HISTORY

The Sheriff's Posse of Santa Fe County has been active in one capacity or another since August 29, 1941.  In that regard, the Posse is one of the oldest, continuous equine organizations in New Mexico.

In the early years, the Posse was affiliated with the Santa Fe County Sheriff's Office and members were "reserve" law enforcement officers.

After the infamous prison riots at the NM State Prison, the Posse elected to divest itself from law enforcement activities.  However, in recognition and respect for the accomplishments of prior members, and the traditions of the Posse, the name of the Posse was retained.

At that phase in the evolution of the Posse, it became more of a social riding club and focused it's efforts on "Cowboy Polo".  To the credit of the horsemanship skills of Posse members, the members won many awards and were National Champions.

In the 1990's, the Posse became involved in Search And Rescue within Santa Fe County and the State of New Mexico.  The New Mexico Search And Rescue Act and Plan of 1978 places all Search And Rescue missions and all volunteer teams under the administration of the New Mexico State Police SAR Officer.  However, there is no law enforcement capacity on the part of the volunteers.

In time, many Posse members reached an age where they retired from active horsemanship activities.  This resulted in an unreliable ability to respond to SAR missions and put the Posse SAR accreditation at risk. Therefore, a membership drive was initiated.  By the late 1990's and early 2000's, the Posse grew to a size whereby it became somewhat unwieldy.  Effective administration became difficult and dissenting factions within the Posse caused the organization to almost dissolve.

A core group of members kept the Posse active, and in 2006 and 2007, a gradual rebuilding took place.  Today, the Posse enjoys a membership of approximately 22 active members.  All members are selected for horsemanship skills, dedication to the Posse's SAR role and community commitments and the ability to fit well with the Posse approach and its existing membership.

While there is no formal cap on membership, the general consensus is that around 30 members is an appropriate size to remain effective in meeting the Posse's Mission, while not repeating the the pitfalls of becoming too large a group.

Today, the Posse prides itself on it's contribution to New Mexico's Search And Rescue efforts.  The Posse has expanded its role in SAR from only Mounted SAR to include 4-wheel drive response capability.  However, the focus remains on horsemanship and Mounted SAR first, with 4-wheel drive only as an ancillary roll.

The Posse also engages in other community activities as explained in the Mission Section.