Rutgers mounties span decades of connecting students with their community through horseback policing

A New York Times article from 1973 reported on the inaugural four-legged members of Mounted Patrol — a community horseback policing program at Rutgers. More than four decades later, it continues to have a profound impact on student lives.

At the time, three city patrolmen and three campus police officers were the first inducted into the training program operated by the New York City Police Department, along with the addition of three 12-year-old horses — two for policing sections of Douglass and Cook Colleges and the other for use by New Brunswick Police Department, according to the article. 

“Nobody ever pats a police car, but New Yorkers are forever petting and feeding carrots to police mounts,” said John O'Brien, then-New Brunswick police commissioner, as a proposal to the isolation and disconnect felt by city police officers on patrol in their cars and on foot. 

In the years after, the program grew to include students in the patrolling process. 

Pamela Weldon, a current program analyst for the U.S. Army National Ground Intelligence Center, who worked with Mounted Patrol from 1985 to 1988 cites happy memories working with the organization. 

“I loved it there, we ran well as a group,” she said.

Today, Mounted Patrol still offers an avenue to community policing, as well as higher visibility of on-campus policing, and has opened the door for conversations from students and passersby about the Rutgers University Police Department (RUPD), security, directions and whether the horses are pettable, said Victoria Perez, a School of Arts and Sciences senior, who has been with the program since her first year. 

“We allow and encourage people to pet our horses, but we ask that people exercise caution, ask for permission and are supervised,” she said. 

Perez first joined Mounted Patrol per the suggestion of a friend she grew up riding horses with. 

She said the experience has connected her with numerous and diverse visitors, students and faculty who are curious about the horses and her work as a Community Service Officer. Upon graduating with a major in criminal justice next year, she hopes to become an official Mounted Patrol officer. 

“I am so fortunate and lucky to be able to combine my two passions of horses and wanting to help the community,” she said. 

Nadezhda Karkelanova, a School of Arts and Sciences junior, Maria di Costanzo, a Graduate Studies student and Anastasia Bellisari, a School of Environmental and Biological Sciences senior, are members of Mounted Patrol alongside Perez. 

Karkelanova found out about the program through orientation. After she first applied to become a CSO, she took her mounted specific exams and became an officer, she said. 

Originally from Bulgaria, she used to ride competitively but was not able to afford lessons in the United States and stopped riding. Through the Mounted Patrol, she is back in the saddle again and meeting new people because of it. 

“Next time you are looking for something to do on a Saturday afternoon, stop by the mounted barn on Cook and say hi. You might make a new friend yourself,” she said. 

The program's Facebook claims it is the only of its kind in the country. With a student-run mounted unit, all Mounted Patrol members are CSO's who are uniformed, unarmed and salaried employees of RUPD. 

Di Costanzo started with Mounted Patrol two years ago and said she is privileged to be part of the only student-run program in the country. 

Instead of viewing it as a job, going on patrol is something she looks forward to every day.

“Teamwork is such a huge part of what we do, and relying on our partners, both two- and four-legged, is so important in order to patrol effectively,” she said.

Bellisari’s whole family had gone to Rutgers, so she would always come to visit the University for Rutgers Day — where she was first introduced to Mounted Patrol. As an avid horseback rider from the age of 7, she knew it was the job for her. 

“I am definitely in a lot more Snapchat stories,” she said. “And it will always be the best fun fact to have in class.”