Multi-agency mounted patrol working to keep crowds safe during final week of Atlanta's World Cup festival

As Atlanta's FIFA Fan Festival enters its final week, fans may notice some extra security on horseback.

Twenty-five mounted patrol units met in Atlanta for the first time together on Friday.

The multi-agency mounted patrol is helping manage some of the FIFA Men's World Cup's largest crowds.

The horses are from the Atlanta, Memphis, and Savannah Police Departments, and the Cobb County Sheriff's Office.

They will patrol around the Fan Festival until the end of the July 15 semifinal match at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.

The horses are trained for loud noises, large groups, and unpredictable movement.

"We've been doing crowd control training. We've exposed the horses to fireworks, flares, smoke. We had a group of volunteers come out last week to the barn, and they acted as disorderly crowds and unruly fans," said Officer Carlos Escobedo of the Savannah Police Department.

From the saddle, officers have a view few people can match.

"The great advantage for these guys, for us, is when we sit atop this horse, we are 10 feet tall, and we can see over a crowd," said Lt. Greg Lyon of the Atlanta Police Department.

Lyon oversees APD's mounted patrol and expects the added height to be necessary this upcoming week.

"The crowds here have potential to be bigger than crowds we've ever seen on the streets of Atlanta in quite some time," Lyon said.

Officers said the horses are known not to just control a crowd, but to keep it calm.

"People see us when they're on the way to the game," said Lyon. "They come up from the parking deck or the MARTA station. They're in a hurry. They're hustling to get to their seat. They stop, they see us, and it's nothing but smiles, so these guys actually do have an added element that people don't think about. They  kind of reduce tension, so to speak, in the crowd themselves."

Because of that, Lyon said he is encouraging fans to engage with the officers and the horses.

"Come say hello and get a picture taken," said Lyon. "These guys have a great ability to turn frowns upside down. I'm serious, we want people to approach us. These guys love having their picture taken, especially Drifter."

Drifter is Lyon's patrol horse of nearly a decade.

The next opportunity to see the mounted patrol is Saturday's Fan Festival starting at 3 p.m.