Officers with their horses became an unusual spectacle during a popular event at the Jersey Shore.
It was all part of a planned training event, drawing mounted police units from across the region and beyond to the streets of historic Cape May.
A select spot in the center of town turned into a mounted police training ground. Crowd control scenarios put the horses in chaotic and noisy situations that are, for some, startling and unpredictable by design.
"That's the point, and the officer can know when they go home what they need to work on with that animal so they can be more effective out on the street," Cape May County Sheriff's Officer Andrew Raniszewski told NBC10.
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It’s the second year that the Cape May County Sheriff’s Office has hosted the multi-day training seminar.
56 horse and rider teams from a half dozen states, federal law enforcement agencies, and Canada are participating; the Newark Police Department participated for the first time.
"We want to collaborate with our partners and try to understand their way of doing things," said Sgt. Rafael Rosa of Newark Police Department.
A lot of the horses had never been on a beach before, so the terrain and the moving water of the ocean in Cape May was new to them.
“Being exposed as much as they can that's different from just the regular street patrol could be an advantage to them in the future," Raniszewski added.
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