Carolyn Reeves wasn't expecting a gold medal. She definitely didn't expect three of them. The Western States Police and Fire Games are a collection of events held every year to promote physical fitness among law enforcement and fire service personnel.

The events cover a wide variety of athletics, from archery to wrestling and dodge ball to racquetball.

Reeves, who is in her 40s, said she's wanted to compete in these events for years, but circumstances always prevented her.

Today, she works with the special investigations unit of the Kings County Human Services Agency. Her job requires her to investigate welfare fraud cases. As she puts it, she works to catch the bad guys that are "stealing the taxpayers' money."

It's a lot of paperwork. Not nearly as glamorous as other law enforcement agencies. But she likes it.

"It's very challenging work," she said. "I like being nosey and investigating things. And it's really nice to be able to catch the bad guys."

Prior to this, she worked as a county correctional officer, and it was here she first learned about the Police and Fire Games. Unfortunately, that position wouldn't allow her to enter the competition because she wasn't considered a sworn peace officer, one of the requirements for competing.

Reeves transferred over to the special investigations division in 2003. That required her to complete a police academy course, which was enough to make her eligible.

But it wasn't that simple. Other hurdles needed to be overcome.

One year, she was pregnant and didn't want to endanger herself and her baby. Then there was the time when she didn't want to leave her 1-year-old child with a baby sitter. Last year, the event was held in Idaho, too far for her to travel with her horse.

"There was always something going on that made it too difficult to attend," Reeves said.

The goal was to enter the equestrian competition and put her horse-riding expertise to the test.

Horse riding is a treasured hobby for Reeves, who has been riding horses since she was 9 years old. Frequently she spends her weekends competing in local barrel races and pole-bending events.

"I have two horses and I compete locally as often as I can," Reeves said. "That's my hobby. It's my stress relief."

Barrel racing and pole bending require the rider to narrowly navigate obstacles, like barrels and poles, at high speed without brushing against them.

"I've been practicing for a month now," Reeves said. "We have a 5-acre ranch where I can practice with my horse, Bow. I trained him myself and taught him all of the events. That's one of the most rewarding parts, having your horse know what to do and doing it correctly as you compete."

For this year's games, Reeves was one of very few people from the Central Valley who even attended.

"There were a few girls from Bakersfield who I teamed up with for one event," Reeves said. "But other than that, I think I was one of the only people there from Kings County."

Reeves arrived in Los Angeles for the competition on June 13, hoping to come home with at least one medal. She never thought she'd come back with four.

"It was nice to represent Kings County and to do so well," Reeves said. "That was the best part, showing that a small county can do just as well as a big county in these events."

Her first medal was a silver, won during the keyhole-racing event. After winning it, she decided the pressure was off. She got what she'd come for and now she could just have fun.

Then she won gold medals in the pole-bending, flag-racing and team-penning events.

In team penning, Reeves joined up with two woman from Bakersfield on a whim, expecting nothing more than to have a little fun. The goal was to move a small herd of cattle from one pen to another as quickly as possible.

"We started chit-chatting and decided we could do this event together," Reeves said. "We just went for the fun of it, we never expected to win."

Reeves plans to enter the competition again next year.

"Nobody knew who I was there, but it was really fun and kind of relaxing," she said. "It's nice to get together with other law enforcement and compete together. I definitely plan to do it again."

The reporter can be reached at 583-2425.

(June 21, 2009)