Our History - Save the Cleveland Mounted Police

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Your contributions are bedding and feeding our police horses. Purchased by the Cleveland Mounted Police Charitable Trust, 495 bags of bedding, 40 bags or oats, 40 bags of feed supplement, and 426 bales (13 tons) or hay were delivered to the King-Otis Stables. Neighboring Howmet Tempcraft, Inc. generously contributed equipment and time of two employees to unload and stack the delivery. Thank you! Cleveland Mounted Police

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Cleveland Mounted Police History

The Cleveland Mounted Police have a rich history that spans over 100 years. Below is a timeline of events that add to this unit's endurance in the community.

Although horses were used in police work from the City's inception in 1836, the current Mounted Unit traces its roots to the Cleveland Cavalry, formed in 1877. In 1895, its name was changed to Troop A, 107th Cavalry Regiment, Ohio National Guard, but it was popularly known as the Black Horse Troop.

Most accounts date the formation of the Mounted Police Unit to the years 1905-1909, when Police Chief Fred Kohler borrowed two horses and assigned two patrolmen to mounted patrol.

At its peak in 1932, the Cleveland Mounted Police numbered 85 horses and patrolmen. By 1948, the Unit was divided into three troops: Troop A, which patrolled downtown and formed the drill team; Troop B, which patrolled the East Side park system; and Troop C, which patrolled Edgewater Park and the shoreline. As late as 1965, the Unit contained 56 horses.

In 1933, the Unit won the International Drill Team Championship at the Chicago World's Fair, defeating precision riding teams from around the world.

Download and read the article entitled "Big Kentucky Thoroughbred Is Cleverest, Fastest, Gentlest Animal in the Department Stables" published in the Cleveland News circa 1904.

(PDF format - 800k)

In 1946, the Unit represented the United States at the International Horse Show in Mexico City. The riders so impressed the president of Mexico that he made each man an honorary member of the Mexican National Police Force.

Parade on Payne Avenue - 1950
(click on the image to see larger version)

The Unit marched in President Warren G. Harding's inaugural parade in 1921. It later marched in his funeral procession.

In 1953, the Unit marched in President Dwight D. Eisenhower's inaugural parade.(see photo below)

Eisenhower Inaugural Parade - 1953
(click on the image to see larger version)

The Unit was invited to march in President Ronald Reagan's 1985 inaugural parade, but a minus-40-degree wind-chill factor forced its cancellation.

	Invitation to President Ronald Reagan's Inaugural Parade (click on the image to see larger version)
Browns vs. Broncos in the 1986 Championship Playoff - and the Cleveland Mounted Police were there! (click on the image to see larger version)

In 1989, the Cleveland Mounted Police was the only mounted police unit invited to march in the inaugural parade of George H.W. Bush after the parade committee ranked it No. 1 in the Country.

1989 Bush Inaugural Parade
(click on the image to see larger version)

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brian@clevelandmountedpolice.com

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