All movements are in harmony and in perfect synchronization with the music. “A single horse and rider in motion is a wonderful sight,” but it becomes even more impressive when you realize that it is a unit of horses and riders moving as one. Between the black horses, the red tunics and the admiration of the crowd, this can only mean one thing: the horses and riders must be those of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police Carousel. The Musical Ride has evolved over many years and represents so many things that we as Canadians value. Additionally, the Ride is something we are proud to call our own and have a positive image for the rest of the world to know about Canada. Since a serious need for law and order arose in Western Canada in 1873, Prime Minister Macdonald's Conservatives brought this necessary law to the West after the Cypress Hills Incident, when a group Canadian natives were killed by Canadian and American trappers and traders. Macdonald used the Irish Police as a model for this new police force, the new force was called the North West Mounted Police (NWMP), and it was a force to be reckoned with. The motto of the mounted police was “Maintain the law”. No one really knows how this motto became the motto of the North West Mounted Police, as most of the early records were destroyed by a major fire in 1897. The motto is, however, very appropriate because that is exactly what ' did the mounted police; they maintained the right to public order. In June 1904, the North West Mounted Police were renamed the Royal North West Mounted Police, and later, in February 1920, the name was changed once again to what it is today hui; the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP). Who would have thought that almost a hundred years and countless Police Commissioners and Prim...... middle of paper...... a team. Nothing is more Canadian and nothing makes me happier as a Canadian than being part of the thunderous applause that follows another superb, 100% authentically Canadian performance of the Musical Ride. Works CitedArnold, Phyllis Penny Clark and Ken Westerlund: Canada Revisited 8 Scarborough, Ontario: ArnoldPublishing Ltd., 2000-Cooper, Monique and Joel Walker: The Spirit of the Journey. Winnipeg, Manitoba: Heartland Associates Inc., 2007.-Newhouse, Maxwell: The RCMP Musical Ride. Toronto, Ontario: Tundra Books, 2004.-*Canadian Government: “Royal Canadian Mounted Police”. www.grc.gc.ca. Service Canada, 2007.-Huggett, Mélanie. “The RCMP Carousel”. www.horsejournals.com. Horse Community Journals Inc., February 2010-News, CBC. “5 facts about the RCMP Musical Ride. » www.cbc.ca/news/rcmpmusicalride. CBC News, July 2013.