Posted: 10/4/05
Dakota Countyís mounted patrol team scores perfect
by Laura Adelmann
Thisweek Newspapers
A team of Dakota Countyís volunteer mounted patrol officers earned first place in the Midwest Mounted Patrol competition, ending Meeker Countyís four-year winning streak.
Representing Dakota County in the mid-September competition were Mounted Patrol team captain Wendy Pressnall riding her Quarter Horse ìRusty,î Mary Delzer with her Arabian, ìDesi,î and Jean Fredlund on ìSinclair,î a Missouri Foxtrotter. Working together, they earned the team competition top honor.
ìThis is like the world series,î said County Sheriff Department Sgt. Dan Scheuermann who oversees the mounted patrol. ìItís statewide and regional recognition.î
Additionally, Dakota County Mounted Patrol officer, Susan Graves and her horse Zak, won an individual award (third place for novice individual obstacle), as did Delzer (second for novice individual obstacle) and Pressnall (third advanced individual obstacle).
Competition, both individual and group, involved real-life test scenarios like crowd control, orienteering, and obstacles.
Dakota County instituted a mounted patrol in 1976 to help maintain law and order and promote goodwill, according to the countyís Web site.
Volunteers, all horse lovers, receive training to provide security during community events like the county fair.
Scheuermann described mounted patrol officers as the departmentís ìeyes and ears.î
ìAt our county fair when we have fights, theyíll see it before we see it because theyíre up and about,î he said.
Mounted patrol members represent the department, but donít have full arrest powers.
ìThey let us know whatís going on,î said Scheuermann.
During competition, tests were given involving sensory distractions horse and riders regularly encounter when navigating large events: crowds, litter, loud noises, helicopters and sirens.
Mounted patrol group competitors were judged on how the horses reacted to both distractions and the obstacles as well as how the rider reacted with their horse.
In the group competition, Dakota County earned a perfect score, and was awarded a large traveling trophy.
ìThey couldnít find a thing wrong,î smiled Delzer, noting that Meeker County was the team to beat, having earned the award consecutively for the last four years.
When it was announced the Dakota County team won, said Delzer, ìI started squealing like a school girl.î
Enthusiasm isnít a trait any of the volunteers are lacking.
After mounted patrol members drove trucks with horse trailers into the fairgrounds for a recent photo session, they hurriedly unloaded horses and equipment, as laughter echoed through the fairgrounds.
Patrol members shared competition memories as they brushed their horses, fussing with their saddles and arranging ribbons for a photograph before the sunlight faded.
Pressnallís miniature pincher jumped out of a truck, springing between and around the horses, who calmly observed, unconcerned, as a little dog frantically raced in no particular direction.
Fredlund, the warrant officer (secretary/treasurer), said she and her horse have been working in Dakota County parks a lot this summer, patrolling and watching for anyone who might need assistance.
Scheuermann said the park mounted patrols began this year, after the Sheriffís Department merged with the County Parks Department to handle park management issues.
ìWe wanted to show that we would be there more,î said Scheuermann.
The patrol members are also trained as basic first responders, march in parades and help with search and rescue, often the most difficult part of the job.
Delzer remembers her first call searching for a body.
Joined in a line along a swampy area, searchers were called to a stop by a member who found a section of intestine.
Queasy, Delzer watched as the officer used a stick to lift the long section further out of the water.
The organ, it turned out, belonged to a beaver.
Although relieved, Delzer remained nauseous for much of the remaining time she helped search.
Pressnall said search and rescue is her least favorite part of the job because there are obviously bad circumstances surrounding the situation.
But with a decade of involvement in mounted patrol, she loves the job, certain since childhood that she wanted to be in the mounted patrol.
Pressnallís father, Glen Pressnall, was a Dakota County Sheriff Deputy and her mother, Cassie Pressnall, was a mounted patrol warrant officer for 22 years.
Glen even had a two-year stint as a mounted patrol officer.
ìI never wanted to be a police officer,î Pressnall said, ìbut I like being connected to them. I enjoy riding and I like giving back to the community.î
Graves has ridden horses for years, and joined in April, following a friendís suggestion.
ìI have been in love with horses forever and was looking for something good to do,î said Graves.
She is enjoying her experience, and loved the mounted patrol competition, but she added it was exhausting.
ìI have a lot of respect for the officers that ride every day. It takes a lot of stamina,î Graves said.
Dakota Countyís Mounted Patrol officers may not have daily patrols, but each must regularly participate in patrol activities and attend monthly training sessions.
Through the regular contact, shared interests and a love for horses, the volunteers have built a strong camaraderie.
Each juggles work schedules and family commitments to be involved in mounted patrol, but itís not a sacrifice, it is a shared passion.
ìIím a dental hygienist by trade,î Fredlund said, ìso this is like the furthest thing from what I do all day for a living. Iím really proud of it, so talk about it to my patients and have a picture at the dental office of what I do on the weekends.î
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