What is the RCMP Musical Ride?

The Musical Ride is a special unit of the RCMP that showcases the equestrian skills of up to 32 riders who are regular members of the force. The riders perform intricate formations and drills set to music. If you have never been, I highly encourage you to go if you get the chance! And check out all my photos below from two of their 2023 performances so you can get a feel for what you’ll see!

Past and present

The first official ride was held in the late 1800’s and it’s still going strong today - in fact, this year the Musical Ride is travelling extensively around Canada performing a 150th anniversary tour. You can check out their 2023 schedule here (though only Ontario tour dates remain). All information concerning the Musical Ride in general can be found here, including details about their annual “Name the Foal” contest open to children 14 years old or younger (the foals are already named for 2023 but check back in 2024 for next year’s contest details).

The Musical Ride also goes on the road to other countries - they are world famous!

Why are the horses black?

You will see from the photos that all the horses are black. The Musical Ride horses were originally various colours but, in 1938, former Assistant Commissioner Stuart Wood mandated that the Mounties only use black horses, because he was impressed with how strongly the riders' red tunics stood out against the black horses of the Life Guards of the Household Cavalry. You can see from the photo below how accurate that is!

The first performance of the Musical Ride for the 2023 season (the season runs from May to October each year) was on May 18 on the opening day of the Ottawa Dressage Festival. A couple of days after that, I also attended one of the Sunset Ceremonies performances at the RCMP Rockliffe Stables in Ottawa.

The formations and drills are all about precision: the movements require control, timing and coordination. It can be challenging to convey the intricate flow of over 20 horses in a photo, but hopefully these photos will give you a small taste of what you’ll experience when watching the Musical Ride.

The Sunset Ceremonies at the RCMP Stables in the east end of Ottawa also included some special guests, including:

• a land welcome by an Algonquin elder

• the Governor General's Foot Guards Band

• the RCMP and Ottawa Police Pipes, Drums and Dancers

• the Capital Cowgirls

• show jumping with RCMP horses

The RCMP Musical Ride is fun for all ages. At the end of every show the riders and their horses come close to the fence so that the spectators can chat to the riders and congratulate the horses on their excellent performances.

I hope to see you in the audience in 2024!