April 22, 2004

San Jose Police Mounted Unit loses one of its own

By Kymberli W. Brady
Staff Writer

After eight years of dedicated service with the San Jose Police Mounted Unit, Dakar, a 26-year-old German Warmblood horse was laid to rest on April 12 due to complications from Equine Cushing's Disease.

“That was a very tough one for me,” said Ginny Gerbino, who has trained the Unit's horses for 17 years. “I'm still not over it. To me those types of horses come around once in a lifetime. He had a heart as big as they get and a great disposition that allowed the riders to make many, many mistakes without getting angry. He was a horse that we will probably never be able to replace.”

Dakar began his career with the Mounted Unit 1996, when Diana Alcini of Almaden donated him to the academy after he had grown too old to continue as a world-class Hunter jumping competitor. He quickly became the “master,” and trained all 13 members of the Mounted Unit.

“I'd known him since he was 3,” added Gerbino. “She [Alcini] gave us the greatest gift by donating that horse and we owe a lot to her in giving us the privilege of having him involved in our lives for the past eight years. We definitely want to thank her for that.”

“It was kind of tough on all of us,” explained Sgt. Greg Trapp. “He was one of our favorite horses. People liked to ride him because he was so well schooled and well trained.”

Dakar was diagnosed in 2001 with the disease—an illness that often afflicts older horses and is caused by a tumor in the pituitary gland, the small gland at the base of the brain that regulates the rest of the horse's endocrine systems. As the tumor grows, it puts pressure on the nearby hypothalamus, which regulates the body temperature. Although medication can slow the disease's progression, there is no cure.

Trapp maintains that Dakar was filled with personality—he loved people and was always patient. However, he fondly remembered his graduation day in June 2001, yet forgot about the horse's distaste for cameras. “I was holding him on the ground and he decided he'd had enough,” Trapp laughed. “He spun and took off with me hanging on, and then he dragged me around the barn a bit.”

Maggie Kelly, the unit's self-professed “cheerleader,” noticed Dakar's declining health the week before. “He was teaching up until about a week and a half ago,” she said. “But we were noticing day by day that he was going downhill really fast. I knew when he wouldn't come to me on Thursday, it was time to say goodbye. I cried all the way home.”

Trapp said Kelly was instrumental in fighting City Hall for the land that is now used for the three turnout fields where the horses are allowed to run, kick, play, and graze. The unit's South field will be renamed in Dakar's honor in the coming weeks.

“He was about the sweetest horse you ever laid your eyes on,” Kelly added. “He loved everybody and everybody loved him.”

According to Trapp, Bandit, a Swedish Warmblood—one of 15 police horses that remain with the unit, is expected to assume the role of training horse at the academy. “It's quite a training process to get them to put up with the police work we have to do,” he admitted. “It can take up to six months to get them trained.”

“Dakar did his job and it was time for him to go home,” added Kelly. “Home to the big turnout field in heaven.”