Mounted search and rescue

[MSAR Maintainer <msar@ibiblio.org>]

Below is a press release about this annual event, in New Jersey
this year.  For local driving directions and a map see

        http://www.morrisparks.net/parks/directions/loantakadir.htm

The most interesting part for MSAR responders probably would be
the obstacle course, a staple of mounted police competitions.  
I hope someone here will go to watch and take plenty of photos.

        Una Smith
        New Mexico


>September 23 & 24: THIS SHOULD BE AN AWESOME EVENT! Morris County Mounted
>Park Police are planning a two-day (Mounted Police) competition the weekend
>of Sept. 23-24 at Seaton Hackney Stables in Morris Township. They need
>volunteers and help raising funds ($10,000-$15,000). 
>
>If you and/or your club would like to volunteer or make a donation, contact
>Sgt. Mike Puccetti  either by email mpuccetti@morrisparks.net or calling
>Mike's cell phone  973-725-4036. 
>
>Police officers and horses from throughout the Nation will converge on
>Morris County this fall, when the 23rd annual National Police Equestrian
>Competition comes to the soon-to-reopen Seaton Hackney Stables. 
>
>The two-day competition is scheduled for the weekend of Sept. 23-24 at the
>stables in Morris Township, which have been closed for three years while
>undergoing renovations. 
>
>"It's a great spectacle to see. Mounted units come from as far away as San
>Francisco and Florida and Canada," said Park Police Chief William Huyler,
>one-time competition medalist for his agency's mounted unit. "But we're 
>going to have to work quickly to put this together." 
>
>The police equestrian competition began in the 1980s, started by the
>National Park Service and the U.S. Park Police to bring together mounted
>units from throughout the country. It has grown into a spectacle that has 
>drawn as many as 130 police agencies from the U.S. and Canada, including
>units from the Passaic County Sheriff's Office and police departments in
>Carlstadt and Lambertville. 
>
>Huyler said his force will start working immediately to raise funds -- about
>$10,000 to $15,000 -- needed to run the event. Expenses will include
>erecting temporary stables, bringing in judges and getting trophies for 
>winners, he said. Seaton Hackney is in the final stages of a $1 million
>renovation. A new roof, better windows, an improved hayloft, upgraded horse
>stalls, a fully restored apartment and greatly improved structural supports
>are all in the works. 
>
>"It will be ready for the competition, which will be a perfect fit for our
>50th anniversary," said Park Commission Executive Director David Helmer