Deputy finds new, old way to save money on gasoline

GOING TO WORK THE WAY IT WAS DONE A CENTURY AGO- Dep. Jody Desjardins of the Thousand Oaks Police Department travels to her job on Ride Your Horse to Work Day June 19. Anyone who is down because of high gas prices might want to take a look at Thousand Oaks Dep. Jody Desjardins' energy-saving method for getting to work without having to stop and fill up. Well, okay, she does have to fill up on oats.

Desjardins, Senior Dep. Jody Keller and Dep. Erika Ragsdall all participated in Ride Your Horse to Work Day on Fri., June 19.

The deputies joined KHAY radio morning show host Charlye Parker on an 8-mile ride from Casitas Springs to Ventura in a show of solidarity in opposition to gas prices.

"Gas prices are just too high, so we came up with an alternative," Parker said.

She announced on her radio show that she was going to ride her horse to work, and when members of the Ventura County Mounted Patrol heard about it, they decided to join her.

The group began at about 5:30 a.m. and made their threeandahalfhour trek to the Ventura Country radio station. It was "really hot," according to Desjardins.

The ride was mostly a symbolic gesture to protest gas prices. The horses were put in trailers when they arrived and driven home, Parker said.

Desjardins rode her police mount, Justin, a 12-year-old quarter horse that's been trained for police work. She and Justin work together on special detail to walk the streets or patrol beaches on holidays and on other special assignments, she said.

"People are more approachable when I'm on a horse and are more willing to talk to me," she said.

That's not the only advantage. Nobody can outrun a horse in a foot pursuit, and when she's in the saddle, she can see over fences, Desjardins said.

Though all the deputies participating in Ride Your Horse to Work Day were female, all the horses were male.

"They have to be boys to be in the mounted unit. Female horses get too moody and get the boys to act up," Desjardins said.

To be in the mounted patrol, deputies must provide their own horses and pay for the horse's keep out of their own pockets, she said.