RCMP Musical Ride in Virden July 25
July 17, 2023, 8:09 am
Sierra D’Souza Butts - Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
On Tuesday, July 25 the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) Musical Ride will be taking place in Virden for the first time since 2016.
Organized by the Virden Community Chamber of Commerce and the Virden Agricultural Society, the hosting of the musical ride is in recognition of the RCMP’s 150th anniversary.
The event will be happening at the Virden Ag Society Fairgrounds. Doors will open at 5 p.m. and entertainment will begin shortly after, starting at 5:30 p.m.
The ride will start at 7 p.m. Tickets are $15 each, and children ages five and under will be free of charge.
For the big event, Sergeant Major Scott Williamson—who serves as riding master for the RCMP—will be leading the troop of up to 32 riders.
“I was born and raised in Saskatchewan, in Rocanville. It’s going to be very special leading the ride. Of course Virden being not too far from Moosomin or Rocanville I’m going to have a lot of family and friends attending,” said Williamson.
“No doubt it will be special. I think this will be the first time I will ever lead a musical ride in front of family and friends."
Williamson spoke about how he was chosen to lead the musical ride in Virden.
“Part of my job here as the riding master and rank as sargent major is I’m second in charge of the entire musical ride,” he said.
“Typically the commanding officer leads the musical ride, but from time to time I’ll go out and relieve him while he comes back to Ottawa. That’s what I’ll be doing when I get out to Saskatchewan on Sunday.”
Importance of the musical ride
The RCMP Musical Ride will consist of up to 32 riders—who are all police officers—and their horses performing intricate formations and drills that are set to music. Their movements involve the utmost control, timing and co-ordination.
Williamson explained why the musical ride is significant to the RCMP.
“There’s a lot of reasons why we do it, but certainly the most obvious is it harkhens back to the earliest days of the RCMP,” he said.
“When we started off as the North West Mounted Police and did the march going west, we crossed the Red Coat Trail in Saskatchewan. It’s just a way to link our history to today. It’s also an opportunity to display a very Canadian entity.”
Williamson said he is looking forward to coming home for the event.
“Certainly coming home is very exciting,” he said.
“I think for me it’s a full circle moment. It just seems like yesterday I was a young teenager at 18 going to Virden for the first time to my first local bar, and here I am 20 something years later leading the musical ride in Virden.
“It’s going to be a really special moment for sure. I think it will be pretty special to my friends and families. Of course they’ve seen me with the ride and followed me throughout many of my journeys with the ride for a long time, but this will be the first time for them to see me so close to home. There’s no doubt they’re going to be quite proud.”
Williamson was asked how significant the RCMP’s 150th anniversary is to him.
“When you talk about full circle, it was basically 150 years ago that the original members of the mounted police set off on horseback. That was not very far from Virden,” he said.
“Now here we are on horseback 150 years later continuing that tradition. Although we’re not marching across the Prairies to provide law and order to essentially what society was at the time, but we’re showing a display of that historical past.”
Williamson spoke about what first sparked his interest in becoming a police officer.
“I think the bug started for me as a teenager playing hockey in Moosomin, my coach was a RCMP officer and that’s where it all started,” he said.
“I know there was a part of me growing up that just felt this draw or this need to serve Canadians. I didn’t know exactly what that meant or how that would look, whether it was policing or the military, but it was always something that appealed to me.
“When I had this coach, who was a constable in the RCMP Moosomin Detachment, he kind of solidified to me that’s what I wanted to be and do.”
He said he hopes to see people from the community come out to celebrate in Virden on Tuesday July 25.
“This is a great opportunity to celebrate Canadian pride and celebrate the 150th anniversary of the RCMP,” said Williamson.
“It’s a great opportunity to meet some amazing police officers. I think my favourite part is meeting our amazing force.”
