SANTEE, Calif. — A pair of four-legged ambassadors were out on patrol for the San Diego County Sheriff’s Office Monday at the Santee Trolley Square Shopping Mall. Two horses, Ace and Maestro, along with Mounted Patrol volunteers, were spreading holiday cheer to unsuspecting shoppers in the parking lot outside Target.
“It’s like watching Santa Claus come in on his reindeer,” said a passerby.
With bells jingling and hooves clinking, Ace and Maestro made quite the impression on local kids.
“They had reindeer antlers on them,” said little Reese Ascroft.
"It’s really cool,” said Santee resident Ruby Wilson, who was there with her son. “It’s actually kind of a surprise coming out of Target and seeing all them.”
For Campbell and Crater, it’s a win-win, volunteering with the Sheriff’s Office and bringing smiles to people’s faces.
“The kids love him, the elders love him, you know, everybody always waves at us when we ride down the streets,” said Crater. “So it’s really satisfying.”
While they’re out patrolling parking lots and meeting families, they’re also making sure no grinches can steal Christmas.
“We’ll go out to shopping centers, parking lots, make sure that there’s no people scoping out cars, trying to steal presents, you know, that might make for a very unhappy Christmas,” said Campbell, who likes the advantage of being on horseback. “Being up in the saddle, we can actually look above cars and look down into cars and make sure no kids are left unattended or during the summer months, we also look for pets that might be locked in cars.”
While their presence is a nice crime deterrent, it’s also about giving families a chance to meet the horses.
“We get so many people that come up and say, ‘I’ve never touched a horse, I’ve never been up close to a horse,’” said Campbell. “So this is a great opportunity for them to come up and just sort of see what a horse is like and maybe give them a pet if they’re comfortable with that.”
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