Mounted posse assists in search for lost horse

“I am so proud to know a community like that exists here,” comments horse trainer Jewel Stewart of rural Waseca. “It feels really special to know they’re around.”

 

Stewart is talking about the Waseca County Sheriff’s Mounted Posse, a group of volunteers who make themselves available for various public safety projects all through the year. Posse members are typically seen at parades, public events, and at times when the county sheriff’s office wants extra surveillance or patrols.

 

For Stewart, posse members showed up when she was feeling confused, worried, and at a loss.

 

Stewart and a friend had been taking advantage of the horse trails in Waseca County’s Courthouse Park, a 175-acre space with an open picnic and play area, a disc golf course known for being challenging, camping sites, walking and riding trails, and many acres of woods.  

 

“We love Courthouse Park,” Stewart comments of herself and her friends who own horses. “It’s easy to trailer our horses in, get in an hour or two on the trails, then load up and go home.” An added attraction is that Stewart’s rural Waseca home is only a short distance away.

 

Stewart also has a soft spot in her heart for Kajun, a 16-year-old blue roan Quarter Horse who barely escaped being sold for meat because, despite his age, he had never been properly trained for riding. “He was a problematic horse,” Stewart says with a smile.

 

Based on some of his behaviors and reactions, Stewart guesses someone tried to “cowboy break” Kajun somewhere back in his past. “You strap a saddle on the horse, get on its back, and stay on until it’s bucked out,” Stewart says to describe the term. “There was a time when a horse either did what you wanted it to, or you got rid of it.”

 

A recent owner had purchased Kajun at an auction hoping to train him, but had not been able to work with his skittishness. The horse was given to Stewart when she said she would take good care of him.

 

Since then, she and Kajun have grown consistently closer. With careful handling and patience, the horse who would barely allow himself to be led was eventually saddled and ridden.

 

And so Stewart chose to take him to Courthouse Park, thinking he would enjoy the peaceful, natural setting and the quiet, wooded trails.

 

“We had had a really good day of training,” she recalls of Sept. 13. “We had been out for a couple of hours. It got to be about 7, and we were trailering our horses.

 

“I think Kajun was trying to tell me he didn’t want to leave.”

 

What she means is, the horse was being difficult about entering the trailer. Stewart and her friend were both working to get him inside when Kajun jerked his head upright, giving Stewart’s friend rope burn, pushed backward, and dashed off into the darkening woods.

 

“It was an unreal moment,” Stewart recalls. She and her friend called to him, and walked a ways into the woods to look for him, but saw no sign of where he might be. At a loss what to do, Stewart spoke to the park caretaker who suggested calling the sheriff’s office. She called and squad cars responded. Officers, including Sheriff Jay Dulas, drove some of the roads in the park looking for Kajun.

 

Stewart was not surprised, however, when they found no sign of her horse. “He would just run away from a car,” she said. “It’s strange to him, and he would already be nervous out there alone.”

 

It was about 7:45 when Dulas raised the possibility of calling in the mounted posse.

 

“He said he could ask and see if anyone wanted to help,” remembers Stewart, “but that he would usually only call them if a person were missing.”

 

Since she was determined to stay in the park all night if it was necessary, Stewart joked that she might become a missing person.

 

Dulas remembers, “At approximately 7:45 PM, I contacted the Waseca County Mounted Sheriff’s Posse requesting assistance with locating the missing horse.

 

“The call immediately went out to our members — and they responded.

 

“Within a short period of time, 15 Posse members, along with 4 Posse horses, arrived to assist with the search. By approximately 9:00 p.m., teams were organized and headed into Courthouse Park, searching through the woods in complete darkness.”

 

Stewart says she was deeply touched as the small army of volunteers arrived and enthusiastically set about determining what was needed and then proceeding to do it.

 

“They didn’t know me. They didn’t know my horse. But they wanted to help. There was no judgment, no criticism. They were there to make the situation better.”

 

And “better” was desperately needed, Stewart recalls; ever since Kajun had disappeared she had been picturing all the things that could happen to him wandering alone in a strange place. “He could have left the park and gotten out on a road,” she speculates. “Or he might have fallen in a ravine.

 

“I kept worrying what was happening to him out there. Everything looks different in the dark.”  

 

Once the posse arrived, her worries ended quickly.

 

“Thankfully, it didn’t take long,” describes Dulas. “At approximately 9:15 p.m., the missing horse was located deep in the woods.

 

“Members were able to safely bring the horse out of the park and reunite him with his owner. Even better, the horse was found safe and without any apparent wounds or injuries.”

 

Posse members stayed to help ensure Kajun got safely into the trailer before heading home themselves.

 

Stewart says she’s not surprised Kajun responded to a search done on horseback. “That was familiar to him,” she suggests. “He figured he could trust the other horses and the people with them.”

 

Stewart is willing to be philosophical about the experience.

 

“I’m not angry at Kajun,” she says. “He’s still learning, and he’s always improving at his own pace.

 

“Mostly, I’m grateful.

 

“Those folks gave me just the kind of help I needed at a time when nothing else would have worked.

 

“It sort of restores my trust in human nature.”

 

 Of the evening, Dulas comments, “We cannot thank our posse members enough for their response. On a Sunday evening, 15 volunteers dropped what they were doing, gathered their equipment, loaded horses when needed, and answered the call to help.

 

“There was no advance notice. No scheduled shift. Just a call asking, ‘Who can help?’

“And our members showed up.

 

“This is one of the many ways the Waseca County Mounted Sheriff’s Posse serves alongside the Waseca County Sheriff’s Office and our community. Whether the individual needing to be found has two legs or four, our members are proud to answer the call when assistance is needed. A successful search, a safe reunion, and a very good ending to a Sunday night. The working relationship between the Waseca County Sheriff’s Office and Waseca County Mounted Posse is invaluable in serving the Waseca County community.”