Trish Lafrance will never forget her first Musical Ride.
“My very first show was in Switzerland,” she recalls. “I remember the plane landing in Zurich and then bringing in the horses. It was surreal.”
Cpl. Lafrance spent three years with the Musical Ride, mainly touring Canada and the U.S. She’s now stationed in Campbell River where she works as a forensic identification specialist, but now that the Musical Ride is coming here next month, some good old memories are coming back.
“We toured the south-east United States and these people in Texas couldn’t believe we were police officers and not actors,” she says with a laugh.
The RCMP Musical Ride takes place Aug. 10-11 at the Campbell River Trail Riders facility on General Hill. The day before, a few officers and their mounts will be at Nunns Creek Park to sign autographs and pose for photos at the annual Logger Sports.
Campbell River’s Canada Day Committee is volunteering to organize the ride with all proceeds benefiting police-themed charities. Ticket sales will go to Campbell River Crime Stoppers while all food sale profits will benefit Cops for Cancer Tour de Rock which comes through Campbell River on Sept. 24.
Crime Stoppers will also receive the proceeds from the publicity rights to the 36 horses that take part in the Musical Ride. For $150 a sponsor gets to care and groom their horse, and to hang a sponsor sign on the front of the stall.
“You can brush them and take care of them, and all the proceeds go to Crime Stoppers,” said Carol Chapman of the Canada Day Committee. “And it’s all taking place here, at the Campbell River Trail Riders facility – truly one of the finest stops on Vancouver Island.”
Tickets
- The show starts at 7 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 10, and at 1:30 p.m. on Sunday, Aug. 11.
- Tickets are $10, $6 for youth and free to three and under. Advance tickets are available at A Cut Above, Island Fever Travel, Visitor Info Centre, Campbell River RCMP detachment and from the Campbell River Trail riders.