By Brittany Kress
Beacon Journal staff writer
A police officer riding 7 feet in the air atop a horse weighing 1,000 or more pounds can be intimidating.
A vandal destroying public park property can be a nuisance.
Seven horses now housed at Southgate Farm in Green have proved to be the perfect solution.
In exchange for the stable space, the Summit County Mounted Patrol is patrolling Southgate Farm and nearby Boettler Park, owned by the city of Green.
Patrolling gives the unit another opportunity to train, so its members are happy to comply, said quartermaster Jim Hipp.
Green bought Southgate Farm for $5 million in October after receiving a Clean Ohio Green Space Conservation Grant. The land is east of Singer Lake off Mount Pleasant Road and south of Boettler Park off Massillon Road.
The farm was originally private, and its 200 acres are heavily wooded. It should be open for hiking and biking by April 1, said Mike Elkins, superintendent of Green Parks and Recreation.
The park has suffered some vandalism, and with the addition of the farm, Elkins approached Mayor Dan Croghan, hoping for a better police presence.
Mounted unit members spent about three months adapting the stable for their needs. Members take turns with daily feedings and cleaning work, giving the stable a friendly feel.
``A lot of people join this unit because it’s family oriented,’' said Mike Hawsman, head of the unit.
However, individuals own their own horses and bear the associated expenses.
Horses can cost from a few hundred to a few thousand dollars, and average yearly cost for maintenance -- starting with $100 monthly vet visits -- can add up to about $5,000.
With the stable space, the unit gained several horses.
Elisha Menefee of the Sheriff’s Office wanted to join the mounted patrol but couldn’t afford the boarding costs. After securing a space in the stable, she bought Beau, a black beauty who now has a red stocking hanging on his pen door.
When asked what police work she preferred, Menefee glanced at her horse and laughed.
``If I could do this full time, and do this every day, absolutely. Hands down,’' she said.
Not all members’ horses board at the stable. The unit’s 11 other horses are boarded privately by their owners. The entire group attends training each month at Walsh Farms.
The unit was formed in 1953 and expanded greatly in the 1980s, taking on more responsibilities.
``They see us in parades and think that’s all we do,’' Hipp said.
Besides patrolling and parades, the horses are used in search-and-rescue operations and crowd management and serve as event security.
The mounted unit is one of several in the area and greatly benefits the Sheriff’s Office, said Gary Myers, vice president of the unit.
``All they have to do is make a phone call and they can have 10 of us out there in a matter of hours,’' Myers said.
Not all members of the mounted patrol are officers. Noncommissioned, or auxiliary, members -- who are often civilians or police volunteers -- are not involved in any law enforcement capacity.
Commissioned mounted police, however, have at least one advantage over their cruiser-bound colleagues: a ride that doubles as a partner.
Still, ``they’re nothing but big dogs,’' Myers said. ``They’re so much fun.’'
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