Horses in the Richmond Mounted Unit are housed in a stable on Brook Road. (Photo by Adam DuBrueler)
The horses of the Richmond Mounted Unit reside in a stable adjacent to a Chamberlayne Avenue overpass. When trains pass through on the nearby tracks, their air horns fill the structure with noise.
The building was condemned more than 16 years ago. Frustrated by the lack of progress in replacing it, retired Richmond police officer Glenwood Burley formed a committee (consisting of the Richmond, Capitol and Virginia Commonwealth University police chiefs, in addition to a group of liaisons) in June 2017 to find a new home for the horses. Currently, only Richmond police have a mounted unit, but a new stable would give the other departments an opportunity to buy horses and rent stalls.
Poor ventilation and air pollution from vehicles and trains pose a health risk at the current stable; the conditions could make the horses more susceptible to respiratory infections, notes Dr. Thomas Newton, a veterinarian and committee liaison. Newton doesn’t currently treat the horses, but he says he once served as the unit’s veterinarian.
“There can be a lot of underlying issues that make a horse less healthy, less thrifty,” Newton says. “Over the years, we’ve gone through a lot of different horses just because [of] the strenuous nature of the job of working on the streets every day, the horses don’t hold up a long time there. They have to be retired after a few years.”
Established in 1894, the mounted unit is among the oldest in the country. The stable, at 1201 Brook Road, has housed the unit since 1972.
“There was no question that the barn situation was in dire need of being addressed,” Burley says. “It’s a little piece of ground underneath the Chamberlayne overpass.”
Soon, the unit will have better accommodations, which Newton says might prolong the horses' careers. A site near Gillies Creek Park was recently chosen as the location for a new stable. According to plans developed by the city's Urban Design Committee, the 10,000-square-foot facility with a $1.5 million estimated budget will include a larger parking lot for visitors and staff, in addition to training space for the horses. During the last two years, the city approved a total of $778,000 in capital improvement funds for the project.
Friends of the Richmond Mounted Squad, a nonprofit dedicated to helping the unit, has raised $80,000 in the past year. Leslie Buck, the group’s president, says even if the city were to cover the entirety of the new stable’s cost, there are ongoing needs, such as medical care and equipment, that the nonprofit’s funds would cover. Without the Friends of the Richmond Mounted Squad, she says running the unit might be a struggle.
“I would be concerned with how the unit would survive," she says. "I think it would survive, [but] I think it would not be where they are, moving in the direction of the new facility.”
Officer Gene Carter with his unit horse, Toby (Photo by Adam DuBrueler)
In the mounted unit, the horses’ needs come first, says Richmond police officer Gene Carter. He rides Toby, a draft horse in the unit.
Most days, the unit divides up and patrols sectors of the city, often in high-crime areas. The officers stop cars and make arrests, usually between one and three per day. Carter says few situations require him to dismount, while the size of the horses is a deterrent for anyone “acting up.”
“Things go a little bit smoother and easier with these guys. You just have to get the mechanics of [riding],” Carter says.
Officer Amanda Acuff rides Scooter, a quarter horse she picked out upon joining the unit in 2011 with years of riding experience. She says a new location would allow the unit to do more training. The current location’s riding ring isn’t sufficient, so the unit travels 25 minutes to Dorey Park in Henrico to train.
To Acuff, the experience of serving on the mounted unit differs from riding for pleasure.
“It’s the same enjoyment, but you become really close with these animals, a little closer than with a competition horse, because you spend so much time with them,” Acuff says. “It’s a true partnership.”
The mounted unit has the highest level of citizen contact of any unit in the department. During a five-hour patrol, Carter says it’s not uncommon for him to have “genuine conversations” with about 30 people, many of whom recognize the horses and officers from previous encounters. Despite the fact that the stable is “out of the way,” Carter says the unit welcomes visitors. He’s stayed late for people who want to see the horses.
“I’m looking forward to the next area for them that’s even better suited for them,” Carter says. “That’s just because these [horses] work so hard for us, for this city.”
