The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) have a lot of responsibility, including, most recently, settling an equine custody battle.

Capone I, a show jumping and breeding stallion, valued at about $5 million, disappeared from his stable in Canada in mid-May. The horse turned up recently in Chilliwack, B.C. where he resided from 2004-2007.

"We did have two females, both of whom claimed an interest [in the horse], come to the detachment," RCMP spokesperson Const. Lea-Anne Dunlop told The Victoria Times, adding, "A minor scuffle did occur."

In 2005, the horse's trainer and manager Douglas Spink was arrested on a drug charge and sentenced as part of an international drug operation. He was charged with possession of $34 million worth of cocaine. At the time, he was a tenant at the farm of Colleen and Mark Super. The couple was in the midst of a divorce. Colleen wrote in court documents that she used stud fees in lieu of rent from Spink’s horses while Spink was incarcerated.

When he was released, he stayed in the U.S. and eventually brought Capone along. It is unclear who, in fact, owns the stallion.

There is currently a case, according to the Times, before B.C. Supreme Court between Colleen Super, and Exitpoint Stallions Limited, with whom Spink is associated, over Capone and some other horses, although Spink insists Super has renounced any claim to the horse. In an e-mail statement to the media, Exitpoint Stallions said: "We have expended substantial funds, time, effort and energy in developing this exceptional stallion from his earliest training through his success on the world stage. . . . Our lease arrangement with Ms. Super regarding Capone I was terminated in 2007, and we felt comfortable that all parties involved had prospered."

Whether or not legal action will be taken against the person who took the horse from Spink’s property has not been determined.