Posse on Patrol
They wear badges and ride on horseback, but members of this posse are not out of the Old West.
Instead, the group includes doctors, teachers — even truck drivers who volunteer at public events.
As members of the Butler County Mounted Posse, the 40-plus uniformed men and women ride for show in parades and celebrations. They sometimes help out at festivals and fairs. When needed, they also assist the sheriff.
"It's like being in the reserves in the Army," said Sheriff Dennis Rickard, who has been sheriff for 25 of the posse's 34 years in existence.
"The horse posse isn't really activated unless there's an emergency," he said.
Emergencies might include patrolling during natural disasters in areas where vehicles can't maneuver. The emergencies might include search and rescue.Since posse members are usually not trained as law officers, they help rather than enforce, Rickard said."We are an auxiliary group to the sheriff's department," explained Kent Shoemaker, posse captain for the last 12 years."We are not a police force, nor do we want to be a police force," he explained. "We're not trained in police work. We train in safety, being around crowds.""If (the sheriff) ever needs us for whatever reason, he can call on us. That would be our first obligation."Shoemaker, of Forward Township, has belonged to the posse for 14 years. His wife, Josie, is also a member.Shoemaker said the posse participates in annual events like the Spirit of Christmas Parade in Butler. It also makes annual appearances at the Parts-O-Rama shows, the Portersville Steam Show and the Butler Farm Show.The group also has done patrol work outside the county, most recently at the Stoneboro Fair during Labor Day week in Mercer County.In such instances, posse members do anything from directing traffic to parking cars."Whatever they need us to, we'll help out," Shoemaker said. "We help people find restrooms, find cars — find first aid. We're there to assist people."
Shoemaker said although the posse is not a law enforcement unit, its presence can enhance event security."The idea there is to be seen and to see. We sit up so much higher than most cars. ... We see out over the people, and people know we're there. Security tells us that just our being there prevents a lot of things."As well as performing helping tasks, the feel-good element of live horses also is a benefit."There's an almost endless number of people that come up and ask, 'Can we pet your horses?'"That's good," Shoemaker added. "We enjoy that, too."Although natural disasters and lost children are somewhat uncommon in Butler County, members of the posse recall being summoned during the 1980s, when a wave of tornadoes swept through the area.Red Gilliland, the group's oldest active member, described patrolling a cemetery in Evans City after the tornadoes had destroyed a mausoleum, leaving corpses exposed on the grounds.
"The mausoleum blew apart, and they were out there in the open," he said, adding the posse's job in that situation was to prevent entrance into the cemetery.The posse also patrolled affected neighborhoods near Knoch High School to help deter looting, he added.Shoemaker said the posse was also once charged with finding a loose bull that was roaming free and breeding cattle in the county."They did find it," he noted.<B>Prep and practice</B>If a person has riding skills and a suitable horse and transportation, they are eligible to apply for posse membership. New members are considered when vacancies occur in the pool of 40 active riders.Although many of the riders live in Butler County, members sometimes join from surrounding areas where sheriff's posses are not in place."Mostly, the horse and the rider both have to have experience. You have to have the desire to serve," Shoemaker said of the criteria for joining.Since the posse is self-funded, paying for uniforms and other gear with income from donations, members must have the equipment needed to trailer their animals to events. Participating in a certain number of events is also mandatory, Shoemaker said.Pending a satisfactory background check, posse applicants undergo a vote for acceptance."If they're accepted into the posse, they go through a year of probation training," Shoemaker added.That entails attending monthly meetings, riding in events and completing an annual training session.
The training is offered by posse quartermaster Norm Abbott and his wife, Cheryl, who breed and train horses on their farm in Cherry Township. Cheryl and the couple's 25-year-old son Chris also ride with the posse.The purpose of the training is to expose horses to as much commotion as possible, with the idea the animals will be conditioned to remain calm in noisy crowds, Abbott said.The exposure can include anything from popping balloons to gunshots to prerecorded music from marching bands."The more they are exposed to the less chance of them getting excited when they're at an event," Shoemaker said.Posse secretary Janice Lawniczak of Brady Township said her horse was initially afraid of kites, but no longer reacts to airborne objects since participating in the clinics."She's pretty much fine with everything," Lawniczak said.<B>Revolvers to radios</B>Although having a horse is key to joining the posse, keeping that horse is not a requirement.As members age or otherwise lose their ability to ride, they sometimes continue to participate on foot.Wearing six silver stars on his uniform — one for every five years of service —Gilliland, soon to turn 76, said he often walks, but is willing to ride if a horse is available.Never having owned a horse during his membership, Gilliland joined under atypical circumstances: He was spotted in a prospector's costume during a bicentennial parade.
The costume earned him an invitation to march with the posse while leading a mule.The prospector's costume later transformed into a mountain man suit, and eventually Gilliland was granted official membership, subsequently wearing a standard uniform. Friends in the posse provided a horse."I was born and raised on a farm: Riding wasn't anything new to me," he said of the unusual circumstance of not having his own mount — which probably wouldn't happen today.Also unlike today's posse rules, Gilliland said in the early years members were authorized to carry guns as part of their service. Nowadays, laws and liability issues limit the posse's scope of service. Radios and cell phones are carried instead.Although Gilliland is trained as a sheriff's deputy, he shares the priorities of fellow members: to serve the community alongside friends.In working so many fairs and events, Gilliland cited the example of his longtime practice of riding with jumper cables draped over his saddle to help stranded event goers."Everybody laughed, 'Red, how are you gonna jump a car with that horse?'" he mused, adding cars were always readily available."It's been an interesting 30-some years," he said.Other posse members share Gilliland's enthusiasm, saying they enjoy helping others as well as the camaraderie formed with fellow equestrians."The people come from every walk of life," Shoemaker noted. ... We have truck drivers, we have electrical engineers. It just amazes me. You have this common bond. That's where you relate, is the horses. It's a nice group of people, and some of it becomes social.""Posse people and horse people are real nice people to be around," agreed Cheryl Abbott. "You get to ride and help people out all at the same time.""It's always nice to ride for yourself for pleasure," Shoemaker added. "But it's nice to ride for others. That's what it is: It's volunteer work."For more information on the Butler County Mounted Posse, call 724-586-9133 or send an e-mail to shoefly180@earthlink.net.
