BLM ranger and his mount to retire Friday

Bureau of Land Management mounted ranger Stan Zuber and his patrol horse Koal, a saddle-trained wild horse from Nevada, will retire at a public ceremony at 3:30 p.m. Friday at BLM's Silver Saddle Ranch in Carson City.

Zuber started his career with BLM in 1978 as an outdoor recreation planner and has been a commissioned law enforcement officer for the agency since 1987.

In 2002 he was partnered with Koal, a specially trained, 3-year old wild horse who was captured that year in the Buffalo Hills near Gerlach as part of a BLM herd reduction.

Koal is one of the most successful graduates of the saddle-horse training program at the Northern Nevada Correctional Center in Carson City.

Zuber took Koal through the Mounted Horse Patrol Academy at Yosemite National Park, the first BLM wild horse to do so. They also attended mounted patrol training with the Sacramento County Sheriff, Carson City Sheriff, and the Mounted Honor Guard training by the California Mounted Officers Association.

Koal exemplified the ability and potential for wild horses to become proficient law enforcement mounts.

Stan and Koal have conducted more than 200 mounted patrols of BLM public lands in Nevada, as well as being popular ambassadors at local school programs, 4-H fairs, Capital City Farm Days, Nevada Day Parades, Mule Days Parades in Bishop and special memorial services for peace officers.

The ceremony Friday at Silver Saddle Ranch is to celebrate Koal's tour of duty and his contribution to the Bureau.

Koal is being adopted by Zuber and his family when he officially retires from federal service at the end of August.