KENT COUNTY, Mich. — Riders up! The Kent County Mounted Unit will be making history Saturday as they head to the 148th Kentucky Derby.
The sheriff's office announced the news Friday morning, saying that their mounted police unit will be the first out-of-state unit to help at the derby. Officers will be assisting Louisville Metro Police Department in keeping spectators at the race safe.
The Kent County Mounted Unit works several special events a year, and is in high demand for events that may require crowd control. Officials say one mounted police officer is the equivalent of 12 to 14 officers on the ground.
Each year, the Louisville Mounted Police prepares for Derby week to help keep the over 150,000 attendees safe.
Kent County Sheriff's Office PIO Sgt. Eric Brunner released a statement Friday from the mounted team:
"Our Mounted Unit Team leaders and the Louisville Police Mounted Unit have attended trainings together at the Mounted Police Training Academy Instructor Training and The National Mounted Police Colloquium during 2021 and developed a relationship of respect and good rapport with the Louisville Metro Police Mounted Unit Team. Based on our performance at last year’s events, they have extended a request to our Mounted Unit to come down and train and patrol with them for the weekend of the Kentucky Derby. They have never invited an out of state agency to participate with them at what is their largest event of the year. It’s a huge honor to be invited to this international event. Two Kent County Deputies and two Grand Rapids Police Mounted Unit team members were invited to this request for providing mutual aid and joint training in large crowd events. Nearly 200,000 spectators will be in attendance. That is an environment that you just can’t create during a normal training day at the Rockford Facility. We were sworn in as special deputies by Jefferson County Sheriff John Aubrey so that we could go out on patrol with The Louisville Metro Police Department. We feel it’s a great opportunity to see current best practices from a full time mounted unit and are honored to be invited to assist in contributing to the safety and security of such a prestigious international sporting event."
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