KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Seven-year-old Robert Erpelding is going to remember this day for a long time.
The KC Mounted Patrol surprised him at Fox Hill Elementary Thursday morning.
Back in February, officers gave Robert a Mounted Patrol playing card. Robert's mother, Samantha Erpelding, said he took the card with him everywhere. Recently, the card accidentally got washed.
Robert's parents went to social media, and the KC Mounted Patrol heard what happened.
They decided to surprise Robert at school with their horses. They not only replaced his card but they also gave him six more playing cards along with a picture of the Mounted Patrol team.
"I thought we'd get maybe a baseball card again,” Erpelding said. “I didn't think we'd get all of the horses and everything so he'll be super excited.”
Robert and his classmates were very excited. They pet the horses and asked officers questions about what they do.
Sgt. Joey Roberts said with this opportunity, it’s just fun and exciting to see the students’ reactions. It also gives students an opportunity to learn about what the KC Mounted Patrol does every day.
“As officers on horseback, we want people to feel safe to come up and talk to us and ask us questions,” Roberts said. “And here's this little boy that's been carrying around our card since February, and we want to make sure he gets well taken care of.”
