Babcock Ranch Telegraph

Mounted patrol brings Babcock Ranch’s past and present together




Lauren Merchant of Punta Gorda-based Merchant Performance Horses rides Tristan. Ms. Merchant and her husband, Doug, train BRCP horses. JERRY BEARD / BABCOCK RANCH TELEGRAPH

Before Kitson & Partners bought the land and built the town we now call Babcock Ranch, the area was a working ranch with cattle, plus cowboys on horses.

Hearkening back to that rustic era, the Babcock Ranch Community Patrol is adding a mounted patrol division, paving the way for a cadre of officers on horseback surveilling nature trails, keeping watch at school dismissals and adding hometown appeal and security to events in Founder’s Square.

Lauren and Doug Merchant of Punta Gorda based Merchant Performance Horses train the majestic animals employed for this endeavor and were the first Community Patrol officers to ride them in this capacity. Officers Lisa Anderson and Kenzie Hinton have since joined their ranks. In all, seven people are in the equine patrol.

The Merchants both have decades of equestrian experience, including a stint with the Hendry County Sheriff ’s Department as mounted patrol volunteers. Lauren does a lot of training in different equestrian capacities and also breeds and raises horses.

ABOVE: Babcock Ranch Community Patrol Officers Lisa Anderson and Doug Merchant set out on Ragnar and Tig for a ride. JERRY BEARD / BABCOCK RANCH TELEGRAPH

ABOVE: Babcock Ranch Community Patrol Officers Lisa Anderson and Doug Merchant set out on Ragnar and Tig for a ride. JERRY BEARD / BABCOCK RANCH TELEGRAPH

“The Merchants have already visited Babcock Ranch several times to learn the area, take out the horses and see how they are accustomed to the different settings,” said Community Patrol Director Bill Pinho. “They walked the trails and Founder’s Square and went to some school dismissals.”

Recalling a visit to Babcock Neighborhood Schools, Mr. Pinho said, “We got such overwhelming response and joy from everyone seeing the horses. The kids loved it. They came running over to talk to the officers.

“It’s just a great way for the community to engage with our officers and make them more approachable, which is so vital during a special event or on holiday weekends when we have a lot of people in the Founder’s Square area.”

There are several reasons for this intriguing expansion of the Community Patrol officers’ mode of transportation (they also make their rounds via Ford Explorers, a Ford Ranger pickup truck, bicycles, a golf cart and a six-passenger Polaris all-terrain vehicle). On horses, patrol officers are raised above the crowd, offering them wider visibility of the surroundings and making them more visible to people. Also, officers on horseback can cover areas like parks and trails where other vehicles can’t traverse.

LEFT: Officers Kenzie Hinton and Lisa Anderson, riding Ragnar and Dallas, greet Bill Eagan and his daughters Calliope and Sophia.

LEFT: Officers Kenzie Hinton and Lisa Anderson, riding Ragnar and Dallas, greet Bill Eagan and his daughters Calliope and Sophia.

Perhaps the most appealing aspect of the mounted patrol is the community-building opportunities these beautiful animals offer.

“They add to the hometown appeal of Babcock Ranch and spark a nostalgia for simpler times,” Mr. Pinho said. “A horse is a great conversation piece, so a mounted patrol officer will be able to start conversations and learn more about the people and the community and find out what issues we can address.”

One response to “Mounted patrol brings Babcock Ranch’s past and present together”

  1. Vicki Silva says:

    The areas that are currently developed were actually not part of the working ranch, they were EARTHSOURCE (rock quarry) and before that owned by Babcock family and used as a rock quarry. The Ranch was several miles north of the properties being used for this development. Nice spin on words to make it sound more interesting but facts are facts, this part was a rock mine.

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