It’s a little before 6:30 in the morning, and volunteers Mike Duffy and Jamie Kaintz are already at Quadrant Private Wealth Stables, set to get Pharaoh, George, Asa and Grey ready to face another day of duty. Duffy and Kaintz are joined by Sgt. Mike Leaser of the city of Bethlehem’s Mounted Police Patrol.

Their duties include mucking the stalls, feeding, ensuring there is plenty of fresh water for each mount, looking for any apparent injuries and making sure the barn is clean. The same process will be repeated in the evening by another set of volunteers.

For both Kaintz and Duffy, this is just the beginning of a busy day that will also find them heading to their day jobs as director of student services at IIRP and director of campus environment and procurement at DeSales University. Both serve on the board of the nonprofit Friends of Bethlehem Mounted Police and are two of the over 25 volunteers who support the mounted police patrol with their time and efforts.

The company of volunteers goes through individual background checks, receives basic training, views a power point history of the mounted patrol, and must feel comfortable handling the horses.

Volunteers perform other duties beyond care of the horses and upkeep of the barn. Prior to Musikfest they worked with the Bethlehem and Lancaster mounted units on conditioning officers and their mounts to the changing environment a festival of that size offers.

For two nights, volunteers created distractions like banging a drum, waving pool noodles, shouting, and throwing empty water bottles so both the officers and horses would be ready for the large active crowds that attend the festival.

You’ll also find volunteers at many community events, staffing a mounted patrol stand where they offer merchandise, sponsorship opportunities and spread the word about Bethlehem’s mounted unit.

“It’s not glamorous,” says Duffy, and Kaintz adds, “It’s a different level of commitment when you put your sweat into it.”

Bethlehem police chief Mark DiLuzio says there is also a substantial savings to Bethlehem taxpayers. Since statistics were kept beginning in 2014 DiLuzio says the volunteers have saved taxpayers over $400,000. “They give about 2,500 hours annually,” he adds.

DiLuzio says the unit patrols city parks, covers public events and festivals, patrols the city’s business districts, covers protests and rallies and high school football games, and that a mutual aid agreement with other units in Pennsylvania has Bethlehem’s officers helping in a variety of ways. “If someone is missing,” says Diluzio, “it’s better searching from the back of a horse than being on the ground in fields and woods.”

In the end, it is the dedicated volunteers who handle all of the non-law enforcement activities that make the mounted police initiative successful, according to DiLuzio. “This is the perfect example of a police-citizen partnership,” he explains. “It’s citizens who care about the horses and officers helping to solve problems.”

The public will have an opportunity to meet the horses, officers and many of the volunteers on Sept. 8 from 1 until 6 p.m. at an open house at the Quadrant Private Wealth Stables, located at 615 East Langhorne Avenue. Admission is free, with activities such as tours of the barn, face painting, a duck pond, dunk an officer, food trucks, and pony rides for all family members.

There will be a county music DJ and line dancing, as well as a country style barbeque dinner buffet under a tent. Tickets for the dinner are $20 for adults, $10 for kids 6 to 12 years old and $5 for kids 5 and under. Tickets may be purchased online at www.bethlehemmountedpolice.com.

All proceeds benefit the horses of the Bethlehem Mounted Patrol.