RCMP looking for names from kids for newest foals

A mare and her foal. (RCMP/supplied)

The Mounties are reaching out to kids across Canada, looking for names for their newest foals.

The Musical Ride’s Breeding Program is welcoming new foals born at the RCMP Breeding Farm in Pakenham, Ont., west of Ottawa, and they need names.

This year, the RCMP is asking for names that start with the letter C.

The contest began Tuesday. Entries can be made online must be received no later than 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on April 24.

To qualify, you must be 14 years old or younger and live in Canada. Names must start with the letter C and should be no more than 12 letters long. Entries are limited to one per child or one per school classroom.

Children must ask a parent or guardian for permission to enter. School classroom entries must be submitted by a teacher, for a classroom of students who are 14 or younger.

The RCMP Musical Ride and Heritage Branch will choose up to nine winning names from across Canada and will announce the winners in May.

Last year’s “Name the Foal” contest received more than 1,600 entries from children across Canada and more than 100 entries from schools.

The names that were chosen last year were:

• Badge - Sam, age 10, Port Hood, Nova Scotia
• Baffin - Kai, age 7, Iqaluit, Nunavut
• Balmoral - Chosen by Musical Ride staff
• Beckett - Paisley, age 4, Burton, New Brunswick
• Bellamy - Kindergarten class of Dorchester Consolidated School, New Brunswick (school class winner)
• Binesi - Joshua, age 12, Cantley, Quebec
• Bison - Forrest, age 12, Sioux Lookout, Ontario
• Boreal - Keegan, age 6, Lloydminster, Alberta
• Bravo - Megan, age 7, Ottawa, Ontario

Contest winners receive a horseshoe with their foal’s name engraved on it, a picture of the horse they named, and a certificate signed by RCMP Commissioner Mike Duheme.

The RCMP has been breeding its own horses for more than 80 years. Its breeding facility in Pakenham, Ont. is one of the largest licensed Hanoverian breeders in the country.

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