The Royal Canadian Mounted Police will arrive in Emo this week to show off their formation horseback riding skills.
Given the police force’s name, horses have been integral to the RCMP since its inception as the North-West Mounted Police (NWMP) in the 1800s. In 1886 performances at the training grounds of the NWMP in Regina were the first musical rides.
As the 1900s began they started to bring the Musical Ride to various other locations, according to the RCMP website the first time it was performed outside of western Canada was on July 28, 1908 in Quebec City for the city’s 300th anniversary celebrations.
“Musical Rides were cancelled in 1914 at the outbreak of the First World War and were not held again until 1920. In that year, the now-Royal North-West Mounted Police absorbed the Dominion Police, the federal police force for Eastern Canada, and became the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP),” the website says.
Since the First World War the Musical Ride has been all over the world including the UK, Japan, Bermuda, and the United States.
Now according to the website: “The Musical Ride performs in up to 50 communities across Canada each year between the months of May and October. It travels to each province once every 4 years to ensure as many Canadians as possible can experience this spectacle.”
Its current schedule is 2024: Manitoba and Ontario, 2025: Alberta, Quebec and Northwest Territories, 2026: British Columbia, Ontario and the Yukon, 2027: Saskatchewan and the Atlantic provinces.
The Rainy River Valley Agricultural Society is hosting the Musical Ride at the Emo Fairgrounds all day on Wednesday with gates opening at noon. Admission is by a free will donation with proceeds going back to the fairgrounds.
From noon the horse barn will be open allowing people to go in and meet the horses and their riders. There will also be food vendors available including Talk on the Stree Eatery, Lou’s Sweet Treats and Tess’s Kitchen. There will be a vendor market in the exhibition all and the Early Iron Car Club will have cars on display.
From 1 p.m. there will be kids face painting available and at 3 p.m. the RCMP will make a Red Serge visit to Emo Health Care and Golden Age Manor.
At 6:30 there will be pre-show entertainment featuring Phil Schramm, Alexis Latter, Reese Kuchma and Kingston Smith.
The horse show gets underway at 7:30 and afterwards there will be a meet and greet with the RCMP riders and their horses.
The show takes place at the horse arena in the Emo Fairgrounds, there have been some new spectator stands added but organizers are asking people to bring folding chairs as well.
There will be gates open on Colonization Rd. and on Adelaide St. with parking on those two streets as well as wherever needed. Accessible parking is available on Colonization Rd. and the Facebook page says a volunteer will bring those in need to the site via side-by-side donated by Tompkins Outdoors for use during the event.
For more information you can visit Emo Fair – Rainy River Valley Agricultural Society on Facebook.
