Dancing Hooves At RCMP Musical Ride Show

LEGS MOVED NIMBLY and gracefully to the beat at the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) Musical Ride event I attended at Semiahmoo Park last weekend.

Everyone seemed to have a camera in hand on what was a challenging day for picture takers like me who were at ground level.

There was barely a cloud in the sky that evening and the sun blazed like a high wattage bulb with no lampshade to take the glare off.

Several hundreds of onlookers encircled the performers, creating a busy background for photographs.

The horses made a strikingly beautiful contrast to their scarlet counterparts but their ebony shade melded into one indistinguishable black blot at times.

I wondered how their flexible hooves so tightly knit together avoided getting tangled. I imagined the dust and heat (it had been record-breaking hot and rainless in BC) was tough on the 32 riders and horses.

The troop sometimes performed cavalry drills in groups of four reminding me a little of square dancing. Their choreographed maneuvers created fantastic patterns, including the "Dome" once pictured in a Canadian fifty-dollar bill and best seen from a higher perspective.

I learned that a musical rider stays with the troop for only three years. The horses, on the other hand, are bred to dance and I suspect some could perform their routines in their sleep.

This 11-year-old beauty performed flawlessly despite being blind in one eye.

Straight-backed riders were affixed to their horses like gloves to a hand.

Horses seemed to prance and trot with pride exhibiting their slim silhouettes.

I noticed more women in the troop than ever before.

To have this historic display of riding capabilities, that began officially in 1887, near my neighborhood was, indeed, a thrill.

But the horses were not the only ones strutting their stuff. The amazing Crescent Beach Pipe Band also showed some leg.

The Wild Moccasin Dancers were another one of the opening acts.

Shyama-Priya danced like a butterfly as we watched enthralled.

Even when a freight train chugged down the nearby track ...

she twirled and leapt into the air in her multi-colored costume.

At the end of the event the four-legged performers dispersed and galloped to the appreciative audience waiting to pet them.

The gentle nature and patience of the horses was evident. Their riders representing all 10 provinces cheerfully answered every question.

Take a bow black beauties and red-suited riders! You certainly put on a spectacular show that is uniquely Canadian.

The troop not only entertained but also raised funds for policing in the community.

It is good to know that even though (as the saying goes) you can bring a horse to water but you can't make him drink ... you can make him dance.

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Copyright by Penelope Puddlisms