Mounted search and rescue

[Kate Beardsley <katebeardsley@hotmail.com>]

Here in Deschutes County, Oregon, our SAR Horse Team is part of the Sheriff's Office general SAR team, not separate. There is also a Mounted Posse that fills a different role.

Truly, the vast majority of activities our Horse Team perform are on searches or recoveries. Our county recognizes the unique capabilities of a mounted team. It took a few years for that to happen and I'm grateful for it finally coming to fruition. We make one heck of a hasty team and can also be a bi-species search team. We can transport members of our search team such as deputy incident commanders, paramedics, or trackers to a critical area. We can pack large amounts of equipment to any backcountry location. It's what we train for and should naturally be our focus.

But... Our Horse Team does occasionally participate in parades and will be doing so next weekend for the Veteran's Day Parade. While we recognize that the public really loves seeing the horses, when we ride in a parade, we are only part of a larger representation of our SAR unit. Being in a parade allows the public to see us and say thank you. Being able to express gratitude is very important, and the people darn well express it! I don't know which side receives more benefit - the public being able to express themselves or the SAR members hearing it and relaying it to the rest of the team!

Our general SAR team does get asked a few times a year to help at large functions - a remote ski race, a polar bear swim, things like that. And we do have a booth with the Sheriff's Office at our countty fair, but no horses come to these events. While I appreciate the publicity gained from these events, I view them as just another form of community service. While I obviously feel that community service is important, I do make sure that I am most available for searches. There really are only so many hours in the day, days in the year. Thankfully, the Mounted Posse participates in enough parades to take the pressure off us and they are the ones who do parking duty at a couple of our large events.

Now, UNofficially, our members are very involved in many community services. But we are asked to not wear our SAR colors during those activities. Interestingly though, some activities occur because of our involvement in SAR, but are sanctioned by SAR. When emergencies arrise, we all tend to use whatever connections we have. Our county SAR unit does not officially respond to animal rescue, for instance, but members of our horse team would be surprised to not receive a call asking for some good samaritan assistance for a lost horse or a horse in need in the backcountry. Those assists might not be officially SAR and might not have a mision number, but they wouldn't happen without the SAR network in place.

As with all parts of life, our involvement with SAR reaches its lovely tentacles throughout our lives and our communities.
Safe Trails,
Kate

"We are what we repeatedly do."

Kate Beardsley
...building relationships
...developing athletes
..."driven" to excellence
Central Oregon