Early beachgoers were treated to a rare sight this weekend – horses running and swimming on Edgewater Beach. Private owners, from Northeast Ohio and beyond, rode along the shore to raise funds for the Cleveland Metroparks Mounted Police. 

More than 100 horses and riders saddled up during the event, which ran from Oct. 10 to 12. They came from places as close to home as Brecksville and Chagrin Falls and as far away as West Virginia.   

‘It was on my bucket list’

Rolling waves on Lake Erie’s shoreline proved to be quite terrifying for some of the horses, whose owners coaxed and sweet-talked them into the water. Other riders ran their horses along the back of the beach – one of them even successfully challenged mounted police to a race.

Sharon Allison of Pennsylvania, a career blacksmith, joined friends from West Virginia for the ride. She said she came to Cleveland because riding on a beach “was on my bucket list.” 

Cheyenne Beachy, of Dover, Ohio, said she has wanted to attend the event with her horse, Zeva, for a long time. I “just never really had the opportunity” before this year, she said. 

Jessica McNally Schantz, a sergeant with the Cleveland Metroparks Mounted Police Unit, said it is heartwarming to see the owners and horses on the beach.

“Edgewater is one of our patrol parks,” she said. “We’re down there patrolling something that is a dream for someone else.” 

Custom-fit saddles and chiropractors for horses

Attendees registered and paid $135 in advance to participate in the ride. Metroparks Mounted officers led riders and horses in small groups along different routes.

One route crossed the beach up the hill to the Cleveland sign for riders to take photos and selfies. Another route, available only on Saturday, traveled through Whiskey Island. Each ride ended with an hour at Edgewater Beach. The western half of the beach was only for the riders and horses to run in the sand or go into Lake Erie.   

The public could watch from a safe distance or ask to pet the horses while they were at their trailers in Edgewater’s parking lot.

Proceeds from the fundraiser help the Mounted Police Unit pay for things like custom-fit saddles, chiropractic care and even horses, McNally Schantz said.

“It’s not one saddle fits all,” she explained. “With the proceeds, we’ve been able to replace every single saddle for every horse. [We] get them specially fitted so that when they work those long days with us, they’re comfortable.”

“We’ve also been able to get chiropractic care for each horse quarterly,” she added. That increases the longevity of the horse’s overall health and usefulness to the unit. Otherwise, a horse may have to be taken out of service for a sore back.

How the horses are trained

The Metroparks Police system also buys new horses using funds raised at the beach event. Horses are sometimes donated to the Mounted Unit.

“We used to get horses that were anywhere from 12 to 15 years old, but then, when you retire them at 20, you get five years out of them,” she said. “Then you’ve got to find another one, and another one.”

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The unit can now buy horses at a younger age and trains them from the start at their stables, located in North Royalton. The facility has an indoor arena for riding and training year round. Trainers there test the horses for their reaction to everyday experiences that they may encounter while at work, like waving flags and banners and trail obstacles. They also practice working in teams.  

“It’s important to be able to communicate, to be able to work through obstacles, things that might happen when you’re out there,” McNally Schantz said. “The best way to introduce that is right here in a safe spot, in the arena.”

Is that a talking horse?

Listen in as Signal Cleveland speaks with McNally Schantz and several equestrians and hears from their horses at the Ride The Beach event.