Mounted search and rescue

[Una Smith <una@lanl.gov>]

Orienteering is a lot of fun.  There are clubs around the
world, including many in the US.  Most clubs run orienteering
meets on foot or a mixture (foot, mountain bicycle, horse,
etc.).  A few are dedicated to mounted (horse) orienteering.

Orienteering involves being given a map with "stations"
marked on it, and perhaps some clues.  Riders (teams or
individuals) go to each station and either leave a record
or take a record of some information found there as proof
the riders found the station.  The exercise may be timed,
or not.  This teaches map and compass skills, perhaps also
GPS skills, trail and/or cross-country riding, planning,
etc.  And it is just plain fun.
 
There are basically 2 ways to set up a meet:  easier and
harder.  Easier is to give clues to a landmark near each
station, including showing the landmark on the map, plus
the compass heading from the landmark to the station.  The
participant has only to find the landmark, then make basic
use of a compass.  This type of meet is usually run in a
location familiar to most participants, so they don't need
to rely on map reading skills to find the landmarks.  The
harder way is to give as clues only the coordinates of
each station.  This requires more technical skills in map
reading and navigating.

Some URLs:
http://www.nacmo.org/index.tpl
http://www.orienteering.org/
http://www.us.orienteering.org/
http://www.williams.edu/Biology/orienteering/o~index.html
http://www.confluence.org/index.php

        Una Smith
        Santa Fe County Sheriff's Posse, in New Mexico