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VPD Mounted Unit Sergeant Conrad VanDyk of the has been with the VPD for 24 years. With extensive experience in multiple units, including Patrol, Beat Enforcement Team on the Downtown Eastside, range instructor, jail Sergeant and more, he now finds himself back in the Mounted Unit in a leadership role after two previous stints, both as a reserve member and fulltime Constable.
The VPD Mounted Unit, located adjacent to the Rose Garden in Stanley Park, is currently home to nine horses, five full time Constables, plus Sergent VanDyk. The Unit provides a unique presence at many community events and ceremonies around Vancouver, but they also play an important role in managing crowds at demonstrations and large events.
Sgt VanDyk primarily rides Police Horse Apollo (aka, his ‘primary mount’), but also rides Police Horse John from time to time as well (aka, his ‘secondary mount’). We recently spoke with Sgt VanDyk about what it takes to train both the horses and the humans who ride them, as well as some of the memorable deployments he has been part of in this career as both a full time and reserve member of the Mounted Unit.
How long have you been with the Mounted Unit? And what is the training process for a Constable when they join the Mounted Unit?
- I have been with the Mounted Unit as a part time rider from 2006 to 2011.
- Full time as a Constable from 2011-2016.
- Part time again after promotion to Sergeant in 2020.
- Now full time as the Mounted Unit Sergeant since April 2024.
“The training process is quite lengthy. After to being selected to the unit through a posted competition (interview score, resume score and riding test), the Constable must complete and pass a three to four week “Basic Course”, which includes exams and another riding test. After this course, the Constable must continue with their lessons in our VPD arena until they are safe enough to be deployed in Stanley Park. This often takes 200 hours. After they have proven that they are more than competent in patrolling the park on horseback, they will be assessed at riding into the city, which is usually another 200 hours.”
What equestrian experience, if any, did you have prior to joining the Mounted Unit?
“I owned trail horses for a few years on our family acreage out in the Fraser Valley. We mainly rode Western and enjoyed the lifestyle of trail riding, cowboy camping, attending clinics, and having our kids involved in 4H.”
What does a typical day at work look like for you?
“As the Sergeant, I start the morning off with administrative duties. There are many requests for the Mounted Unit to attend events and host tours. There are also many horsemanship clinics and courses that we either attend or we host, which require proposals and approvals.
After that we often spend a couple hours doing “ground work” with our horses, this includes lunging them and/or round-pen work. Usually we get dispatched to a few calls throughout the day, such as missing children, lost or stolen property, car accident on the bridge, etc.
We spend half of our shift riding the 1001 acres of trails in Stanley Park, however we are also spending more time downtown on Granville St, Yaletown and the West End. At the end of our shift we assist with cleaning up the barn, cleaning the stalls, and grooming our horses.”
What specific training activities are important for the horses?
“Desensitization training is very important to us. We focus on the principle of pressure and release, and making sure to pause for that moment of learning. Proper warmups are essential, then we introduce different objects from the ground such as tarps and banners. We ride over obstacles, we have our horses push large inflatable balls, plus we use lots of smoke, firecrackers, and loud noise.”
What are some examples of specific and/or unique deployments for the Unit?
- Last October we assisted Calgary Police with crowd control during a week-long conference where protestors were congregated.
- 2010 Olympics – Our Mounted Unit dealt with dozens of protests during the Olympics and the months leading up to the Olympics.
- 2011 Stanley Cup Riot – Our Mounted Unit cleared numerous streets and roads, ensuring that none of the rioters were able to break Mounted Police line.
- We usually ride in the Vancouver Santa Claus Parade, the St. Patrick’s Parade, Chinese New Year Parade and Remembrance Day Ceremonies.
- Sporting events such as the Grey Cup Festival and the Canucks playoffs games are other deployments.
- The Celebration of Lights are the three biggest nights of the year for crowd control in Vancouver. We assist with patrolling Beach Avenue ahead of the show and with assisting in sweeping the beaches afterwards, allowing the City crews to clean the beaches.
- We have dozens of training days throughout the year on Crowd Control techniques, as we’re always preparing for future protests or riots. We incorporate mock rioters into our training in order to have our horses get used to projectiles, fire and noise.
What do the horses enjoy doing during their leisure time at the barns?
“They love soaked alfalfa cubes, but mostly love to socialize with each other out in the paddock. They will run and play, and often roll in the sand. We also let them have respite a few times a year at a field out in the Fraser Valley, to give them a break from the city.”
Want Mounted Unit Calendar Pre-Sale and special horse updates throughout the year?
JOIN THE HERD HERE!
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