‘We’ve come a long way since the beginning...’

We’ve seen Women Police on horseback at almost every Independence Parade since 1985.  Smiling in their saddles, these women do everything on horseback that the men do, from parades to crowd controls to escorting Heads of State and even directing traffic.

Today, there are more women in the unit since their first introduction to the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service Mounted Branch back in 1985. Their most senior ranking female is Eulyn Douglas-Meyers, a Sergeant who is currently on pre-retirement leave. In her spare time she helps to manage a shop that caters for full figured women. A single mother of two grown sons (“and happily divorced,” she quips), she is active in the community and does a lot of charity work; she even sings in the police choir. She cuts a somewhat imposing figure, but that is only because of the job. Being one of the first three women to enter the Mounted Branch meant that she and her comrades had to be tough.

“Back then I was real small too,” she said with a smile. “WP’s Cox, Prince and myself were the first three women assigned to the unit back in the early 80’s. Now I had joined the force since 1974 and was considered an all-rounder, as I was able to fit into any department. I was even a drummer in the police band too. But I had always heard that it was difficult for women to get into the Mounted Branch, but it was something that I wanted to try. So we three applied through our Superintendent and as a back up, we sent applications down to the Mounted Branch Headquarters... that is how much we wanted to do this.” Successful in their quest, the women joined the ranks, but soon realised that there was a lot more to the job. For starters, they didn’t have any accommodations; no barrack rooms, female toilets or bathrooms. But they coped. “We would change our clothes in the pharmacy and bathe in the Mounted Aides bathroom,” she admitted. “The men accepted us from the very beginning. There was no infighting or any feelings that we were ‘taking over their territory’, so to speak. They might have tried to make a little date with you (laughs), but that was all. But to do something like this you have to have a strong mind and pray a lot. We met the challenge and trained twice as hard, just to prove that we were capable and to show everyone how much we wanted this.”

Training lasted for six to nine months, where they learned how to water their horses, groom them, clean their stalls, feed them, and clean their ‘saddlery’ which was the horse’s kit. They also had to understand the animals’ temperaments, as there would be times when persons could be assigned to another horse and as such needed to call upon every bit of skill they possessed to manage it. There were drills and routines to be memorised, besides learning how to command your horse to trot, side step, canter or just stand still. “I can still remember the first time we women went on parade,” Douglas-Meyers said wistfully. “It was 1985 and Bailey (he since left the service as a Superintendent) decided to have two females as  outriders, which were Cox and myself.  If you heard the shouts from that crowd at that parade. I mean, they forgot about the men in the ranks, everybody was looking at us. It was amazing, truly amazing. The only thing was that the horses were unaccustomed to the shouts and it took some extra efforts from us to calm them down. This is why I always tell people that women glamourised the unit somewhat, because the public was not used to seeing women riding horses. Even today you look at a parade... once women are there, the reaction is the same. They look at us, they want to see what we doing, how we doing it, what move is that, how she guiding the horse... (cheekily) is we do that!”

According to Douglas-Meyers, horses and their riders are always in training, simply because they have had to adapt to new things constantly. In preparation for Carnival,“scare training” is  used to prepare the horse for crowds. Recruits dress up in old mas costumes, the Police Band plays loud music and the effect is like a mini Carnival, but it’s all for the benefit of the horses and their riders. “You see, it’s easier to control a crowd using the horses,” she explained. “Nobody wants to get a hoof on their foot. These animals weigh tons, I tell you! So you can imagine the force necessary to guide such a heavy animal, especially in the right direction. We use our arms, tightening the reins to guide the horse’s head, our hips and buttocks to steer them... imagine if you get a stubborn horse? Pressure! I was even thrown off a horse once, in Federation Park. It was raining and a car skidded and bounced my horse while Constable Joseph and I were on patrol. I went into the air and ended up back in the saddle, but the horse bolted and I fell hard. Former MP Jensen Fox was there and I remember him coming to my aid... if you saw the size of my head where I hit it... then it was straight to the hospital. “Plus nobody has any idea of the pain your own body goes through riding all day. Once we had to escort Dr Linda Baboolal for the opening of Parliament. First we walked from the HQ on Long Circular Road to the President’s House, then we had to trot from there to the Red House. When a horse trots, your body is bouncing up and down in the saddle with each step, so your poor buttocks is in pain and your knees are in pain going around the Savannah. But looking at us, you will never think so, because there is always a smile on our faces.”

Cox and Prince did not stay long in the unit, which left Douglas-Meyers alone in the ranks for a couple of years until the next official women’s intake. Soon after that, the Mounted Branch was opened to civilians to come learn to ride and was known as the ‘Friends of the Mounted Branch’, numbering over 20 persons. Ascending up the ranks to her present post as Sergeant, she rode actively up to the 90’s and is now on pre-retirement leave. She has never regretted her decision to join the mounted branch and will encourage any woman to do so. “I have not seen any woman in the Mounted Branch attain my rank as yet, but I would like to see them advance,” Douglas-Meyers admitted. My dream is to someday see a woman Police Commissioner; for that to happen though, they will have to close ranks. But I have no regrets over my time in the Mounted Branch. I gave them 20 years of service there and had 30 good years overall in the Police Service, doing courses as they came up, giving to the unit in many ways and being active in the community. All in all, policing is a great calling. Despite it being a male oriented service, that is what made it more challenging for me, to prove that I belonged.”