Constitution of the Benton County Sheriff's Mounted Posse

The Benton County Sheriff’s Mounted Posse was formed with the intention to carry on and assist with the preservation of law and order, and search and rescue, and to carry on the traditions, pageantry and horsemanship of the "Old West." Today, these traditions are carried on by men and women who serve as special deputies under the Benton County Sheriff.

The current mission of the Benton County Sheriff's Mounted Posse takes several shapes and has six main objectives.

These goals are met in each category by a strong sense of duty and commitment by its members. The posse assists the sheriff with preservation of law and order by providing security, usually on horseback, during a variety of events throughout the year. The most prominent of these events is the Benton County Fair and Rodeo where posse members and their horses provide hundreds of hours of public service to help keep the fair a safe and enjoyable outing for the entire family. The posse also assists the sheriff at crime scenes by providing skilled man trackers to help collect evidence or to follow a criminal. Posse members may also be called on to help maintain a perimeter for a crime scene or to provide traffic control.

Search and rescue is the foremost service provided to the sheriff which does not include law enforcement. Posse members are trained and certified in search and rescue by the Oregon State Sheriff’s Association and are on call 24-hours a day by the Sheriff’s Office. Posse members who are involved in search and rescue spend a tremendous amount of time training and honing their skills throughout the year in order to keep their certification current and to learn the most up-to-date techniques and equipment to be used during a search.

Other assistance provided to the sheriff which does not include law enforcement is assistance during natural disasters such as the flooding that occurred in the Pacific Northwest in 1996. Posse members were called on to help evacuate low-lying areas in the community as well as to assist in rescuing a dozen head of horses who were trapped in a flooded barn. The posse is also on call during snow storms and poor weather conditions in order to provide transportation support to medical facilities for essential personnel or patients who need critical care during hazardous winter driving conditions.

The posse strives to stimulate good horsemanship by providing its members with a means of improving their horsemanship skills. This is done in part by hosting a five-day long Pat Wyse riding clinic each year. The public is allowed to attend for a fee, but the posse pays for its members to attend at no charge to the member. There is also a weekly ride night, which takes place on Monday nights at the Benton County Fairgrounds, where posse members get together to ride and train their horses. These ride nights include a monthly riding/horsemanship lesson by a variety of local trainers, as well as seminars and demonstrations given on a wide variety of horse-related topics and which are presented by local professionals.

As part of our desire to promote horsemanship, last year the posse put together and presented an Equine Emergency Techniques class which was offered to emergency response personnel such as firefighters, animal control officers and law enforcement officers. Our curriculum was adapted from a similar class that was put together by a horse club from Illinois called the Trail Riders of DuPage, The purpose of the class was to teach some basic horse handling skills to first response emergency personnel who would be likely to show up to an accident scene where a horse trailer, and horses, might be involved. The class was a full day of hands-on horse handling and covered basic skills such as catching a loose horse, leading a frightened horse through scary obstacles such as lit flares and tarps, and how to handle a frightened horse safely at the scene of an accident. The class was well-received and will likely become an annual event.

The posse also tries to carry on the traditions, customs and pageantry of the "Old West." This is done by entering parades and flying the Benton County Posse, State of Oregon and American flags. Posse horses wear western tack for all posse functions and must be schooled in western riding. Posse members are also trained in drill and compete with other posse drill teams at the Oregon Association of Mounted Posses annual Shodeo.

Providing community service is one of the most time consuming tasks that posse members take part in but can be very rewarding. Search and rescue is one form of community service that most posse members indulge in. They also help with security at events such as the Benton County Fair and Rodeo and the annual Halloween Fair at the Philomath Grade School. The posse also provides traffic control at community functions such as the OSU College of Veterinary Medicine’s annual Pet Day and Open House and certain sports events on the Oregon State Campus. Community service can also be assisting the sheriff when he needs additional manpower during natural or man-made disasters, celebrations or other public events.

The posse encourages family activities by holding a weekly Right Night and encouraging all members to attend and bring their families. These Ride Nights are a way for posse members and their families to spend more time together while at the same time training and learning more about their horses. Snacks and hot drinks are provided for a small donation to all who attend. Posse members are also encouraged to bring friends to Ride Night and to the frequent seminars and demonstrations that are presented.

Another way of encouraging family activities is for posse members and their families to have a pre-meeting dinner at the monthly business meeting. This is a relaxing social time and allows members to spend time with their families and other posse members without the bother of caring for their horses or the hindrance of duties.

Because the Benton County Posse takes pride in the services it provides to its community, its members feel it is necessary to provide the best-trained personnel they can for the duties they perform. For this reason, posse members spend many hours during the year training for their various responsibilities. Some of these include search and rescue training, man-tracking training, mounted police training, horsemanship training, first aid and CPR training, pistol practice, and many others. Most of the training posse members receive has an associated cost, so in order to not have to require members to pay dues and to relieve the members themselves from having to pay for their training, the posse has several fund raising activities they do annually. Posse members can be seen at all Oregon State University home football and men’s basketball games parking cars. This is a time consuming activity and is often done in poor weather conditions, but the posse is frequently praised for having good spirits and treating spectators with respect, professionalism and a smile. The posse is also responsible for fingerprinting non-criminals on Wednesday nights. These are people who need their fingerprints taken for concealed weapons permits or for their jobs, which may include such things as teachers, nursing home employees, day care employees, etc. Another big fund raiser for the posse is the AKC Dog Show that is held at the Benton County Fairgrounds each March. Posse members are responsible for parking cars and making sure that traffic flows safely around the area where the classes are taking place.

With the funds that are earned from these events, the posse is able to pay for all of the training its members receive, as well as allow the posse to make many annual donations to such organizations as 4H, H.O.R.S.E.S., the Children’s Farm Home, and the Benton County Fair and Rodeo Court.