For the past 40 years the Fort Museum of the North West Mounted Police in Fort Macleod, Alberta, Canada has commemorated the coming of the North West Mounted Police in 1874 with an Equine Musical Ride demonstration. The Fort’s Musical Ride brings upwards of 25,000 tourists from all over the globe to the small town of Fort Macleod each summer. These tourists support the town’s economy by eating at local restaurants, staying in the town’s motels and buying souvenirs in the town’s main street shops. The Musical Ride is important to the financial wellbeing and is an iconic brand of the town of Fort Macleod. TheGroom-A-Horse experience associated with the Ride has recently been named a Signature Canadian Experience by the Canadian Tourism Commission.
This year, the Musical Ride is in jeopardy! The futures of these beautiful equine athletes are uncertain. The annual operating costs of the Ride, $85,000, has simply become too much for the Museum to bear. A very important key funding source to cover the wages of the riding staff has been lost and the Museum has currently been unable to secure other permanent funding opportunities.
Some of the expenses for the Musical Ride come from hiring high school, college and university students during the summer to perform the Ride, as well as the costs we incur for feeding and stabling twelve specially trained horses. This year the Musical Ride is also in desperate need of new costumes that are specifically tailored and custom-made to look like NWMP uniforms, giving the Ride a look of authenticity.
The Fort Museum of the NWMP is asking for $30,000 to save this world renowned Canadian Signature Experience. The Musical Ride at the Fort Museum is the only non-travelling, North West Mounted Patrol musical ride in Canada. The Ride plays a vital role in educating guests about the rich, local history of the community and the arrival of the North West Mounted Police to numerous tourists from around the world. The first ever riding demonstration by the North West Mounted Police took place in Fort Macleod in 1876, which is the police force now known internationally as Canada’s national police force, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police or RCMP. A version of this riding demonstration is still performed annually by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, who travel the globe to perform for thousands of spectators, including the Queen of England on several occasions.
The Fort Museum of the NWMP is a registered Canadian non-profit charity.
If you are unable to fund our camapign but would still like to help, please take a moment to spread the word and share our campaign.
For more information or to contribute click here.
This historic venue depicting a part of Alberta heritage is not only important to the southern Alberta community of Fort Macleod but is a benefit to all Canadians and Albertans. Let us hope that we can all step up the plate to help out our neighbors in their time of need. The cowboy and pioneering spirit is alive in Alberta(always has been) and like the historic barn raising bees of yesteryear let us all band together to raise the barn of community togetherness by supporting our neighboring community of Fort Macleod in raising the needed cash injection to keep this historic venue alive and well now and into the future.
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