Kate B makes the comment that it took a few years
for the county to recognise the attributes of a mounted team.We had the same
poblem for many years here in western Australia.
The State Emergency Service Mounted section has been in
existence here for about 15 years[I have been a member for 12yrs], but I can
honestly say it is only in the last 5 years that we have been recognised as an
integral part of any missing person incident.
I think the turning point was a search at Byford[about
60km from Perth].this area is very rough with quite dense bush and the foot
teams were having trouble keeping up the pace.With some careful husbandry the
horses went for two days solid,covered a lot of ground and found a vital clue in
what was to become a murder investigation.
Prior to this we had very little funding and were often
overlooked during major operations.
Linda L
----- Original Message -----
Sent: Saturday, November 01, 2008 4:16
AM
Subject: Re: [MSAR] Non Search
Activities
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
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