Flying W Farms Undercover

#133
aka "Sherman" the Police Horse

Sire Firedance-Saddlebred Dam: Bloomfield Heather-Clydesdale
Owner: Taya Workum
We are so proud of this pair!

Subject: Sherm and Seamus 2011
Date: Fri, 13 Jan 2012
From: TAYA
Hi Freddie-
Here is the year-end wrap-up for "the boys".
Sherman:
Most of his year involved working. We spent 2 weekends in May as well as Halloween weekend in Athens, Ohio for the block parties and annual Halloween bash. No major incidents- some crowd control and such, but by-and-large easy event. He also spent most of a week at Jamboree in the Hills again this year. He was fabulous- working 8-12 hour shifts (with short breaks). There was a horrible accident involving one of the other officer's horses and I jumped off to assist- throwing his reins at my partner. About 4 hours later, I saw him again- he had stood quietly while all heck was breaking loose, then didn't bat an eye when a strange officer jumped on him, ran him down to the entrance, and escorted a vet truck into the grounds. He then stood a bit longer and then another strange officer jumped on, and rode him back to camp. Such a good boy. The other event he worked was a very large music event- "Rover-Fest" that was extremely loud and involved working in rather close quarters. As!
usual,
he took it all in stride- breaking up a fight or two and standing quietly during the fireworks and other nonsense.

A crowded street scene with many people standing and walking. Ears of a horse are visible in the foreground, suggesting the photo is taken from the horse's perspective.

A police officer stands next to a police horse equipped with a high-visibility vest near a police vehicle. Another horse, saddled with police gear, is also partially visible.

Sent: Wednesday, May 11, 2011
Photos of Taya and "Sherman" last weekend at Palmer Fest. We go back this weekend for Mill Fest and Spring Fest. They are large block parties that can get very out of hand.
Taya

A police officer in uniform stands next to a brown horse with white markings, both outfitted for mounted patrol duty in a courtyard area with stone buildings.

A person stands next to a horse in front of a sign that reads "Fort Henry National Historic Site of Canada" with the British flag depicted.

Sent: Sunday, November 30, 2008
Subject: Pictures from NAPEC
Fredericka,
Here are 2 pictures a friend took while we were at the North American Police Equestrian Championships at Fort Henry in Kingston, Ontario, Canada. One is after we received our top ten medal (6th place actually) and the other is standing at the Fort Henry sign. I haven't had a chance to get the professional pics ordered yet, but will forward them along when they arrive.
Love
Taya (and Sherman)

A rider wearing a red and white uniform jumps over an obstacle on a brown horse during an equestrian event, with green trees and yellow flowers in the background.

A child in a red jacket and hat looks up at a horse standing in a doorway, with a "Buckle up" sign visible on the wall.

A small child in a red hooded jacket pets a horse indoors while an adult kneels nearby. A "Buckle up!" sign is visible on the wall above them.

A person dressed in formal equestrian attire is riding a brown horse with white markings inside an indoor arena.

Congratulations to Our USDF All Breed Final Winner for 2007
Sherman is Adult Amateur Training Level Champion and 2nd in Training Level Open

Sent: Monday, September 15, 2008
Subject: Sherman
Freddie-
This past Saturday, my city had its annual "Touch-a-Truck" event. All sorts of different vehicles (fire trucks, ambulances, service trucks, rescue trucks, police cars and motorcycles, etc) are all assembled for people to come and see. *LOTS* of kids come- it's one of the favorite events in the area. Of course Sherman was there. This year, the weather was inclement, so we had some of the equipment inside the bays at the fire department. Luckily, Sherm and I got to occupy a space between a fire engine (with engine and lights running), a police cruiser (lights) and motorcycle (lights), with a firefighter doing a an SCBA demonstration behind us. There were people everywhere, but one little boy wanted to meet Sherman. I took the following 2 pictures with my phone, so they aren't great. Note that I wasn't holding Sherman while I took the
pictures- despite all the commotion going on around him. Also, note that there is something in the little boy's hand in the first picture- you can see it more clearly in the 2nd. Can you tell what it is? It's one of Sherman's trading cards! I'm going to try to lighten up the pictures so you can see Sherman's face more clearly.

Lake County Fair Parade:
We parked at the fairgrounds, then walk the parade route backwards to the start, then parade back. The parade route is down a busy street (State Route 20) and we only get one lane on the way to the start- we have traffic going the same direction as us passing, plus oncoming. Sherm's a pro at traffic- he actually got moved fromthe curb side to the traffic side because he is so solid. We have to pass over the freeway, and a set of RR tracks. Sherm didn't bat an eye on the way over. During the parade on the way back, one of the other horses absolutely lost his marbles over the RR tracks. He reared twice, bolted, and was generally a dangerous idiot. Sherm was hilarious- he looked at that horse, looked down at the tracks and deliberately stepped on them and looked at the other horse as if to say- "what's the fuss?". Such a good boy... He is a remarkably tractable horse- just says "ok".The look he gave the other horse was priceless. Wish I had it on
camera. Taya

Person dressed in formal equestrian attire riding a brown horse with a white saddle pad, standing on a gravel path in front of a green building.

Flying W Farms Undrcover competing at Prix De Ville in July 2007
Rider/Owner/Trainer/Co-Worker, Taya Workum

Sherman competes against 100 horses and wins the Blue!

Sent: Friday, December 15, 2006
Subject: Sherman
Oh- and did I remember to tell you that Sherman and I won the Equitation Competition at the National Mounted Police Colloquium in Lexington back in late August? There were just under 100 horses and we took the blue! I was very proud of him!
Taya

A person in equestrian attire rides a brown horse on a grassy field with trees in the background.

Sherman,(Flying W Farms Undercover) Georgian Grande police horse, did fabulous for his first ever mini-trial in the Green Horse division and came in 1st place! Not to mention that he pounded the pavement on patrol at the Willoughby Community Days for 10 hours the day before the mini-trial! And this boy goes barefoot! (WOW! talk about a work ethic!)

A person wearing a white helmet rides a horse while it jumps over a wooden barrier during an equestrian event.

A person in riding attire is riding a brown horse inside an enclosed grassy area with trees in the background.

A person in equestrian attire rides a horse during a jumping event on a grassy field, with trees visible in the background.

Scroll down, going back in time to read all about this pair.

A police officer in uniform stands next to a horse wearing a saddle and bridle. The officer holds a gleaming trophy and smiles. Green trees and grass are visible in the background.

Flying W Farms Undercoverwith the trophy and ribbon he won
for distinguished service to humankind, 2002

May 20, 2003 Email from his owner to Flying W Farms

Hi Fredericka!
I wanted to thank your farm so much for the beautiful ribbon and trophy! I have attached a photo of myself and "Sherman" (now renamed Flying W Farms Undercover!) with the trophy and ribbon he won for Distinguished Service Award 2002;
BTW- I met Sonya- Tropee's mom- this past weekend. We chatted for quite a while and I hope to trailer Sherman over to her farm for an FWF reunion!
Also, Gail and Jose Reveron were the judges for our Mounted Police Competition this past Sunday (Sherm and I were 4th). They said they have 2 Georgian Grandes who are headed to somewhere in California to become part of a Mounted Patrol. Great horses! Taya W.

A police officer is mounted on a large horse in a grassy park area. Text on the image identifies the horse as "Tanks a Million GGGRRF33" (aka "Sherman") and mentions its owner and breeder.

A person dressed in equestrian attire rides a decorated horse. The background features a fence and spectators. Text on the image reads "Sherman at Horsefest 2001.

Saddlebred / Clydesdale cross

A rider on a horse enters an indoor arena at Kentucky Horse Park. A sign with the name "Sherman" is in the background above a black and yellow structure.

From:Taya
To: Fredericka Wagner
Sent: Wednesday, October 11, 2000
Subject: Sherman
Hi Fredericka!
Just a quick update on Sherman. He is doing wonderfully- he worked the Geauga County Fair for three days- kids all over him, rides, noises, demolition derby- never took a wrong step. He did a 15 mile trail ride (his very first trail ride)- no problem- under overpasses with cars roaring above, through creeks, across roads. And just this past Sunday he did his first parade.
He did it by himself (the other horses did not come) and he followed a team of young oxen and a choir of bagpipes. Behind us there were all the fire engines and ambulances with lights and sirens going. Oh, and it was sleeting. He could not have cared less. What a really nice horse he is turning out to be!
-Taya

From: Taya Workum
To: Fredericka Wagner
Sent: Friday, June 07, 2002 1:54 PM
Subject: RE: Sherman (Tanks a Million)
Sherman is now an official police horse. He has the title of "Patrolhorse" for the department I work for (Willoughby Hills Police Department). The kids adore him, and he seems to take everything in stride. I have attached a pic of him (and me) from last month.
Sherman will have an article about him in the paper here in Cleveland (The News-Herald) next Tuesday. (June 11, 2002)
He stands a full 16.3hh now, and does not seem to be done growing. He still has not broadened out- all his energy seems to be towards height still!
I took him to the National Mounted Police Colloquium in Lexington, KY last August. He had just turned 3, and we took 5th out of 60 some in the Equitation division. Pretty impressive since I really had not been working with him- just letting him grow up. We had really not cantered undersaddle until the competition- and we had to go numerous times around the big covered arena each direction during the prelims. He did great! Then, in the Finals, he had to canter from the halt in each direction. The first direction, he took two trot steps, then cantered (correctly), and the second direction he struck off correctly from the halt. Smart Boy!
I plan to take him back to Kentucky this year, perhaps we will do even better...
I need to develop some more pics- but here is one during the Obstacle Course Competition at Lexington this past year (3 year old).
Hope you enjoy the pictures!
Taya