Note from the HPA: After many years of service, Sgt. Allan Whitesell has moved on in IMPD’s ranks. His years of dedicated service to IMPD and the Mounted Patrol have not gone unnoticed. Now, he hands over the reins to Sgt. Tyneka Sperry, who we’re pleased to welcome and look forward to working with. Sgt. Sperry has put together a short briefing below on the state of the Unit.
This year has been a long one, but some good came out of it! As we prepare to move into 2021, I’d like to share some updates as well as the progress we’ve made thanks to your contributions.
New Fence
The Fence is up! Temporary fencing was placed on the North side of the new street. We now have a dry pasture and have already spent time riding/training in it!
New Keypads
Keypads are GREAT! Now, in case of emergency our control operators and fire department can gain entry quickly!
New Saddle Pads
Cody approves of the new saddle pads! They fit and are washable! Thank you!
New Saddle Racks
The saddle racks arrived today, we will get them assembled and the tack can start coming in immediately! We are excited to have all of this gear in a climate controlled, well lit ,secure environment. As we do this we will separate the old tack and begin the process of sorting what we use and do not. As we discussed some can go to Missy for the store, and some to auction. It will be nice to see what is in the back of that semi!
The slow feeders should ship any day and we can’t wait to add those to the stalls.
Barn Update
We did a sight visit at Hilltop farms last week with a local builder. They are putting together an estimate that I am very optimistic about!! Missy and Chrissy from the Public Safety Foundation were able to be there and discuss a lot of the plans, as well as the cost savings that we found in previous plans. I am excited to get the estimate and share it for everyone’s input.
Just some things to point out, the previous plans had 18ft ceilings throughout the entire main building, this is not only unnecessary but costly. The indoor arena only needs to be 16ft., with the rest of the building only needing 12 ft. ceilings.
We also discussed making the aisles 3 in. asphalt instead of concrete, this is not only cost effective it is safer. Concrete is slick and asphalt provides natural traction especially for shoed horses!
The arena was originally 100×200 which is huge! We have asked for an estimate based on an arena that would be 140×80. This is still a large indoor arena but will greatly decrease the cost!
Horse Sponsorship Program
We have been working on a proposal for a horse sponsorship program to offset the cost of horse maintenance. Officer Phillips has done a lot of the leg work for this and I look forward to showing you the final product soon!
We are also working on a couple of other proposals, one is a fence post adoption program. This would entail members of the community adopting a fence post. They would “buy” the post and we would place a small name plate on it. This will not only involve the community but also help pay for the fencing of the new pastures!
Volunteer Opportunities
We will be looking for some assistance with a few things in the near future if we have any volunteers! I have a lot of emails and Facebook messenger contacts that are difficult to provide the proper attention to. Having someone that could address these even an hour or two a week would be very helpful, especially adding the sponsorship of a horse program!
Again, these are all coming soon and I just like to keep everyone updated and on the same page!
Communication is key to every good relationship!
Please let me know if there is anything I can do for you, and I look forward to seeing/ speaking to you soon!
Tyneka Sperry M2