The Royal Canadian Mounted Police’s finest were on display Friday night, as the RCMP Musical Ride trotted and danced into Wycliffe Exhibition stadium.

Over 1,800 excited spectators crammed into the grounds in hopes of catching a glimpse of a colourful tradition and ceremony, and they weren’t disappointed.

“I was totally amazed,” said Dallas Mackie, coordinator of the event for Wycliffe Exhibition. “We had a great show and the RCMP were fantastic to work with, it truly was wonderful.”

The Musical Ride is performed by a full troop of 32 riders and horses, plus the member in charge. The Musical Ride consists of a variety of intricate figures and cavalry drill choreographed to music. Demanding utmost control, timing and coordination, these movements are formed by individual horses and riders, in two’s, four’s and eight’s at the trot and at the canter.

While the evening went without a hitch, Mackie said the event took some extraordinary planning to make sure everything went to plan.

“It began five years ago when it was suggested at a Wycliffe Exhibition meeting,” she said. “We applied and the rest is history.”

That history saw a RCMP official from Ottawa, Marc Godue, visit the grounds for further inspection following confirmation that Wycliffe Exhibition was the official site. Godue then returned in the spring of 2009, where he gave instructions to Mackie and the rest of the organizing committee.

Those instructions left the committee with a number of different tasks to fulfill before the Wycliffe Exhibition site was properly prepared for the visit from the RCMP Musical Ride.

“We had to install new stalls into the Henderson Pavilion, which all needed to be built from scratch in three weeks,” said Mackie. “And we needed to haul and spread 12 inches of chips on the floor, plus we needed to provide all the feed.”

But Mackie and company were up to the task and finished all the site upgrades well in time to host the prestigious event.

The night kicked off with an appearance from local singer and songwriter Heather Gemmell, before the Kamloops Mounted Shooters wowed the crowd with their archaic shooting skills. Then, after a short break, the crowd finally got what they were looking for.

The Musical Ride team put their horses through their paces for approximately 45 minutes, showcasing the considerable talent of both the riders and the horses. Members of the Musical Ride are police officers who, after at least two years of active police work, volunteer for duty with the Musical Ride.