(L-R) Mounted Section OIC Senior Sergeant Glen Potter, PH William, Constable Erin Pulham, PH Blaze, Senior Constable Jason Burnham, PH Ralph, Senior Constable Brett Hockey and PH Bluey with Constable Kristy Stephen.

Senior Sergeant Glen Potter and Acting Sergeant Kerrie Bennett travelled to NSW recently, viewing a number of prospective horses for recruitment to the Mounted Section.

“Finding a horse suitable for mounted operations is extremely difficult in WA,” Senior Sergeant Potter said. “We need horses with draught breeding for strength and size while at the same time they must be cross-bred with a lighter breed for agility. This provides us with horses that can take the rigours of operational policing,” he said.

“It’s not uncommon for mounted officers to be in the saddle over long periods. Time in the saddle does impact on the horse’s wellbeing and as a consequence we need them to be particularly strong. Unfortunately the WA horse market is small and the numbers of suitable police horses here are similarly low,” Senior Sergeant Potter said.

Successful candidates police horse (PH) Bluey and PH Ralph were born and raised in the rough country of Bingara, north of Tamworth. While only three years old, both already tower above their handlers and will continue to grow for at least another three years.

PH Blaze and PH William are both from Millers Forrest, near Maitland, NSW. They are six years of age and have been ridden competitively in NSW. Senior Sergeant Potter expects these two to be seen in the suburbs and Northbridge very shortly, assisting beat officers to deal with antisocial behaviour.  “This takes the WA Police Mounted Section to 27 operational and semi-operational (remount) horses, maintaining the unit’s ability to support  the frontline right across Western Australia, now and into the future,” he said.

“WA has the only totally frontline mounted unit and we cover the largest policing jurisdiction in the world, with officers deploying as far away as Broome each year to assist Regional WA officers with large events and antisocial operations,” he said. “With CHOGM under our belt, and increased public order capacity as a result, the Mounted Section continues to play an essential role in frontline operations. It won’t be long before PH William, Blaze, Bluey and Ralph will be in the thick of it.”