As a little girl, Karen Grant developed a love affair for pomp and pageantry, and horses.
She was fascinated by what she saw when her dad took her to witness the annual Independence Day parade. It was a kind of must-see event. She has three brothers who are policemen and she would look on with pride as they did their drills on parade at the Garrison Savannah. But it was the sound of the pitter-patter of the horses on the trot and the various formations they could make which left her totally captivated.
As a little country girl with no chance of seeing or going to a stable, those occasions provided pleasant memories and daydreams of getting closer to horses. That enthralment led her into the Royal Barbados Police Force and directly to its mounted Branch.
Last Monday, she was not only part of the Independence parade, but was one of its star attractions. She was the leader of the mounted unit on display – a first for a female member.
Almost a week later, she’s still beaming with pride and gratitude, given the widespread public applause and the pride of her relatives, particularly dad David Boyce, and those in the rural district of St Jude’s in St George. Most of all, she’s eternally grateful to her fellow officers for their show of support in what is essentially a team effort every time they put on a display.
Sergeant Karen Grant stepped up to the plate when given the opportunity to lead and showed that the job can be efficiently done by a man or a woman. She had to be given a special promotion for the occasion; she was made an acting Inspector since someone at that or a higher rank leads the mounted unit during such special events.
Please read the full story in today’s Sunday Sun, or in the eNATION edition.