Mounted rangers on patrol

THE Everton Mounted Horse Rangers were a sight to see as they set off on their first official patrol on Sunday, 8 September around the Everton area.

The aim of the patrol was to test the reaction of motorists to the horses. “It was amazing to the see the behaviour of the cars towards the horses – they slowed down and stayed to the side of the road and stuck to the 40km/hr limit,” said Everton resident, Richard Hancox the founder of the Everton Mounted Rangers.

The Mounted Horse Rangers was the brainchild of Hancox who was looking for a solution to escalating crime in the area. The Rangers, which consists of a group of local Everton residents and horse owners, will serve as the eyes and ears of the community and as assistance to the crime-prevention efforts of the SAPS, Metro Police and security companies. There is no intention for the Rangers to carry arms, to make arrests or ride on busy roads. The objective is to provide highly visible “eyes and ears” as a deterrent to crime, as has been proved successful along Durban beachfront.

“I happened to be resting from paddle-skiing on Durban North Beach one day and saw a Durban Horse Patrol rider move her horse near to an intoxicated loiterer asleep on the grass. He must have woken to hear and see the hoof near his head and he disappeared like a rocket,” said Hancox.

This got him thinking and he went to see Captain Jonathan Foster (Specialised Enforcement Mounted Unit – eThekwini Municipality ) to see if it was possible to start a neighbourhood-watch type civilian operation in the upper highway, especially as it is an equestrian area.

“He put me in touch with the SAPS training division in Lahee Park and I started going to local Community Police Forum and Ratepayers’ meetings to test their reaction, ” he said.

Hancox knew Cherie Cawood, the daughter of Kloof resident, Will Cawood was moving with her family and horses to Everton in August, and that she had experience in this field and would be the perfect person to head up the Mounted Rangers.

“Cherie has assisted a similar team based in Johannesburg for seven years. She owns six horses and was a Class A Reservist on the Reef with six years of riding and police work,” said Hancox.

Cherie was keen to offer her expertise and take on the role of captain. A talk she gave at the Everton security neighbourhood watch was well received and gained invaluable support for the initiative. Meetings and talks were held with the Kloof Community Policing Forum, COWRA, Hillcrest and Gillitts ratepayers and the Durban Mounted Police to determine the feasibility of the concept.

“Increased crime in the upper highway can be attributed to a number of factors, including ease of access and escape by criminals along the railway line, difficulty in follow-up of perpetrators into natural wilderness reserves, density of vegetation as hiding places for stolen goods, and security forces’ lack of familiarity with the irregular terrain. Everton and its surrounding neighbours are fortunate in having many open grasslands suitable for resting and grazing of horses, certain residents have stables and secure properties, and organisations such as Kloof SPCA have offered suitable facilities,” he said.

Cawood said she hoped other horse communities in the surrounding areas would get involved by starting similar initiatives. She added positive feed back had been received from Everton residents. “I have had people saying that it is incredible to see horses in the area again. It would be really great to get riding back into the area.”

She encouraged Everton horse owners to take advantage of the beautiful surroundings and facilities that Everton had to offer to horse riders. Everton Park has an arena and there are plans to set up some cross country obstacles in the Acutts Drive park. There are also some lovely nature reserve outrides. Only Kranzkloof is out of bounds to horses.

Residents are invited to support The Mounted Rangers by contributing a monthly membership fee of R30 or R300 annually.

Account name:

Mounted Rangers Association

First National Bank

Kloof Branch, Branch Code 250 655

Account no. 6241 7902 922

Ref: your name

Confirm the deposit with your details to the treasurer by email to birgit@kaiserandkaiser.co.za or fax to 031 767 4135. If you would like to receive email updates of progress with the project or if you have suggestions or questions, contact Richard Hancox on 031 767 3342 or 082 343 0928 or email: richardhx@ananzi.co.za or to find out more about horse facilities in the area contact Cherie Cawood on 082 820 2955.