Horse riders have signed up to join the fight against crime in the equestrian suburb of Kyalami, in Joburg's far north. Regular horse patrols will raise the visibility of policing.

Patrolling is thirsty work - horses stop for a quick drink at a local water feature

KYALAMI, home to one of the biggest equestrian communities in the country, is saddling up to help curb crime in the area. On Sunday, 20 July, horse patrols, a local community initiative, was officially launched by the community policing forum (CPF) in the suburb's section two.

According to Wayne Woodward, the chairman for the CPF, the main objective of the horse patrols is to assist the police in patrolling the area, create greater visibility and make sure the streets are clean and calm.

The CPF has been working hand-in-hand with the Midrand police for over four years, he confirms. "We recently launched street patrols, where the community works together with the CPF, security companies and police and helps to fight crime."

Clean and safe
But it is also horse patrols' aim to make the suburb a bit safer for the active riding community; riders are either harassed by speeding cars that have no respect for horse and rider, or held up for cellphones and other valuables. "They are just too damn scared to venture out," a fed-up Venetia Woodward adds.

The patrol heads down one of the main streets

Although the street patrols are proving to be very successful, the CPF realised that a lot of people felt frustrated as they could not help because of their work schedules during the week and equestrian obligations over the weekend. That was when the idea of the horse patrols was born.

"Being a thriving equine area, it was recently decided to launch horse patrols, in an effort to involve a broader spectrum of the community," confirms Shari de Nobrega of the Greater Kyalami Resident's Council.

And the police are only too happy to get more help on board. According to Captain Riaan Optoff of the South African Police Service's Mounted Unit, local riders can easily function as patrollers for the CPF while on out-rides. His unit will help the community horse patrols, which will be taking place on a weekly basis. Riders will be split into groups and be in contact with the CPF and street patrols at all times.

Long grass and open fields
Over 40 riders from the community and the police gathered on the corner of Crocus and Marple roads in Kyalami to start the first ride-out of the horse patrols.

For passing motorists it was a sight to behold. Many were rubber-necking to get a last glimpse of the beautiful steeds and their riders, the latter clad in reflective police jackets.

They were assisted by vehicles and SAPS officers in Midrand and members of the local CPF street patrols.

It soon became clear why the horse patrols would be such a valuable addition to policing in the area. Riders were trotting through long grass, across open fields and vacant land, scouring areas normally inaccessible to cars. And both riders and those in the vehicles provided spectacular police visibility, confirms De Nobrega.

Woodward hopes that within a short space of time participation from local riders will increase dramatically, while crime levels will decrease. At the moment the horse patrols unit has about 30 signed-up members.

Biggest equestrian area
Greater Kyalami is approximately 45km² in size and consists predominantly of large tracts of agricultural land and upmarket rural residential homes.

With over 5 500 horses, the area has the highest concentration of these animals in southern Africa. At least 40 percent of residents own horses, and the area has a thriving equine industry, providing employment to more than 4 000 people.

It is one of the last remaining open spaces able to support such an industry within the northern borders of Johannesburg. Greater Kyalami is also a registered conservancy area known as Gekco.

It consists of the suburbs of Kyalami Agricultural Holdings, Kyalami Ext 1, Glenferness, Kleve, Treesbank, Saddlebrook, Sun Valley, portions of Blue Hills Agricultural Holdings, Blue Hills Estate, Beaulieu Estate, portions of Carlswald Agricultural Holdings and portions of Crowthorne Agricultural Holdings.

The next horse patrol days are 26 July, 2 August and 9 August.

For more information on the horse patrols or the CPF, contact the forum's chairman, Wayne Woodward, on 083 564 8977 or 011 467 3434; or

Shari de Nobrega of the Greater Kyalami Resident's Council on 082 850 4158.

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