From a very young age, Brevet Sergeant Chantelle Ryder knew she belonged in blue. Whenever she was asked what she wanted to be when she grew up, "police officer" was always the answer.

Running parallel to this dream career was a passion for soccer, a sport Brevet Sergeant Ryder took up as a five-year-old. More than two decades later, she is successfully tackling both fields and having a ball.

“From a young age I wanted to be a police officer, and more specifically a dog handler,” Brevet Sergeant Ryder said.

“I have always enjoyed the idea of having a sense of duty and ability to assist the community and be in a job that allowed me to be active and not stuck behind a desk every day.”

Brevet Sergeant Ryder fulfilled her ambition in September 2016 when she strode into the Police Academy as a member of Course 15, SAPOL's 15-week transition course for interstate and overseas officers.

The following year she commenced her first role at Parks Patrols, remaining there until a secondment at Operation Mandrake in 2021.

Roles in the District Policing Team at Parks Police Station and Port Adelaide Volume Crime Section soon followed before she won her dream job as a handler in Dog Operations Unit in September 2023.

“I love the unpredictability of the role and the ability to work outside with dogs every day, while having the opportunity to explore the state,” Brevet Sergeant Ryder said.

Since day one in Dog Operations Unit, Brevet Sergeant Ryder has been joined by her reliable canine companion, Police Dog (PD) Winter, a two-and-a-half-year-old Labrador, who she initially trained.

“Training is a vital part of my role as a specialist dog handler, as I need to develop and maintain PD Winter’s skillset by regularly exposing her to drug odours through re-creating realistic scenarios,” she said.

“This then translates into operational deployments where we work as a team to identify and locate any drug odour that may be hidden or secreted.

“Recently, I have undertaken learning opportunities of my own by assisting with the unit’s puppy development program, where I am learning to train young puppies just beginning their journey to becoming a police dog.”

Achieving her goals

The path to realising this dream career was not clear-cut, with soccer being the predominant focus for many years.

Born in the Queensland’s Sunshine Coast, Brevet Sergeant Ryder moved to Brisbane at six years of age, where she resided until making the move to Adelaide in 2015 to play for Adelaide United in the W-League (now A-League Women).

During the 2015-16 season Brevet Sergeant Ryder mainly alternated between centre-back and full-back for Adelaide United, however she called it quits at the end of that campaign.

“After the season concluded I joined SAPOL and was no longer able to meet the training and travel commitments,” she said.

“I would have loved to continue playing with Adelaide United, but in those times, it made more financial sense to pursue my policing career.

“I only intended to stay in Adelaide for one season and then return to Queensland, but I enjoyed the local lifestyle and people too much and decided to make Adelaide my new home.”

Despite calling time on her promising W-League career, Brevet Sergeant Ryder has kept pursuing her love of soccer, continuing a long journey that dates back to being selected in various state and representative sides as a junior, and being a member of an under-14 Australian team that travelled to Vietnam.

She is now in her ninth season in the Women’s National Premier League (WNPL), having captained her team in seven of those.

“As captain with my current club, Salisbury Inter, I’ve experienced amazing success, winning three out of the past four grand finals, and in 2021 we were a treble winning squad, winning the cup, along with the minor and major premierships,” Brevet Sergeant Ryder said.

“Overall, my soccer career has been quite successful and something I have continually worked hard to achieve over the years.”

The reliable centre back joined Salisbury Inter in 2018, after her first foray into the WNPL with Adelaide University SC two years earlier. She followed her coach Tracey Jenkins, a former Matilda and current serving police officer, to her new club.

“Tracey coached me for about four years and was a great sounding board for me through my time at the Academy and in the early years as a police officer,” Brevet Sergeant Ryder said.

“I’m also fortunate to currently have another coach who is also a police officer, Carl Maynard. He has been an amazing coach who has been understanding and supportive with balancing both soccer and work.”

Dogged determination

Brevet Sergeant Ryder has achieved both on and off the field, however her success is tinged with sadness. In 2010, her mother tragically passed away after a long battle with cancer.

“I was just 15 years old at the time, so her death has had a massive impact on my life,” she said.

“Not being able to share my personal and professional successes with her have made them somewhat bittersweet.

“My mum was one of the biggest supporters of my soccer career and a major reason for the determination and commitment I have shown throughout my life.”

Brevet Sergeant Ryder’s late mother continues to be on her mind and influences every aspect of her life.

“I often think of my mum throughout everyday life, when I experience different things or achieve goals I have set,” she said.

“Knowing how proud she would be is definitely a driving force in who I am and who I strive to be every day.”

The heartbreak instilled a sense of fortitude and resilience in Brevet Sergeant Ryder, traits that would prove invaluable in 2021 when she suffered an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury while making a rare appearance as a striker for Salisbury Inter. While the debilitating physical challenges were obvious, it was the mental aspect that proved the most challenging.

“It’s a lonely journey back to the playing field. It was difficult watching my teammates train and not being able to feel part of the team I had led for five years,” Brevet Sergeant Ryder said.

“I had to re-learn my body mechanics and learn to trust my body again. Once I got over that hurdle, my physical recovery went quickly.”

The accomplished leader’s strong commitment to recovery saw her rise above the mental and physical challenges and return to the field eight months later, well ahead of expectations for a serious ACL injury.

“The timing of my injury enabled me to spend the whole off-season fully dedicated to returning to action,” Brevet Sergeant Ryder said.

“The injury reignited my love of the game and gave me a new drive to succeed.”

The incapacitating injury also had an impact on Brevet Sergeant Ryder’s police work, forcing her onto light duties for around six months. With Covid-19 prevalent at the time, it was easy to adapt to performing administrative duties from home, however she faced a race against time to return to being operational to pursue a key career ambition.

“Dog Operations Unit were about to advertise for dog handler roles, but I needed to be fully operational to complete the selection process,” Brevet Sergeant Ryder said.

“I worked extremely hard to reach that goal. In the end it was only a matter of weeks between becoming operational and completing the selection process.”

Now a valued member of Dog Operations Unit, and with her injury ordeal well behind her, Brevet Sergeant Ryder continues to achieve goals both on and off the field.

“All these experiences – the achievements, the challenges, the learning opportunities – have shaped me into the person, and police officer, I am today,” she said.

This article was written by Mathew Rodda and first appeared in the South Australia Police magazine Blueprint. It has been reproduced here with permission.  Pictures: Adam Butler, Andrew Challan