Published on | #WeAre50, General
In 1840 the first seven horses were added to Birmingham Police and whilst some would be used to escort prisoners or royal visits, they were mostly reserved for ceremonial duties. It wasn’t until Chief Constable Sir Charles Haughton Rafter established the Birmingham City Police Mounted Section in 1923 that horses and their riders became a key part of the cities force.
The training of police horses is no simple feat, and skilled riders were not only put to the test in the city streets, but demonstrated their prowess on a national level. Throughout the 1970’s and 80’s several horses and their riders won awards at horse shows across the country.
P.C. Kenneth Fisher and Chieftain (top left) were well recognised faces at such events. Fisher joined the Birmingham Police force at 23 years old, and like many transferred to West Midlands Police in 1974.
According to records, in 1979 Fisher and Police Horse Jacob were involved in a road collision after a dog ran into the road spooking Jacob and the driver of a car. The report commends Fisher’s abilities as a rider, stating:
“The horse is normally excellent on the roads and was trained and is regularly ridden by PC Fisher, an officer of vast experience and highly competent… no blame can be attached to either PC Fisher or the driver of the car… the obvious culprit being the dog!”
– Assistant Chief Inspector J. Cooke
PC Fisher would go on to win trophies across the country over many years with another police horse called Sultan. The pair became familiar forerunners at competitions, taking the title of Horse of the Year, ‘top rider of the year’, ‘Best Trained Police Horse’ and many more.
However, it wasn’t all shows and ribbons – Sultan and Fisher were often to be found on patrol, particularly around Villa Park during the football seasons and other events attracting large crowds. Fisher commented “The branch is coming more and more into its own, especially for crowd control. There’s nothing better than a few police horses at a football match or a demonstration.”
The above photo (also featuring Sgt. Edward Cooke, with the famous Grey Sky, right) accompanied an article praising the riders for their recent wins at the Birmingham Horse Show. Having claimed several major titles the force joked that they were faced with the “pleasant problem” of having “so many trophies, there’s not enough room.”
Sgt. Cooke worked with Grey Sky for many years as part of Birmingham City Police and then West Midlands – in 1974 the Evening Mail reported how despite being 20 years old “the high-stepping veteran of the West Midlands Mounted Branch has again showed the youngsters what an old ‘un can do” when he took part in the Newark and Nottingham Agricultural Show.
For the fourth consecutive year, Grey Sky emerged triumphant as the Best Trained Police Horse in England and Scotland. When asked about their experience Sgt. Cooke’s pride in his companion was evident; “when you enter a show with Grey Sky you just know he is going to win. He is that king of horse.” Sgt. Cooke was later promoted to inspector which meant he was no longer eligible to compete in competitions; but not before he secured one more trophy at the Merseyside police horse show in 1977.
After becoming an Inspector, Edward Cooke continued to be involved with horse competitions despite no longer competing; he was in charge of competition training and considered his team to be “among the top three branches in the country, if not the best.”
Want to learn more about the mounted police division straight from the horses mouth? Well we have the next best thing, with retired officers joining us on the 24th August to share their tales and expertise – as well as an evening talk by retired officer now author Stefan Wild.
Grab tickets here: Trot on Regardless – A History of the Mounted Police – (west-midlands.police.uk)