Mounted Police – NSW

His name is Hollywood and to Sen-Constable Sue Thompson he really is a star. The 19-year-old bay gelding is Sen-Constable Thompson’s horse in the NSW Mounted Police unit.

Thompson has been in the police service for 17 years and joined the NSW Mounted Police unit more than 15 months ago.

Thompson explains that a horse is deemed the equivalent of 10 police on the ground, makes police more visible, and is useful to help control situations such as demonstrations. She also believes the horses help open communication between people and the police.

“A lot of people will actually come up and talk to you when you are on a horse rather than if you are just a police officer walking around.

“A lot of the kids like to come up and pat the animals and ask you questions about their names and how old they are.

“You are not just seen as an officer in blue, you are actually there working with an animal.” To be accepted into the mounted police, Thompson says officers have to have at least two to three years in general duties as a police officer, as well as complete a fitness test and a riding assessment. Once accepted, officers go through rigorous training for up to six months.

“Even though we are all capable riders, we all still have lessons from our three instructors here. That’s how we work out combinations of horse and rider,” she says. “Everyone has to be able to ride each horse here in the unit.

“You do have a primary horse, which is your responsibility but then you have three or four other horses that you tend to.”

And that includes things like mucking out stables, washing, grooming and exercising horses, as well as cleaning and taking care of tack, such as saddles and bridles.
“You don’t just come to work and jump on a horse, you have actually got a lot of other bits and pieces to do,” Thompson says.

And it’s not just the riders that are put through their paces. The horses also go through some meticulous training exercises.

As well as being specially selected, Thompson says horses go through “nuisance training”, to introduce them to sounds and sights they may experience while on patrol.

“I had thought about it [the mounted police] when I first joined the police but the opportunity never came up, but when I got down here I absolutely loved it,” she says.

“There are 33 of us here so it is a nice, tight-knit unit and everyone has the common interest and love of working with the horses. It’s just a totally different side of policing.”

How to be …a mounted police officer
You usually have to be a general duties officer for three years, pass a fitness test and a riding examination.

More information, 1800 222 122 or police.nsw.gov.au