The Musical Ride of the

Royal Canadian Mounted Police The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP; french: Gendarmerie royale du Canada; french: GRC, label=none), commonly known in English as the Mounties (and colloquially in French as ) is the federal and national police service of Canada. As poli ...

is an event showcasing the

equestrian The word equestrian is a reference to equestrianism, or horseback riding, derived from Latin ' and ', "horse". Horseback riding (or Riding in British English) Examples of this are: * Equestrian sports *Equestrian order, one of the upper classes i ...

skills performed by 32 cavalry who are regular members of the force. The event is held in Canada and worldwide to promote the RCMP. The first official ride was held in 1887 in Regina, District of Assiniboia, and was commanded by Inspector William George Matthews. The Musical Ride is featured on the Canadian fifty-dollar bill of the Scenes of Canada banknote series produced from 1969 to 1979.

History

In the 1920s and 1930s, there were two cavalry units, one in Regina and one in Ottawa. The activities of the Musical Ride temporarily ceased in 1939, because of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

and did not resume until 1948. In 1966, riding on horseback ceased to be part of police duties for new members of the RCMP. The unit then moved to Pakenham, Ontario in 1968 and became a separate unit. The RCMP and the Musical Ride were all men at its foundation. The first woman was incorporated to the Ride in 1981. During its annual tour of Canada and abroad, usually from May to October, the Musical Ride visits 40 to 50 locations. Domestically, it is found every 1 July in Ottawa on Canada Day and has performed at the

Expo 67 The 1967 International and Universal Exposition, commonly known as Expo 67, was a general exhibition from April 27 to October 29, 1967. It was a category One World's Fair held in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It is considered to be one of the most su ...

, the 1976 Olympic Games in

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple ...

, the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary, and the

2010 Winter Olympics )'' , nations = 82 , athletes = 2,626 , events = 86 in 7 sports (15 disciplines) , opening = February 12, 2010 , closing = February 28, 2010 , opened_by = Governor General Michaëlle Jean , cauldron = Catriona Le May DoanNancy GreeneWayne Gret ...

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

. In 2020, as the result of the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...

, the Musical Ride first held an on-line GC Surplus auction of its surplus horses and horse semen. In former years, the biennial auction process was more tightly controlled.

Gallery

File:Musical Ride 1939 NY World Fair.jpg, RCMP horsemen performing at the

1939 World's Fair The 1939–40 New York World's Fair was a world's fair held at Flushing Meadows–Corona Park in Queens, New York, United States. It was the second-most expensive American world's fair of all time, exceeded only by St. Louis's Louisiana Purcha ...

File:Canada Day - Musical Ride.jpg, The Musical Ride performed on

Parliament Hill Parliament Hill (french: Colline du Parlement, colloquially known as The Hill, is an area of Crown land on the southern banks of the Ottawa River in downtown Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Its Gothic revival suite of buildings, and their archit ...

in Ottawa, Canada Day, 2007 File:RCMP Musical Ride Parade in Roblin.png, Musical Ride parade in

Roblin, Manitoba Roblin is an unincorporated urban community in the Municipality of Roblin, Manitoba, Canada. It is located approximately northwest of Winnipeg. Prior to 1 January 2015, Roblin was designated as a town. In 2010, the Town of Roblin and the former ...

, 1992

References

External links

RCMP Musical Ride website''The Musical Ride''
(1955 documentary film) at the

National Film Board of Canada The National Film Board of Canada (NFB; french: Office national du film du Canada (ONF)) is Canada's public film and digital media producer and distributor. An agency of the Government of Canada, the NFB produces and distributes documentary f ...

Royal Canadian Mounted Police Canadian ceremonial units Equestrianism Entertainment events in Canada Recurring events established in 1887 1887 establishments in Canada {{Canada-culture-stub