The Red Hook Society for the Apprehension and Detention of Horse Thieves is the oldest operating horse thief apprehension society in the United States.
The society was formed at the Upper Red Hook Inn of Stephen Holmes on October 10, 1796. [1] On October 28, 1796, the first notices were posted in the area of Red Hook, New York, warning would-be horse thieves that the society had been formed to stop them. [2]
The horse thief apprehension society remains active, and "riders" (members) pay $5 dues each year. [2] The society's annual meeting takes place on the first Tuesday in October, and features a horse-related speaker and dinner. [2] A $500 scholarship is typically presented to a student who wishes to study "an equine field". [2] The number of riders in the society has grown from 63 people in 2003 to 106 people in 2021. [3] [2]
There is no record of the society ever actually catching a horse thief. [3] [2] By 1990, the organization had decided that catching and arresting horse thieves was an activity best left to professionals. [4] A fourth-generation rider who serves as the secretary said in 2021 that the society "compares to none in terms of its closure rate" because it has not "had any issues in at least the last 100 years, and I'll put that up against any police department." In early days, however, the further a rider rode in search of a missing horse, the more he was paid. [4] They were also paid a bonus if they left the county. [4] Prior to 1956, only men were allowed as members. [1]
When the Red Hook Society for the Apprehension and Detention of Horse Thieves discovered that the Society in Dedham for Apprehending Horse Thieves in Massachusetts was claiming to be the oldest such society in the nation, they sent a letter demanding the group cease and desist making such a claim. [2] A member from the Society in Dedham then attended the Red Hook Society's 225th annual meeting to concede the point, and invited the members to visit Dedham's annual meeting that year. [2]