How the Fort Worth Mounted Patrol has protected the city for over a century

Whether they're trotting through the stockyards and downtown Fort Worth or patrolling on a TCU game day, the Mounted Patrol is recognizable in any setting. Towering above the crowds on their steeds, the Mounted Patrol is a living relic of the Wild West and a reminder of Fort Worth’s roots.

The patrol consists of one sergeant, nine full-time officers and 14 horses. The unit is equipped with pickup trucks, horse trailers, a horse walker, a covered arena and custom-made saddles and tack.

The continuation of the Mounted Patrol is influenced by the Fort Worth community’s desire to preserve the Western culture that has defined the city for generations.

The Mounted Patrol has kept its mission — “no terrain too rough, no task too tough” — alive for over a century. The task force has experienced many evolutionary phases that have allowed it to remain a successful crime-preventative branch of the police.

Where the West begins

On March 1, 1873, with a population of 500, the settlement of Fort Worth was incorporated as a city. The following month, E. M. Terrell was appointed the first city marshal and was equipped with a force of four policemen.

But the police department was abolished within the month, and Terrell resigned shortly after, leaving Fort Worth without law enforcement until April of 1874 when T. M. Ewing took over.

The position of city marshal changed multiple times as crime reached its peak in the city due to cowboys passing through the area, stopping at the gambling houses and all-night saloons as they moved their herds to Kansas.

In 1876, “Longhair” Jim Courtright was named city marshal. Courtright created a police force consisting of two men. Under Courtright, one of the greatest gunmen of his time, the city saw the number of killings in Fort Worth drop to less than ever before.

After Courtright’s departure, the police force continued to grow. The Department included traffic officers, mounted officers, two patrolmen, one jailer and two sanitary officers.

As time passed, the Department created new positions to fit the community’s needs and keep up with new technological advances, like automobiles. They added their first motor vehicle, a motorcycle and later a motorized patrol wagon. By 1914, the first patrol car was in service.

In 1930, the Fort Worth Police Department gained national recognition for its contribution to the demise of the Clyde Barrow gang, otherwise known as the infamous fugitives Bonnie and Clyde.

Since then, many things have changed due to new technologies and methods of policing. Today, the police department is divided into patrol, support and finance/personnel and then further separated into specialized units.

While the Fort Worth Police Department may look different than it did when cowboys passed through with their herds, the basis of policing has not changed. The essence of sound police work is “the same as it was in those early days: recognizing the community's needs for protection and assistance, and meeting those needs in an orderly, efficient fashion,” according to the Fort Worth Police Department.

Looking South on Main Street from the Courthouse in 1880. Photo Courtesy of the Portal of Texas: UTA digital library

Police officers ride alongside President Theodore Roosevelt at the parade for President Theodore Roosevelt's visit in Fort Worth. April 8, 1905. Photo Courtesy of the UTA digital library from the archival FortWorth Star-Telegram collection.

Portrait of Timothy Isaiah (Long Hair Jim) Courtright (1848-1887). Luke Short shot him in a duel in on Feb. 8, 1887 on the Northside of Fort Worth. Photo Courtesy of the Portal of Texas: UTA digital library

Photograph of an older photo of the Fort Worth Live Stock Exchange. Several people in Victorian dress can be seen around the building. Photo Courtesy of the Portal of Texas: UTA digital library

Fingerprint card for Clyde Champion Barrow taken at the Department of Police in Fort Worth, Texas. It includes his physical description, aliases, details of his arrest and his mug shot pasted to the back of the document. Photo Courtesy of the Portal of Texas: UTA digital library.

Horses, wagons and cars! Oh my!

Standing the test of time, the use of horses in the police department has remained constant in a city that has evolved from a “roaring cowtown” to a contemporary metroplex.

The Mounted Patrol was established in the police department in the late 1970s in response to problems in the Stockyards area. Prior to this, there were no official patrol–only mounted officers.

The city began to fund the Mounted Patrol slowly, paying at first for basic veterinary care, feed, farrier fees and a two-stall barn.

In 1887, a volunteer Mounted Patrol was organized with the initial intent of preserving the city’s western heritage and also strengthening public relations.

Eventually, the patrol became an integral part of the department when it expanded with the help of Chief Windham urging business leaders to create the Citizens Support Group for the Mounted Patrol.

The support group provides funding for the unit’s horses, trailers, tack, facilities and other services. Today, the Mounted Patrol resides on a 10-acre property with a 5,600 square foot administration building and a 17,000 square foot air-conditioned barn, equipped with tack rooms, feed rooms, wash stalls, a farrier, veterinary spaces and an office.

Photos: UTA Digital Library

The face of Fort Worth

The continuation of the Mounted Patrol is influenced by the history and culture of the Fort Worth community and also the Department’s desire to use relevant community policing strategies, said assistant police director Keith Morris.

The Mounted Patrol “definitely presents as the face of the police department,” said Marty Humphrey, a historian at the Fort Worth Police Department Historical Association.

Once being the only method of transportation, horses have strolled the streets of Fort Worth long before the use of wagons, cars, buses or trains, and they continue to do so today. Little has remained the same in the police department since the 1800s beyond the Mounted Patrol.

“They’ve gone from being reactive in that they’re trying to stop somebody from committing crimes and stuff to today where they’re more proactive,” said Humphrey.

The teams are highly visible, very effective and go wherever they are needed. Their special maneuverability enables them to be effective at area malls, hospital parking lots and in downtown or residential areas.

The Mounted Patrol can be seen in the Stockyards; however, two-person teams are assigned to other sections of the city as needed. Their services are also requested often by non-profits, businesses and other organizations in Fort Worth.

“The number one focus or priority, for our section in mounted, is public relations,” said Lieutenant Amy Rodriquez, an officer in the Mounted Patrol. We’re all about supporting and continuing the image of Fort Worth and where the West began. We’re promoting the whole image to Cowtown.”

Anywhere the unit goes, it’s bringing police presence with it.

“If we're out at Texas Motor Speedway on a big event, it’s likely that somebody's not going to break into a car. Somebody is going to think twice about what they're doing because we're out there, and we've got eyes on them,” said Lt. Rodriguez.

The mounted facility has come a long way from the day of a single volunteer officer. Today the force consists of one sergeant, nine full-time officers and 14 horses.

Fort Worth's Mounted Patrol regularly attends events by request. (Picture courtesy of Fort Worth Police Department)

A poster illustrating Kellar's "self-decapitation" illusion

Mounted officer patrols around Mongomery Plaza. (Photo by Fort Worth Police Department)

A show poster of Kellar and 3 red devils

The Fort Worth Mounted Patrol (Photo by Fort Worth Police Department)

A poster of Kellar levitating a woman in a red dress

A police vest stored in the facility's tack room. (Photo by Madyson Buchanan)

Horse criteria and training

The large animals tower soundly above the chaos of the crowd, an officer atop their backs. Each horse within the Mounted Patrol Unit is carefully selected based on specific requirements and criteria. A horse’s breed, size, color, height, build and even demeanor are key elements in determining whether a horse is suitable for selection.

“For all our horses, we try to find the ideal quarter horse look, which is very much so the Western way,” said Calhoun.

Potential horses must be castrated males, or geldings, of the quarter horse breed, known for their easy-going temperament, versatility, beauty and athletic build. The Mounted Patrol Unit considers only brown horses with little to no white markings and a minimum height of 15.3 hands, or 63 inches.

The department’s largest horse, Goliath, measures in at an outstanding 17.1 hands tall, or 69 inches - which only accounts for the distances from the bottom of his hoof to the top of his shoulder.

“We want them big so that way you can see better when you're riding on the road. Also, if you're in a crowded situation, you can see better too. It's a good intimidation factor--not that we use that, but it would be different if they were riding around on ponies,” Calhoun said.

Appearance isn’t the only factor that the officers evaluate. A horse’s demeanor plays a central role in determining whether the horse is a potential candidate or not.

A Mounted Patrol horse must have a sound-enough mind to assist in crowd and riot control, lead parades, aid in search and rescue missions and obey their rider.

Most of the horses are already trained with basic skills before joining the Mounted Patrol team. However, Calhoun and officers still must find ways to desensitize the animal to the climates it may be exposed to on patrol.

The use of balloons, streamers, guns, smoke bombs, screaming children and umbrellas are utilized to recreate scenarios to evaluate how a horse may react in the face of danger and how to further aid the horse in learning how to not react in those situations.

Horses are exposed to a wide range of environmental factors to ensure their safety and those around them. One of the most challenging is training for crowd control.

“The crowd control training is arduous and very demanding for both horse and rider. The Fort Worth Mounted Unit conducts training in these techniques every month and is ready any day to assemble and, with the help of SWAT and other crowd-control officers, to help deal with any such problem,” according to Fort Worth’s Mounted Patrol Unit.

Photo courtesy of Mounted Police

Support Group

The Citizens Support Group for the Fort Worth Mounted Patrol was founded in the spring of 1987 with the support of Chief Windham.

Over the past few decades, Fort Worth’s Mounted Patrol Unit has accumulated a vast amount of support from the Fort Worth community and an array of sponsors willing to contribute to the unit.

The organization is currently headed by Principal Officer Bradford S. Barnes. Their primary goal is to serve as a “support group for the Fort Worth Police Department” and “provide the police department with resources to fight and prevent crime,” according to the Citizens Support Group for the Fort Worth Mounted Patrol.

“Big supporters sponsor us. As a sponsor, if there are certain things that we want, we reach out to them for that financial support. They afford us that request,” said Lt. Rodriguez.

“It's not going to be everyday things. For example, one of the other contributions is that they buy our horses for us. We go out, seek a vet and the horse and then they write the checks,” said Lt. Rodriguez.

The support group provides funds for horses, trucks, trailers, tack, a horse walker and other items and services for the expanding branch. They hope to have two horses per officer in the future.

In 2014, the group built the current facility the Mounted Patrol operates out of for a projected cost of $3.2 million. The facility was funded by local foundations: the Jane and John Justin Foundation, the Amon G. Carter Foundation and the Burnett Foundation.

The most recent addition to the facility is a covered arena that provides shelter from rain, wind and the sun’s rays in the summer months so that the officers are still able to ride, exercise their horses and train. The arena cost $800,000.

Photos courtesy of: Mounted Police

Graphic design of what the mounted patrol facility would look like upon completion (Photo courtesy of Wrangler Network)

Aerial view of the mounted patrol facility (2021) (Photo via Google Earth)

Budget

The CCPD funds its budget utilizing the half-cent sales tax - which funds at least 24% of the Fort Worth Police Department’s budget. The sales tax can only be used for CCPD units, compared to most sales taxes which transfer to a general fund which the elected officials decide on how to use.

Along with the funds provided by the Citizens Support Group for the Fort Worth Mounted Patrol, a large sum of the Mounted Patrol’s funding comes from the CCPD sales tax revenue.

The total 2021 fiscal year budget for the Mounted Patrol allocated by the CCPD amounted to $1,729,100. A majority of these funds were dedicated to the Mounted Patrol officers’ court attendance ($929,466), uniforms ($105,408), consultant services ($115,329) and holiday pay ($269,842).

A large factor for determining how the budget is divided each year is based upon historical actual expenses from the past three years, replacement costs, strategic plans, increase of personnel expenses for performance raises and additional staff and changes in forecasted revenues, amongst other aspects.

The accounting system in place allows the police department to break down the budget into small sections so the data can be tracked in-depth, said Morris.

The department’s budget shifted in 2021 to accommodate changes brought upon by the pandemic.

“For our Mounted Patrol and other similar units, the need for overtime has increased as COVID restrictions have shifted,” said Morris. The Mounted Patrol also faced an increased number of vacancies within their department last year, he said.

Throughout 2021, the mounted police worked to get the department back where it was before the pandemic. Because of this, this year’s budget was adjusted to incorporate the funds required for new officers and their safety training.

As the year comes to a close, the CCPD expects to expand the mounted police in the future.

This plaque outside the Fort Worth Mounted Police Equestrian Facility acknowledges support and funding from the community (Photo by Chloe Cloud)

The Police cruiser parks next to horse stalls while making it's daily rounds of the facility (Photo by Madyson Buchanan)

The Fort Worth Police Department Mounted Patrol emblem displayed in the lobby (Photo by Chloe Cloud)

The path from the barn to the administration building (Photo by Madyson Buchanan)

These students contributed to this report: Izzy Acheson, Allie Brown, Maddy Buchanan, Elizabeth Burns, Chloe Cloud, Chaelie DeJohn, Ella Gibson, Kate Hellmund, Anya Ivory, Nicole Johnson, Iris Lopez. Mike Niezgodzki, Camilla Price, Rebecca Robinson, Edgar Saenz, Tristen Smith, Bailee Utter, Katherine Vaughn, Kyla Vogel