Riverside County was created from portions of San Bernardino and San Diego Counties on May 9, 1893. In the early history of the County, the Sheriff’s Office was a one-person operation. Today, it is comprised of nearly 4000 employees and is responsible for 7,300 square miles. This makes the Riverside County Sheriff’s Office one of the largest in the country.
2023 will mark the 130-year anniversary of the Riverside County Sheriff’s Office. This anniversary will be especially memorable as it will also celebrate the Sheriff’s Office first appearance in the Tournament of Roses Parade. This year’s entry will highlight the newly formed Mounted Enforcement Detail, which was established in 2021. The Mounted Enforcement Detail fulfills Sheriff Bianco’s vision of a full-time team of deputies providing mounted law enforcement services for the residents of Riverside County. The unit is comprised of six full-time deputies and a sergeant. In addition, the unit has collaterally assigned personnel who are ready to deploy as the the need arises.
The Riverside County Sheriff’s Mounted Enforcement Detail is comprised of specially trained sworn personnel who dedicate their time and resources in support of the Sheriff’s Office mission, and the communities they serve. The Mounted Enforcement Detail uses their personally owned horses to carry out their duties which include, but are not limited to, community engagement events, directed patrol, crime suppression, search and rescue operations, crowd management, and equine and cattle evacuations/rescues.
As mentioned in their Tournament of Roses application, the Mounted Enforcement Detail’s primary focus is to nurture and build relationships between the Sheriff’s Office, partnering law enforcement agencies and the communities they serve. As was common in the wild west, but rare in this day and age, mounted law enforcement is a unique element that this group brings to the Rose Parade to the delight of spectators, young and old.
Being on horseback, the Mounted Enforcement Detail embodies a highly visible and historical symbol of law enforcement’s commitment to providing safety and careful watch over the land. Their participation in the 2023 Rose Parade will serve as an invaluable opportunity for law enforcement to educate world-wide viewers that the good guys on horses, working hard to protect and serve their communities, are no longer a lost symbol of the wild west. Instead, at least in Riverside County, this symbol is alive and well within this noble, dedicated, and caring organization.
The Mounted Enforcement Detail’s mission embodies the theme of the 2023 Tournament of Roses Parade, “Turning the Corner.” While taking from the past and making positive, lasting changes for tomorrow, we share in the hope, beauty, and joy of what our future holds.
Sheriff Chad Bianco says, “We encourage everyone to watch the 2023 Tournament of Roses Parade on January 2, 2023, when the Riverside Sheriff’s Office’s shows the world true service above self from the back of a horse.”