Bureau of Land Management mounted ranger Stan Zuber and his patrol horse Koal, a
saddle-trained wild horse from Nevada, will retire at a public ceremony 3:30 p.m.,
Friday, at BLM's Silver Saddle Ranch in Carson City.
Zuber started his career with BLM in 1978 as an Outdoor Recreation Planner
and has been a commissioned law enforcement officer for the agency
since 1987. In 2002 he was partnered with Koal, a specially trained,
three-year old wild horse who was captured that year in the Buffalo Hills,
near Gerlach, Nevada, as part of a BLM herd reduction gather. They have
been a mounted patrol unit since that time.
Koal is one of the most successful graduates of the saddle-horse training
program at the Northern Nevada Correctional Center in Carson City.
Zuber took Koal through the Mounted Horse Patrol Academy at Yosemite National
Park, the first BLM wild horse to do so. They also attended mounted patrol
training with the Sacramento County Sheriff, Carson City Sheriff, and the
Mounted Honor Guard training by the California Mounted Officers
Association. Koal exemplified the ability and potential for wild horses to
become proficient law enforcement mounts.
Stan and Koal have conducted more than 200 mounted patrols of BLM public
lands in Nevada, as well as being popular ambassadors at local school
programs, 4-H fairs, Capital City Farm Days, Nevada Day Parades, Mule Days
Parades in Bishop, California, and special memorial services for peace
officers.
The special ceremony on August 7 at Silver Saddle Ranch is to celebrate
Koal's unique tour of duty and his honorable contribution to the Bureau's
mission. The removal of bridal, saddle and blanket, and a symbolic
horseshoe represents Koal's retirement from the BLM Mounted Patrol.
Koal is being adopted by Zuber and his family when he officially retires
from federal service at the end of August.
