RAS AL KHAIMAH // As the sun sets over the sandy hills of Al Awafi desert, a group of horsemen start making their way stealthily through the dunes and up along narrow paths near settlements in search of troublemakers who may have taken refuge in the desert. The noise of their hooves muffled by the sand, the horses carry the police symbol on their saddles - a falcon with seven stars symbolising the seven emirates. With poise, they carry riders whose kanduras are wrapped around their waists, exposing beige riding trousers and black boots. The horsemen's traditional headgear is wrapped around their foreheads to protect them from unpredictable weather changes and maximise peripheral vision. The five horsemen are part of RAK Police's patrol division, headed by Lt Col Khaled Hamad al Merri. Each emirate has a horse patrol division to monitor areas outside cities that are hard to reach by car. Armed with nothing more than mobile phones and walkie-talkies, the horsemen never "mix in" with the people they encounter along the way. "Their weapon is their silence," Lt Col al Merri said. "Their role is to be our eyes in the desert and the villages where sometimes people take liberties when they think no one is watching." True to form, the horsemen do their rounds quietly, noting anything suspicious. Often they stand close to farms and fenced-up camps, just for a few minutes, listening for any signs of trouble. "The concept of patrolling horsemen is nothing new to the region," Lt Col al Merri said. "Before the police, the tribes themselves used to do it and were known as al Aasas." The concept went even further back, he said. The second caliph in Islam, Omar bin al Khattab, was one of the earliest leaders to popularise the idea of patrolling at night in the alleys of Madinah. Unobtrusive and silent, the horsemen often get stopped by people who want to ride. When The National accompanied them recently, they were taunted by drivers of noisy buggies who kept wanting to frighten the horses. But the riders and their mounts maintained their poise and stayed focused. "Unfortunately, sometimes people want to bother and distract the horsemen and their horses, and that is why we trained the horses as much as we could not to be frightened by sounds of cars and engines," said Lt Col al Merri. Weighing only 50kg and standing just 1.6m tall, Arjon Kumar, 26, is perhaps the ideal horseman. He has been patrolling for four years. "I feel like a hero when I ride the horse," he said, even while conceding that sometimes people are annoyed by the patrols. "It is not nice how they try to scare the horse, but the horse is smart and doesn't fall for their tricks." While it was hard in the beginning, Mr Kumar said, he does not find it difficult now. But he needs to be more firm when he rides Arabian horses. "The Arabian is always the most powerful, and just wants to run." Most of the horsemen are from India. Lt Col al Merri has been trying for years to recruit Emirati horsemen, but so far has not succeeded. There are 10 specialised horsemen at this police division, all under the supervision of Lt Col al Merri, who is a skilled horseman himself. They go out in groups of six or eight, then pair off and patrol in various directions at least six kilometres into the desert. They rotate turns until they have covered as much ground as possible. They patrol regularly throughout the year, with a break during the hotter months when there are rarely any people in the desert. "The school breaks and winters are the times when we increase our patrols as more people camp out in the desert and, as usual, there will be some young people causing disturbances such as chasing girls and starting fights," Lt Col al Merri said. Besides the more trivial policing challenges, the horsemen have assisted the police in fugitive-related incidents and drug busts. A few years ago one of them spotted a collection of parked cars in the middle of nowhere and checked the vehicles' licence plates by radio. Within half an hour, the police were there to arrest a group of drug users and dealers. One of the parked cars had been flagged in the system. "People underestimate the importance of having a horse patrol division, for they can go where cars can't and are an important tool that complements the work of the police force," Lt Col al Merri said. Besides, "there is nothing like doing your job on the most magnificent animal as you ride in your ancestors' serene desert". The area of Al Awafi is just one of the more popular getaways in the desert, so it is often the focus of patrols. They run from 6pm to midnight, sometimes later. Each pair of horsemen works a four-hour shift. To avoid tiring out the horses, the animals are transported from their stables in Al Salihiya to the furthest point that a car can go. They are tacked up in their saddles and police wear, and then carry riders for four hours before they are taken back. Before returning to the stables, the horsemen whistle to calm the horses and induce them to relieve themselves - which they do in military unison. "We are very protective of our horses," Lt Col al Merri said. rghazal@thenational.ae