RCMP musical ride gets new member

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For 26-year-old Shayne Courtorielle, riding and grooming and cleaning out a horse's stall will be a part of his day-to-day routine for the next four years. He will be a part of Canada's famous RCMP Musical Ride where members wear their red serge while riding horse back doing performances.

The musical ride tours all across Canada and across the United States. This year the ride will be touring Europe. Courterielle, who is Metis,was born and raised in Slave Lake. He's been a member with the RCMP for the last four-and-a-half years, currently posted in Hobbema.

"It is a chance for me to represent the RCMP, represent Canada and for me to represent the Aboriginal people. I feel very honored to be selected as a member on the musical ride," said Courtorielle. "It's going to be a positive one. It is going to be a nice change. It is going to be my job riding a horse, shoveling the stalls, grooming the horses, and to be around horses," he said.

As part of a selection process, Courtorielle and 15 others attended a course in November and December, then a second course from January 10 until February 12. Out of both courses only eight members were selected to return. To Courtorielle, to be selected to go on the course was one thing, but to be chosen to be a part of the musical ride was a great honor.

Prior to Courtorielle's posting he had no experience riding horses.

"I rode a horse maybe five or six times, and to tell you the truth I was scared of them," said Courtorielle. "But after completing the course, my confidence and everything like that it just went up. I'm not scared of horses now. Probably because I was around them I got to understand why they do the things they do," he said.

Courtorielle's father Alex is an RCMP member in Swan Hills, his mother Sheila has been with the Native Counselling Services of Alberta for a number of years where she is now working as area supervisor.

"We are very proud of him. We are proud that he met all of the requirements that he needed. It is great. It is the new things that he will be learning. He'll have a chance to travel, to be exposed to the world, which is great," said Sheila Courterielle. "I think as parents my husband and I were there for the kids as much as we could've been and we allowed our kids to be into sports-that was important. We also have another son who is an RCMP member. He is stationed in Burns Lake, B.C. Now the youngest son also wants to join the RCMP," she said.

Courtorielle outlines the benenfits for anyone who wants to be a police officer. Some of the highlights included a rewarding career, excellent job security and a chance to travel.

"You can really go far with this job and that is what I want to do. I guess ever since I was a little kid I wanted to be a police man. What really convinced me was when my father joined the RCMP. I was in Grade 9. I remember going to his graduation in Regina, seeing him march around, and him getting his badge and stuff like that. I was very proud that I had a dad who was a police officer. I thought it was really neat. I can remember when I was at my dad's grad, I said to one of my uncles, 'I'll be back here some day,' and years down the road I was there and I did it," he said.

Courterielle believes that moving to Ottawa will be a positive experience.

"I've got to be there for April 24th. It is going to be my posting for the next four years. I have mixed feelings; I'm very excited about going. It is going to be something new, something different. It is going to be fun and interesting. However at the same time I'm quite nervous. I'm going to be far away, no family around. Growing up I came from a close family, close to my mom and dad, brothers, aunts and uncles and cousins. In Ottawa I'm going to be all by myself, but it will help me grow as a person," he said.

Who is Courterielle's role model?

"I'd have to say my father inspired me. He was very athletic, always a perfectionist. That is the way that I'm now, people and friens will say 'you are so much like your father.' When I do something, I want to do the best. He always pushed me-I like that he did that because I got my education, got myself a career, and everything like that. I would say my father is my role model," he said.