Best authority figures: California Highway Patrol Mounted Unit

No one wants to get pulled over by the police. But if you're that pizza-delivery guy on a bike on August 20, who ran a red light on K Street and was thus chased down by two officers atop galloping draft horses, you have to admit, that's more story-worthy than being stopped by a cop in a sedan. The California Highway Patrol Mounted Unit keeps the peace around the Capitol, and while the Sacramento Police Department has its own mounted unit, too, the latter usually gets all the media glory because of its wider patrol range downtown. And oh, yeah, because of that flashy new recruit it got earlier this year (hi, Patrick). But the CHP horses are massive, awe-inspiring draft horses that make great ambassadors to the public, because they're so approachable to little—and grown-up—girls and boys. Not to be outdone, the unit has a gargantuan-forelocked new recruit, too (hi, Wyatt). Plus, no offense, but what has more street cred: a cop in a cruiser, on a bike or on a horse? This is the Wild West, after all. www.chp.ca.gov/depts_divs_offs/field_ops.html.