Jennifer McRae was back stomping on familiar turf alongside her RCMP Musical Ride colleagues in formation for their two weekend performances at Exhibition Park.
Now in her third year with the Musical Ride, McRae and her horse Dancer finally got the chance to show off their equestrian skills while riding in the city she calls home.
The berm around the outdoor ice oval offered unobstructed views of the riders and their four-direction precision as they threaded the needle, then ended the half-hour show with a two-row charge. McRae spent her formative years growing up in the Heritage neighbourhood only about a mile away and her homecoming Saturday night was rare thrill for the 29-year-old constable.
"I was really excited when I saw Prince George on the tour, knowing I'd get to go home," said McRae. "It's so much fun to see the families and the kids, and when the music starts going they start dancing and jumping around. The feeling I get I can't really explain. We want people to have fun and come to see us and have a good time."
The only other B.C.-born rider, 27-year-old Brett Cunningham, is also from Prince George. Cunningham, a Duchess Park graduate who joined the RCMP in 2008, is in his first year with the tour.
The 32 Musical Ride members are based in Ottawa. They spend a year in training before they go on tour and McRae's timing could not have been better. Last year the troupe traveled to Germany and England -- the first Musical Ride European tour since 2000. That included a stop in Verden, Germany, in the Hannover region where the RCMP's chosen breed of horses originated. Their arena performance in front of 4,000 people in Verden brought the crowd to its feet in a standing ovation so loud the riders couldn't hear the music as they performed their lance drill.
But the best was yet to come, in England. The ride was part of Queen Elizabeth's Diamond Jubilee celebration in May and with that came two performances in front of the queen. McRae became the first female RCMP member to mount the Changing of the Queen's Life Guard. The only other time the RCMP had been invited to perform that duty was in 1897.
"We did the Royal Windsor horse show [at Windsor Castle] and she came to the Sunday performance and all off us had butterflies when we were performing for her," said McRae., a six-year RCMP officer. "Eleven of us did the Changing of the Queen's Life Guard at Whitehall at Buckingham Palace. It was amazing."
The Musical Ride also performed at the 100th Calgary Stampede in 2012.
Jennifer is the daughter of Glen and Karen McRae of Prince George. She was born in Prince George but her first home was in Carmacks, Yukon where her father was based as an RCMP officer. The family also lived in Dease Lake and Smithers before they returned to the city when Jennifer was 10. She attended Meadow elementary school and graduated from D.P. Todd before moving to Lethbridge to attend university. Glen McRae attained the rank of Sergeant-Major of the Pacific region before he retired from the RCMP two years ago.
Aside from a couple trail rides, Jennifer had virtually no experience with horses when she applied for the Musical Ride. She was selected from a list of more than 500 applicants and went through a five-week basic training course before she chosen for the tour.
"I''ve always liked horses and I had a horse when I was very small," she said. "When the opportunity presented itself I jumped on the chance and I've had a blast ever since. They just want you to be able to work hard and work in a team environment. It's a lot of fun and we all get along well on the team."
The tour started June 1 and ends in September in Calgary, where they will be filmed as part of an episode of the CBC TV series Heartland. There are plans to stage a benefit performance in Alberta to raise money for the flood victims.
