The horses and riders of the Kamloops
Mounted Patrol strike a pose
A Western Welcome
For 28 years, the Kamloops mounted Patrol has wowed guests
on rocky mountaineer By Mel RothenBuRgeR
a concrete pedestal in Riverside Park took many
hours to perfect—some guests initially mistake
the group for a statue.
Team members have to handle a lot of distrac-
tions, including noisy trains, soccer balls and,
yes, clinging kids.
There’s a notable exception to these good
manners—that was when Rocky Mountaineer
founder Peter armstrong stepped off the train
and had his suit and tie sneezed on by Wanless’s
horse. They had a good laugh about it.
The incident obviously did nothing to dimin-
ish Rocky Mountaineer’s appreciation of the
Mounted Patrol. Rocky Mountaineer guests enjoy
the chance to chat with the riders, pet the horses
and have photos taken. The company and the City
of Kamloops have enthusiastically supported it
from the beginning, and the relationship shows
no sign of waning.
When a toddler grabbed a horse by the hind leg
and wouldn’t budge, neither did the horse. at that
moment, Rick Wanless knew all his training had
paid off for the Kamloops Mounted Patrol.
Wanless is the founder, wrangler, trainer
and main grunt worker for the ever-popular
ambassador team that greets most eastbound
Rocky Mountaineer trains as they roll into Kam-
loops several times a week during the summer
season. The Patrol has been going for 28 years.
The horses live on Wanless’s idyllic 20-hectare
(50-acre) Hacienda Caballo, a riverside property
north of Kamloops. You can see it as the train
passes Mile 128 on the Jasper run. There, Wan-
less trains both horses and up to a dozen riders,
teaching them the special kind of teamwork
needed to work around crowds and tourists.
Wanless cautions that there’s no such thing as
a “bomb-proof” horse. Horses are prey animals,
which means their instinct is to flee a threaten-
ing situation, and training them to act against
their intuitive panic takes time and kindness.
He prefers a natural form of horsemanship,
building trust through training that includes an
obstacle-like course designed to instill calm and
control. The pose that one equine trio strikes atop
36 Rocky Mountaineer Magazine 2018