Retired Richmind Patrolman Glenwood W. Burley is dedicated to boosting one of Richmond’s time-honored police traditions — the mounted police patrol.

The energetic 76-year-old organized a committee to secure a new horse stable for the city’s Mounted Squad. The current stable, located by the train tracks on Brook Road under the Chamberlayne Avenue overpass, was condemned more than 16 years ago, he says. It was flooded during a tropical storm in 2004 and again in 2008.

“After years of repeated discussions with no progress, I spearheaded forming a committee and actually doing something,” Mr. Burley says.

The resulting Richmond Regional Mounted Police & Stable Project, of which Mr. Burley serves as chair, has been quite successful since its first organizational and strategy meeting was held in June 2017.

The key, he says, was getting the right people on board and then establishing good rapport with the ultimate decision-makers at City Hall.

The committee included former Richmond Police Chief Alfred Durham, Capitol Police Chief Anthony “Steve” Pike, Virginia Commonwealth University Police Chief John Venuti, Susan Clarke Schaar, clerk of the state Senate, and Leslie Buck, president of the Friends of the Richmond Mounted Squad that had long advocated for new stables. He also worked with an 11-member liaison team.

“Within two days of creating a committee, I learned that Chief Pike and Chief Venuti had been wanting mounted officers for years, but didn’t have stable accommodations,” Mr. Burley recounts. “I said, ‘Let us build a barn to accommodate all three agencies.’ That’s the plan.”

Members researched and reviewed 13 sites for new stables, including some suggested by the public. The site selected is a city-owned tract of about 40 acres off Government Road, near Gillies Creek in Fulton Bottom, Mr. Burley says.

“The Gillies Creek tract was our best site,” Mr. Burley says. “It gave us the necessary size for the facility, training space and sufficient for rotating grazing lots. It also will have a community theme incorporated whereby visitors, especially children, can have some controlled interaction with the horses.”

The project will cost $1.5 million, which was included in the budget approved by City Council in May.

Groundbreaking will take place this spring, he says, with the barn to encompass about 3½ acres, with 12 horse stalls, an office area with work stations for eight to 10 officers and a conference room to accommodate training and tour groups.

The stable project is just the latest volunteer effort by Mr. Burley, a native of Amherst County who served as a paratrooper in the Army’s 101st Airborne Division and later as a military policeman before joining Richmond Police in 1964. He retired from the force in 1985, but has devoted his time to community efforts.

He led the successful effort to relocate a statue paying tribute to fallen police officers from Nina F. Abady Park beside the Richmond Coliseum to Byrd Park. The Richmond Police Memorial, which he says was “abandoned and neglected” at the Coliseum site, also features a plaque listing the names of the 28 Richmond Police officers killed in the line of duty from 1869 to 2003.

Mr. Burley says he worked with seven of the officers whose names are on the memorial.

“Somebody needed to step up to the plate and address these two long-neglected issues in the city,” Mr. Burley says about the police memorial relocation and the stables.

“It was simple,” he says. “I selected excellent committee members, set objectives, set time limits on achievements and then just do it!”

Meet this week’s Personality, community advocate and chair of the Richmond Regional Mounted Police & Stable Project, Glenwood W. Burley:

Occupation: Retired from Richmond Bureau of Police in 1985.

Date and place of birth: Aug. 4 in Amherst County.

Current residence: Richmond’s Stratford Hills community.

Education: Military G.E.D. and Richmond Professional Institute.

Family: Four children and six grandchildren.

Latest No. 1 volunteer effort: Chairman of the Richmond Regional Mounted Police & Stable Project to get a new horse stable for the city’s mounted squad.

When I got involved with horse stables: In the spring of 2017 I created a committee.

Reason: The decades-long need for a new facility.

Current status of stables: Still despicable conditions; still housing horses.

Number of horses housed there: We had four. “Reo” retired just weeks ago, leaving us with three.

Timetable for creation of new stable: Groundbreaking will be in the spring of 2019. I think 18 to 24 months is a realistic timetable for an open house!

How I will feel when work is done: Emotional, proud and, most likely, exhausted!!!

How I expect horses to feel: The horses? Oh, they will know! Getting out of the hellhole they are in now, with the dampness, mold, mucky, grassless lot, and the loud vibrating trains, THEY WILL KNOW.

Number of police horses: In time, eight to 10. The new stable drawings accommodate 12 horses, one stall for each.

Cost of new stables: Facility and training/grazing lots, $1.5 million.

Most important project I have been involved with: Relocating our Police Memorial Statue to Byrd Park.

What I have learned working on such projects: The success with my objectives is selecting individuals that will complement the progress and achievements set forth. Establish good working relationships with the city administration and mayor. Just as important is establishing positive relationships with the print and television media.

Importance of community support/interest: Community support and interest are essential in this endeavor.

How I start the day: Being thankful for my health and the ability that I can contribute to making Richmond a better place.

A perfect day for me is: Having a sense of accomplishment for something that day.

Something I love to do that most people would never imagine: I frequent the Pony Pasture on the James River, experiencing the roaring waters to greet the rising sun and witness the beauty of an eagle.

At the top of my to-do list is: Eat proper foods and don’t fall.

A quote that I am inspired by: “To achieve an inner calm, be at peace with thyself.”

Best late-night snack: Pound cake and a swig of milk.

Best thing my parents ever taught me: Be polite, look people in the eye and shake hands.

Person who influenced me the most: My father, Ernest Bentley Burley.

The book that influenced me the most: “Tuesdays with Morrie” by Mitch Albom.

My next goal: To finish my autobiography, “Death By Silence.”