Constable Melissa Wallace (27), of Dunedin, started at Southern District Police in early March.
Not long into the job, she happened to be working when a call came through about two horses that were loose in Highcliff Rd.
Const Wallace, who has been riding horses since she could walk and competing for most of her life, was immediately assigned to help.
"We could not find them for a while because it was so foggy," she said.
The horses were eventually spotted on a bank, and another police car found the owners while Const Wallace reined in the equine escapees.
"It was a miracle they didn’t get hit."
Const Wallace has wanted to be a police officer since she was at school at Kaikorai Valley College.
Visits from local police officers and going to the Driver Surviving roadshows were big contributors.
"That basically made me want to join the police because what they did was just phenomenal, in my opinion."
So, she has spent the past few years trying to make it happen.
While waiting to go to Royal New Zealand Police College, she worked at the central police station as part of the firearms buyback scheme for six months and then in the firearms office.
Not only did she learn about firearms and licensing while at the station, she also got to know her colleagues and how things operated.
"I was pretty lucky to stay right up until college and that was awesome," she said.
"It was a really cool learning experience before going to college."
College was hard and there was a lot to learn, but it was enjoyable.
"College was awesome.
"We had 18 weeks instead of 16 because we came home over Christmas."
During those extra two weeks, Const Wallace returned to the station for deployment and was out on the front line.
"That was a really good experience before going back up and finishing the course."
While there was still a lot to learn about the job, Const Wallace was grateful to be part of a supportive team.
Long-term, she hoped to work as a dog handler but in the meantime was focused on being confident and improving skills.
"I don’t want to move into anything else when I’m not confident on the front line.
"It’s a lot of learning at the moment. I’m enjoying being on the front line."
