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The Wingham Advance-Times, 1984-07-04, Page 16• .Qvii „. 14 • / • eatu -es. and entertainment Serving over 24,000 homes in Listowel, Wingham, Mount Forest, MilveAton, Aries, Arthur, Drayton, Hprriston, Moorefield, Palmerston, Bloomingdale, Bieslau, Conestogo, Elmira, Heidelberg, Lirnavoed, Maryhill, St. elements, St. Jacobs, Wallenstein, Wellesley, and West Montrose. Wednesday, July 4, 1984 Famed RCMP° Musical Ride coming to Teeswater this weekend. • byQflenry Hess For members of the Teeswater Agricultural Society it is a dream Come true, while for residents here in Western Ontario it may be the spec- tacle of a lifetime. "It" is the acclaimed Musical Ride of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, which will be ,coming to the Teeswater fairgrounds this Saturday, July 7, as the climax to an afternoon of .special entertainment. The afternoon will also feature the Royal Canadian Legion' Pipe and Drum Band and the Waterloo Regional Police Band as well as a showing of antique cars. But the Musical,Ride, performed by a special troop of 'Mounties and their trained horses, will be the piece de resistance. And for Teeswater it will mark the climax of years of effort, planning — and waiting. It has been almost a dozen years since the agricultural society first started discussing the plan to bring the Musical Ride to this area, repoottd Irene Smyth, the group's secretary - treasurer. They quickly discovered it is not something to be arranged on short notice; it took several years just to find the right contact .person in Ottawa. About seven years ago the society made a formal bid to host the Ride, and its efforts began to bear fruit two years ago when S -Sgt. G. S. Ogilvie, the riding,. master for the troop, visited Teeswater to determine whether its grounds and g. erns were suitable for the Ride and for tabling , the horses. It passed. with flying colors and was put on file until a tour would be available for this area, perhaps in 1985 or '86. For tour purposes, an RCMP booklet A FAMILIAR FORMATION which is part pf the repertoire of the famous RCMP Musical Ride is "The Dome". Formed by a full troop pf 32 riders, Jesplendant in their distinctive scarlet tunics and. Stetson hats and carrying colorful pageant that is the Musical Ride, with 1VP6unties in traditional uniform and carrying lances mounted on:their specially -bred black Inirses. The origins of the Ride are lost in history, but probably trace back to the development of early cavalry for- mations for use in battle. This type of drill probably was developed into its formal setting by British troops stationed in India, and brought by them trriftriarta-anti- the - N,orth- Wes t Mounted Police: Legend has it the first Musical Ride was performed as early as 1876; the first recordedperformance of the Ride, however, was at Regina in 1887 and it • was put on public "display for the first time in 1904, winning. immediate ac- claim during performances at Win- nipeg, Brandon, Qu'Appelle and Regina. In those days the Ride was performed by 20 NCOs and men. Now it is per- formed by a full troop of 32 riders and , horses. As described in the official booklet, The RCMP.,.Its Horses, Its Riders, "It consists in the execution of a variety of intricate figures and movements, set to music of an ap- propriate tempo. "Demanding utmost control, timing and coordination, these figures are forrned by individual horses and riders, in twos, fours and eight's at the trot and at the canter:" "Some of the more familiar Ride formations are: The Bridal Arch, the "X", the Shanghai Cross, the Maze and the Dome. The highlight of each per- formance ,is the Charge, when the crimson -topped lances are lowered and men and horses move forward at the gallop. The conclusion of the per- formance is the March Past, performed to the strains of the Force'sRegimental March and the Musical Ride traditionally salutes the guest of honour." explains, Canada has been dMded into seven geographical areas, and long- range planning provides a tour to each. area every four years. Teeswater expected to have to wait another y,ear or two for its turn to come up,. however due to a cancellation of a performance in Moncton, New Bruns- wick, an opportunity arose to have the Ride this summer, and the society grabbed it. MAIY REQUIREMENTS Many requirements must be met before approval is given to host the Musical Ride. The society must provide suitable. stabling for 36 horses as well as specified feed: 2,000 -pounds of No. 1 hay, 90 per. cent timothy,; 120 bales of straw and 1,000 pounds of No. 1 western recleaned whole oats. It also must have a performance site at least 100 by 200 feet With grass or dirt surface and a watering facility, and the group must arrange for other en- tertainment to accompany the Ride as well as for a guest of honor to receive the ceremonial salute, and provide an announcer and public address system. Although Teeswater is certainly one of the smaller ,centres to host the Musical Ride, its spacious fairgrounds, large barns and grandstand make it ideal for the purpose, Mrs. Smyth noted, and the society has been able to satisfy the other requirements as well. ORIGINS LOS'p IN HISTORY The. Mounty in his scarlet tunic and Stetson hat has become a familiar symbol of Canada. throughout the world, and perhaps nowhere is this shown to better advantage than in the ALL OVER THE COUNTRY Over the years, the popularity of the Musical Ride has been such that it is in growing demand all over the world. Its past tours have taken the men and horses to every Canadian province, mosrstates of the USA and to Belgium, Denmark, Germany; Holland, Swit- zerland, England, Ireland, France, Japan and Bern/tida. jtequests are received each year from"all parts of Canada and many areas in the US and Europe. The requests are catalogued and filed and every effort is made to include them in the next visit of the Ride to that specific area. Moving 42 people and 36 horses together with all their equipment around the country is no small task. For • members of the Ride, touring means. living out of suitcases while traveling thousands of miles each year by air- craft, truck or bus. ° Both horses and riders occasionally find themselves in some extraordina,ry accommodations. During Queen. Elizabeth's coronation. in 1953, for in- stance, the men camped in tents in London's Hyde Park, while the horses have found themselves bedded down in makeshift stables in arenas and parking garages. • Every effort is made, to obtain stabling which is .accessible to the • general public, to take advantage of the personal contact this affords. The ,public is invited to ,visit and view the • horses for two hour § before and again after the show. SPECIALLY -BRED HORSES' The famed black 'horses of the Musical Ride are no,accident of nature: • Since 1942 the RCMP has beentre ng its own stock, first at Fort Wa Ir in Saskatchewan and, starting in 1968, at Pakenham, Ontario. The development. of the blood line lances with red -and -white pennons, trained black horses, this formation is $50 banknotes. closely parallels the Canadian Hunter, and is derived from a Thoroughbred stallion crossed with black Mares of good conformation, size and qnality. An interesting note is that each year's foals are given nameStgarting with the same letter of the alphabet. The letter "A" was used in 1961, followed by subsequent,.letters in succeeding years. For reasons of practicality some let- ters, including "I", "Q" "U", "V.'', "Y" 'and "Z", were not used to naine the current stock. mounted on their specially bred and reproduced on the back of Canadian Young RCMP horses, referred to as remounts — a military term for a, troop mount's replacement — begin their training at three years of age and continue until they are five and a half. From the first day, emphasis is placed on gaining the horse's confidence, followedby saddle training and the more demanding exercises. By the time they join the Musical Ride, the young hors,,es'must be equally competent in all three phases of training:. school work, cross country and jumping. The ages of horses used in the Ride vary from six to 24, and their discipline is such that they accept: all sorts of irregularities. They stand at attention during long ceremonies and parades and are able to cope with brass bands and all sorts of moving objects. Horses do, however, -develop their own personalities, and sofne are renowned for -their distinctive uirks. One such was Lucky, who during 21 years of service appointed himself as the disciplinarian for both horses and riders: As reported in the RCMP booklet, "Many recruits were' embarassed when Lucky would move out of troop for- mation and freeze, despite attempts made by his rider to regain proper position., Lucky would wait patiently as the line passed until he identified the horse that had kicked or nipped him earlier, deliver his well -aimed hind feet to the offender's rib area, then trot placidly back to his place in the troop. "Riders who might jerk the bit a little too hard were aldo. the recipients of Lucky" S wrath. The first occasion would be accepted; on the second,' however, Lucky's head and neck would disappear between his front legs a-nd the inconsiderate rider would be deposited in the dirt." • TIRAINING THE RIDERS At one time all RCMP recruits were trained in equitation as part -of their basic training. "Old timers felt that if a man could overcome any problem encountered in the stables, he would surely make a good policeman," the booklet explains. So, long after the Force ceased using horses as its basic method of transportation, recruits still were drilled in this skill. In 1966 the Force discontinued training every recruit in equitation, and today only those members who have volunteered for the Musical Ride • receive this training. Volunteers begin • with a course in basic equitation lasting for two months. Eighteen candidates who successfully ,complete this phase are considered for the Ride and take an additional six-month intermediate course. At the conclusion of this second course, the 18 new riders take the places of 18 who have completed their two years and the newly -formed Ride troop commences training for the coming year's tour. , The volunteers serve for two years on the Ride, afterward returning to regular police duties. • For both horses and men, the climax of all this training is the. spectacular pageant of sound and color that is the Musical Ride, and it will all be on display at the Teeswater fairgrounds this weekend. 'THE BRIDAL ARCH is another Of the formationused 'by the Royal Canadian Ride Consists of the execution of a variety of intricate figures and Mounted Police in their famed Musical Ride coming this weekend to the movements, set to music of an appropriate tempo. Teeswater fairgrounds. Performed by a full troop of riders and horses, the ••••••••••••••••••••••....1001., a 7 sr.