The Cochrane Posse hosted two performances of the RCMP Musical Ride last Thursday (July 18) at the Cochrane Ag grounds.

It was the first time since 2014 that the Musical Ride made an appearance in Cochrane, and what a sight it was. The spectacular afternoon and evening show featured 32 members atop horseback dressed in red serge performing military and cavalry drills to music. 

Despite Mother Nature not being overly cooperative,  Rob Cameron, Organizer, says everything went off without a hitch. "It was more than we hoped for, we exceeded our expectations. We are guessing we had 1500 people during the day, and 1200 to 1300 people in the evening. It was really good, and I was extremely pleased."

While some people complained about the biting winds, Cameron shares everyone from the riders to members of the Cochrane Pipe Band carried on without missing a beat. "The dust storm in the afternoon came in after everyone was in their seats, and while a few people left and a few complained to us, we can't control the weather. For the evening show, the Pipe Band played through that rain and hail, and they were fantastic. Then when the ride came in, the sun came out; what more could we ask for?!"

Even though the afternoon show was cut short by roughly five minutes for the horses and riders safety, most attendees never even noticed. Cameron says some riders that have been performing as part of the Musical Ride for a number of years shared their thoughts. "Several of them have been here before back in 2014, so it was nice to reacquaint with them. Some of the guys that have been on the ride for the past four or five years, said they have never performed in such bad weather in the afternoon as we had; but they're professionals, and the show went on." 

Giving a tip of his hat to all those that made the event a success, Cameron shares a group of volunteers from Bow Valley Baptist Church amazed him. "They were all from Oklahoma; they had never been to Canada before, had no idea what the Mounted Police was, never even heard of the Musical Ride, and yet they were all their volunteering with us to make this a success. I was awestruck that we had tourists help us out."

Even though Cameron is no stranger to hosting events, he did say this ride compared to the one he organized in 2014, was far more stressful. Less money, less commitment, and less fundraising meant more stress on his part. "It was a hard slog with sponsorship, but we knew when we were going in that it was tough economic times. In the past, most of our sponsorship and support has come in from small businesses, but our small business community can't really afford to spend a lot of money anymore, their bottom line is just trying to keep their employees employed and to stay afloat. But there is still the hardcore few in Cochrane that have supported us since 2003 when we first brought the ride to town. My hat is off to the people in Cochrane."

While the total dollar figure has not been finalized quite yet, Cameron is looking forward to presenting proceeds from the event to Cochrane and Area Victim Services, Cochrane Search and Rescue, The Cochrane Roping Club, and the Lindsay Leigh Kimmett Memorial Foundation.