This afternoon was an absolute highlight for many children at the Hessentag in Oberursel when two members of the state’s mounted police (Reiterstaffel) arrived on horseback for a session called “Polizei zum Anfassen” (police to touch).
Lara (l) and Filou (r) with their riders
And touch they did – the two horses, Filou and Lara, were more than happy to be the centre of attention and the children present were allowed to pat and stroke them.
Many of the children also asked questions, and the riders did not tire of answering the same questions over and over again.
The most popular being:
How old are Filou and Lara? Filou is 13 and Lara is 12 years old.
How do you join the mounted police? First you need to work hard at school for an Abitur (A-Level qualification), then go through the normal 3-year police training programme, and finally apply for a position with the mounted division. The number of places in the division is limited.
Do you hold open days at the stables? Yes, members of the public can visit the training ground at Wendelsweg 128 in Frankfurt (Sachsenhausen) each week on Friday at 9am to see the weekly training session. This only takes place if there are no other duties such as demonstrations or a football match on that day. Groups are requested to call in advance.
Of course, for some of the girls present the session could not last long enough but eventually it was time for the horses to return back to their stables, and for the girls to start making career plans.
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