago, just before I entered my final year at uni, so I appologise if any of the above has changed in that time but as far as I know it is still the same.
All I have ever wanted to do is join the police and I submitted an application at the age of 18 1/2 and didn't get so much as a thank you but no letter! At that time I had been working for two years part time and thought I had "life experience".
Now, I have been to uni, moved 120 miles from home and have been in my job for 18 months. I have also bought my own house and my own horses and have prooved to myself that I am capable of doing it all on a shoestring, visiting the horses twice a day and holding down a full time job!

I've promised myself that when I reach the top of the scale for my job (April next year, 2003) I will apply again. It was always my intention to have about two years after leaving education to have a job and some fun before having a career. Fingers crossed!!

[London Rider]

JOF,

A very informative reply (quite unlike my ramblings!) so thanks very much.

But was that a deliberate pun - substituting "manor" for "manner" ?

Manor is Police jargon (especially in London) for the area under the control of each individual police station. Its used in all those 1950s black & white cops & robbers films, and (so I'm told !!) in BBC TVs Dixon Of Dock Green.

[Jobi-Wan Kenobi]

nope, I was just typing too fast!!

Where in London do you ride?

[RoxR]

I met a young chap the other day who was on leave from the army, where he is signed up with the mounted division. He was spending his leave helping out at a local riding school.

Maybe this is an avenue you could check out? I'm afraid I don't know any more about it!

:)

[MadWoman]

I hate to say this, but the Army is the same as the Police and does not select riders for mounted training. I got to do a lot of riding with the HHC at Pirbright where they had a small detachment of horses for the recruits to ride. Those selected for the Ceremonial Troop were generally from inner cities and had not seen anything bigger than a dog before. With only 6 weeks to train them before they were trotting down the Mall, the army was finding that the first two weeks with the horses were wasted as the recruits were too frightened of the horses to learn anything, and they therefore rotated three horses through Pirbright so the recruits could ride during their basic training to get them over being scared. One of these days I'll tell you about the gymkhana I rode in using the cavalry horses - definitely different!

If you are set on riding, have you thought of either film work (mouted extras are well-paid, but need to travel a lot and have little job security), or get trained up in say, a re-enactment group, then try riding at something like the Royal Armouries or Camelot Theme Park?

[MadWoman]

Hi Shirley G,

I was in the RN and stationed at Farnborough with an MQ at Ash Vale (Keogh Close, if you know it). We had a leaflet through the door asking people to ride at Pirbright (this was about 6 years ago). The horses were not ridden much by the recruits, so they were desperate for people to ride (they employed a groom, so no help was required). We had to join the Saddle Club which was about £30, then the riding was free. I used to go down three or four lunchtimes a week and have private lessons or hack. You have to be assessed the first time you ride to see if you can hack or not, as the horses are not exactly novice rides when hacking! (the excitement of grass and trees rather than London, I think). I managed to persuade the instructor to teach me tentpegging as well - yippee!

Give Pirbright a call and ask for the stables, he's probably moved on by now, but it used to be run by Cpl of Horse 'Skip' Nichols - if he's still there give him my best - he'll remember me not just for being the mad woman who wanted to tentpeg, but also for coming off Vesta & breaking my back on New Year's eve 5 years ago. At least it livened up a boring holiday duty for him!

I think it was the HHC that made me fall in love with big black horses. The first horse I really fell for was a Blues & Royal's horse with a penchent for bucking called Union - if there was any way I could have bought him... Still, I seem to have ended up with a HHC clone for my first horse (17hh, black & Irish, doesn't mind swords!) - Skip would be delighted!

Good luck - let us know if you manage to ride there.

[qwerty]

How will the world cope without the mounted force?http://www.duhspot.com/users/smiley/s/ups/joltbolt/posticon16.gif There are always a few at the footy and I see them doing leg yeilds down the road! I don't know how they train people to such a high degree (fearless on horseback!) when they have no prior knowlege!

[ponynut]

The police mounties visited the kids at my school last year. I was so in love with the horses!
I asked them about joining out of interest. It's true you have to undergo police training and two years on the beat before you can second to the mounted division!. Some divisions also prefer non-riders to train up. :(
Saying that I got to short cut the training! The police peeps said the kids could not ride on the horses but did any teacher want a go? :D
I jumped straight on!!!:cool: :cool: Cantered round the playing field (without hat)!!:cool: :D

[larri]

Aww Ponynut you've just taken me back to being 6 years old!!
We had the mounted police visit my primary school and because I was so totally obsessed ( and the loudest:o ) I got to ride the horse round the playing field :D

For years that was what I wanted to do, but ended up as a stud groom instead....funny old world ;)
Thanx for the memory!

[ponynut]

Yep that was last January. It was great for me too!
Keep my horses just by the Police Stables- they are so immaculate! I daren't say hi when I'm on my mud caked pony:( !
I just keep my memory of my canter!

Not proud of this. But because I was so envious as they arrived I slammed the gate and made one of the horses spook like mad! Felt bad afterwards!:rolleyes: