The RCMP Musical Ride prepares hooves for (royal) duty
By Patricia Vasylchuk
People and culture
Musical Riding Master, Sergeant Major Scott Williamson, polishes the box landing ahead of the King's visit to Ottawa in May 2025.
Image by Patricia Vasylchuk, RCMP
July 9, 2025
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While spectators watched a polished cavalcade of Canada's Mounties escort the royals with near perfection on May 27, the preparations behind the scenes looked much different in the days leading up to the big day.
"Busy is an understatement," says Superintendent Sebastien Brillon, officer in charge of the Musical Ride and the Heritage Branch, referring to the work at the RCMP stables during the month of May. While all hands were on deck to get the 24 horses, 22 riders, and two coachmen in tip-top shape, Brillon says spirits were high and excitement was in the air.
When the Musical Ride got word that it would be escorting their Royal Highnesses King Charles III and Queen Camilla through the streets of Ottawa in three weeks' time, the team had to pivot swiftly to get ready for the big day. At the time of the announcement, the Ride was focusing efforts on its upcoming cross-Canada tour and the Commissioner's Inspection, an annual tradition during which the Commissioner inspects the Ride ahead of its tour season and presents its new members with a patch featuring crossed lances that signify their readiness to enter the arena.
"I don't think people realize how much work went into preparing for the visit," says Brillon. "Usually, we know about a visit like this, months ahead of time, but this time we only had fifteen days to prepare."
"It's a nervous excitement. The nerves are a good thing. It motivates us to be and do better," says Sergeant Major Scott Williamson, the riding master for the Musical Ride, who rode beside the open carriage during the procession. "We're striving for excellence—mediocrity is not a standard that we accept here."
Carried away
The Ride's preparations for the royal visit meant planning a different route and training a new set of riders and horses from previous royal visits. According to Williamson, a major part of pivoting regular Musical Ride activities for the royal visit was preparing the carriage, called a landau, the name of the German town where it was invented.
While the state landau is pulled by four horses with riders, the box-driven landau used in the May procession was pulled by two horses controlled by coachmen sitting on the landau. And it comes with a unique story.
"This landau was gifted to the Musical Ride by a man near Quebec City who pulled it out of the woods and restored it to its current condition," says Williamson. "Most people would have used it for firewood, but he wanted the carriage to continue to have a life, to continue to have a story."
This was the first time it was used to transport a member of the royal family.
Williamson and Sergeant Jeremy Dawson, the Ride's coachman, were responsible for ensuring the landau was in flawless shape. Preparations also included building a new step stool for the guests to get into and out of the carriage and practising the mounts and dismounts numerous times.
"We want to make sure that His and Her Majesties and their excellencies are able to get into and out of the carriage seamlessly," says Williamson. "We want this to look professional, and a big part of that is the work that we do beforehand."
No horsing around
Another big focus of preparations was ensuring the carriage horses were completely comfortable with things they would encounter that were likely new to them.
"There's a lot of unknowns when you're dealing with horses," says Brillon. "Every time that the horse is facing something new, such as a red carpet for example, we need to introduce a red carpet to the horses, so they understand the red carpet is not a danger to them."
Ride members trained the horses daily, getting them used to the unfamiliar surroundings they could expect during the royal visit, including coloured pavement markings, vehicles, loud noises, flapping flags, things being thrown into the air, crowds of people, and standing on an incline.
"Those are all things the horses could get scared of and we had to prepare them for that," says Dawson. "We have to make sure the horses don't spook at things they aren't normally exposed to in their usual, controlled environment," says Dawson.
In the last week before the big day, the Ride took to the streets around the stables for rehearsal. Training sessions were repeated until the horses were comfortable with every element.
"We want to make it perfect, we want to make it special, so you get that stress level," says Sergeant Derek Quilley, who was one of two lead riders at the front of the royal escort. "But that's why we practice. And in the end, we're setting ourselves up for success with all the preparation."
Saddled up and standing by
In addition to having to be on their best behaviour, the horses also needed to be dressed in the latest royal equine fashion. And likely no one knows how to outfit a horse better than Owen Morgan, the Ride's master saddler, who's responsible for making and taking care of all the Ride's equipment.
In preparation for the King's visit, Morgan prepared and repaired all the harness saddles, bridles, nose bands, lances and lance buckets, and kit worn by the riders, including boots and laces.
He says making the harness to fit the horses pulling the landau was the most time-consuming yet rewarding part of his role in the preparations.
"I've been lucky enough to make the bridles that were used in Her Majesty's funeral, and then in His Majesty's coronation, but this is a whole level above because it was the first one I worked on from start to finish," says Morgan, adding that the pieces are originals dating back 100 years when the RCMP was known as the North West Mounted Police.
Morgan restored the Prince of Wales harness over two years using the original leather and brass accoutrements. This royal visit is the first time it's been used since its restoration.
"A lot of that was cleaning up a hundred years' worth of gunk and tarnish that was on it," he says.
In addition to repairing and cleaning the harness in preparation for the King's visit, Morgan also made an entirely new set of metal accoutrements with the King's insignia and added them to the harness and the drop — a leather piece that rests between the horse's eyes — and on the rear straps of the harness.
Reins to readiness
The day before their Majesties' arrival, the Ride performed a final dress rehearsal, bringing in all the elements, including the escort vehicles and the Canadian Armed Forces band. During the dress rehearsal, three-weeks' worth of preparations culminated in a flawless delivery on event day that left many involved feeling jubilant.
"When you join the police force, you don't think, in your wildest imagination, you'd be wearing the red and escorting the King," says Quilley. "It's so exciting, and a very proud moment for us as a unit."
