A passion for protecting Columbus communities led two police officers to love more than 10 years ago after an interest in horses brought them together.
John and Regina Shoopman both work as mounted police officers in Columbus — a unit that works on horse at Ohio State football games and other heavily populated events to control crowds — for Columbus Police and University Police, respectively.
The Shoopmans married in 2008 after training together in a mounted patrol unit in early 2006, Regina Shoopman said in an email. John Shoopman was working with Columbus Police at the time, and Regina was working for Miami University of Ohio.
Regina Shoopman was the instructor for mounted patrol training, and John was a new rider when they met. They talked some at training but didn’t see each other again until she was called in by Columbus Police to help patrol the Ohio State-Michigan game later that year, when they rode in the same squad and immediately took to each other, Regina Shoopman said.
After the Shoopmans got married, Regina moved to Columbus and took a job with University Police in October 2008, when she worked on developing a mounted patrol unit, she said.
In 2012, Regina Shoopman was approved for a pilot program with University Police, and in 2013, it became a permanent part-time position in the department, she said.
During the first year of the program, Regina Shoopman worked the football games by herself, she said. After a successful launch, the administration requested assistance from outside agencies for the next season — including John Shoopman’s mounted patrol unit with Columbus Police.
The Shoopmans agreed that working with a spouse makes the job easier.
“It’s nice to work with someone you know well and trust,” Regina Shoopman said. “It’s like we’re on the same page most of the time and can tell what the other one is thinking. That helps when we need to go from a public relations and patrol function straight into an enforcement or tactical situation.”
The Shoopmans both enjoy the aspect of their job that allows them to talk to people in the community, Regina said.
“Our interaction with the people and the crowds is the best. It’s why we do this, and it’s why we love it,” she said. “Every day, we meet new people, and some are the same and come back and see us every week.”
John Shoopman said one of his best experiences while working with his wife was at the 2016 Republican National Convention in Cleveland.
There, they joined with units in Cleveland to teach them crowd control techniques, he said. It was an amazing experience on its own, but he said doing it with his wife made it better.
“Going up there and doing it as a couple, that’s definitely a star on our resume,” he said. “It’s just something you look back on when you’re retired. We did this, and it may never happen again.”
Regina Shoopman said she has had the chance to combine a hobby of horseback riding and a love for helping the community to create a job that she loves to go to every day.
“When I became a law enforcement officer, I realized I had a chance to combine two passions — riding horses and protecting the community,” Regina Shoopman said. “Doing things that you love always makes for a better career.”
John and Regina Shoopman have 10 horses at home that they take care of, as well as two children who learned to ride at a young age.
Regina Shoopman rides her personally owned horses, and John Shoopman is the trainer for Columbus Police Mounted Unit, so it is part of his job to ride all of Columbus’ horses to make sure they are fit, Regina Shoopman said. They both continue to train the horses they use, as well as train themselves.
“We always work to improve our riding skills, ability and knowledge,” Regina Shoopman said. “We attend several trainings outside our department and are always open to new techniques and opinions about mounted police.”