Medicine Hat
The Town of Redcliff in conjunction with the Redcliff RCMP and the Medicine Hat Police Service would like to invite the public  to attend a showing of the Musical Ride in Medicine Hat, Alberta on Aug. 9.

Come for an experience of a lifetime and see the world famous Musical Ride.  The Town of Redcliff applied for a date and was selected to host the Musical Ride in coming to the area.   The initial date was canceled due to medical reasons for the Musical Ride horses, however an alternate date of August 9 was provided to ensure the area was able to experience this show.  The Musical Ride will visit the Medicine Hat Stampede and Exhibition Grounds on Aug. 9 starting at  6:30 p.m.

In addition to the Musical Ride show there will also be a demonstration by the Medicine Hat Police Services and RCMP service dogs  prior to the Musical Ride presentation. 

"It is great to see our two forces working together not only professionally, but during a public display like this,"  said S/Sgt. Dave Ness of the Redcliff RCMP. 

Money raised by the Town of Redcliff for this event will be shared among four groups, Redcliff Action Society for Youth, Redcliff Historical and Museum Society, Redcliff Scholarship Fund, and the Redcliff Centennial Committee.

Tickets are on sale at the Town of Redcliff Office, Medicine Hat Exhibition and Stampede Office and Medicine Hat Mall Ticket Outlet.  Tickets are $ 11 dollars for ages 13 and older and $6 dollars for ages 12 and under, children 3 and under are free ( sitting on parent's lap).  Please note that the tickets that were sold for the canceled show will be honored on August 9.

Now a familiar Canadian icon, the Musical Ride conducted its first official performance in 1887 and four years later made its public debut.
Today, in keeping with tradition, the Musical Ride is performed by a full troop of thirty-two riders and horses, plus the member in charge.
The Musical Ride consists of the execution of a variety of intricate figures and cavalry drill choreographed to music. Demanding utmost control, timing and coordination, these movements are formed by individual horses and riders, in twos, fours and eights at the trot and at the canter.

Shows were canceled last month after one of the horses developed a bacterial infection. While not harmful to humans, "strangles," as it's known, because it causes swelling in the horse's throat and makes it difficult to breathe. It is contagious among horses.

Shows in Alberta and Saskatchewan were canceled between July 2 and July 20 to stop the infection from spreading. Insp. Marty Chesser, the officer in charge of the musical ride branch, said recent testing conducted on all the horses confirmed they're healthy and ready to resume touring. "Canceling performances is never an easy decision to make," he said Chesser. "However, in these circumstances we felt it was not only best for our horses, but also was our duty to ensure strangles wasn't passed on to any other horse populations.