Parks and Recreation Commissioner Adrian Benepe stretched his neck out, then bellowed an imitation of a horse nickering: He was showing his appreciation of the New York City Parks Mounted Auxiliary Unit at its annual benefit last night at the Central Park Boathouse, before trotting off to another event at Gracie Mansion.

The auxiliary, founded by John Entwistle, trains volunteers to patrol the city’s parks on horseback. One of the lessons is in “verbal judo.”

“We don’t have weapons so we have to deal with the public with words,” explained Jennifer Forte, who was hard pressed to remember an instance of verbal aggression.

“The worst thing I’ve ever encountered is a dog off a leash,” Ms. Forte said.

“I see a lot of bicyclists on the bridle path,” said the chairman of the event, Florence Gordon, who loves riding so much she’s spending her next vacation at a dude ranch in Tuscon, Ariz. called the White Stallion.

Nancy Hodin’s defining moments as a volunteer have been posing for photographs with tourists. “I must be in about 7,000 scrapbooks,” she said.

An equestrian theme ran through the silent auction. Items included an Hermes saddle, a basket of “Training Treats” made of rolled oats, and a needlepoint pillow with the auxiliary’s logo, stitched by Susan Cowie, a member of the event committee.

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Seeking to increase its profile and financial support, the Cathedral of St. John the Divine is launching a Young Regents group for New Yorkers ages 21 to 40. The first gathering was Tuesday night at the home of Charles and Mary Jane Brock, where guests sipped wine and ate sushi in the octagonal dining room designed by Mr. Brock. The retired rector of Trinity Church, the Reverend Daniel Paul Matthews, boasted that the cathedral is “the length of two football fields and a football” and currently needs funds for upkeep and restoration. “We need your help to spread that word that the cathedral is a philanthropy of great concern,” he said. Asked if the group would have a religious bent, Mr. Matthews clarified that it would not. “I don’t know any place in the nation that combines the sacred and the secular so well,” he said. The cathedral is a place for worship and also a home for music, poetry, and art. Launching such a group often depends on one individual’s dedication – and his willingness to share his Rolodex. In the case of the Young Regents, that person is Clay Dean, an portfolio manager with an interest in art and architecture. Mr. Dean was eager to get the word out about the next Young Regents event: “creepy cocktails” at the cathedral’s Halloween Extravaganza on October 30, which includes a screening of the 1920 silent film classic “The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari” with live organ accompaniment.