Pulteney, AB – In a police-related mix up, RCMP unwittingly deployed the Mounties famed Musical Ride to a hostage situation in rural Alberta.

Police surrounded an isolated farmhouse after receiving a tip that a man was holding his business partner hostage. However, officers were surprised when a full troop of 32 riders and their horses appeared to put on an equestrian performance like no other.

RCMP speculate that one of the officers accidentally dialed ‘2’ for the Musical Ride rather than ‘1’ for the Emergency Response Team on the RCMP support hotline.

Wasting no time in a dangerous environment, the team circled the barricaded house in an impressive wheel-wagon formation to establish a perimeter. The team also used a diversionary zig-zag display in an effort to thrill both the hostage and gunman.

Upon realizing their mistake, the police incident commander tried to play it cool by trying to use the team as a bargaining chip.

“If you let the old man go, we’ll let you pet Comet,” said the police negotiator to the gunman through a megaphone while feeding the aforementioned horse a carrot. “Did you want to see the dome formation again?”

After ten hours and dozens of formations to establish trust, the situation ended peacefully thanks to a 15-year-old mare named Vimy who used her active listening skills to convince the man to surrender to police.