The World Famous RCMP Musical Ride Will Be Coming To Clinton This Weekend

by Bob Montgomery

The RCMP's world famous Musical Ride will be performing at the Clinton Raceway this Saturday and Sunday.

The Bayfield Agricultural Society and REACH Huron have partnered to bring the show to Clinton. Performances will be at five o'clock on both Saturday and Sunday. The horses will be stabled at the REACH Centre and the stables will be open to the public when the horses aren't performing, from mid-afternoon till nine in the evening on Saturday and nine in the morning until nine in the evening on Sunday.

For one of the riders, this weekend will also be a bit of a homecoming. Constable Scott Peever was born and raised in Huron County and was working in automotive manufacturing in London, but thinking it was time for a change. He applied with the RCMP and was accepted in 2010. He worked in two different postings in Alberta before he was accepted into the Musical Ride program. He says about ninety percent of the members of the Musical Ride program have never ridden a horse before and he includes himself in that group, so it was quite a learning experience. But he adds, once through the training it's an amazing thing to be part of a tradition that dates back to the late 1880's. He says it's a unique opportunity to travel the country, to represent Canada's national police force and engage with the communities that host them and help them raise money for local community initiatives. All of the money they raise through ticket sales stays with the host community.

Scott says it's definitely exciting to be coming back to his home community and he's hoping he'll get a chance to see some of his old friends. He says he was back in Huron County once before when the Musical Ride was in Exeter two years ago.

More information about the RCMP Musical Ride can be found on the REACH Centre website here.