New mounted posse leader likes a challenge

When Jerry Suesz decided he wanted a new horse, he settled on the challenge of training a wild mustang adopted from the Bureau of Land Management in Coeur d'Alene.

Suesz, the new chief of Nez Perce County Mounted Sheriff's Posse, spent the past four years training Jake and will ride him in all coming posse events. The posse is a group of volunteers who assist in search and rescue missions and participate in parades and other community events.

The group has existed since the 1950s and elects a new chief every year. Suesz was also chief in 2010, and will be sworn in with the other officers by county Sheriff Joe Rodriguez on Jan. 12.

Jake was a colt when he was taken by the BLM from a herd management area in the Owyhee Mountains. Wild horses and burros are adopted to private owners on a regular basis to prevent vegetation and water from becoming too scarce in certain areas of overpopulation.

Suesz and his wife purchased Jake at auction for $525 - a price they were willing to pay after he lost a mare to Cushing's syndrome. At the auction, he said he had the choice between Jake and a young filly, and decided he wanted a male this time around.

Suesz said they didn't officially own him until a year later, after the BLM visited to make sure Jake wasn't being mistreated and signed him over. But it wasn't an easy road from day one.

"It took me two months to touch him; he was like a wild deer," he said.

Because he has been training horses since he was 12 years old in southern Idaho, Suesz welcomed the challenge. His father and other relatives taught him what he knows about training, and it has become a lifelong passion.

"Whenever I've been able to afford (horses), they've been in my life," he said.

He joined the posse in 2005, and said it was between that organization and the Veterans of Foreign Wars, because he served in Vietnam. But since he got to play with his horses and serve the community at the same time with the posse, it was a "pretty easy decision." He also works full time at River City Vocational Rehabilitation Center in Lewiston.

Suesz said he is looking forward to their coming events, which include a fun ride and the Asotin parade in April, and Operation Challenge in May, where children with disabilities can ride and interact with the horses. It's not only good for Jake to be social, but he enjoys watching people discover horses as well.

"When you love horses, to see other people share in it (is great)," Suesz said.

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Moseley may be contacted at

kmoseley@lmtribune.com or (208) 848-2270.