Mounted search and rescue

["Trailriding-Texas - OA" <trlrider2@trailriding-texas.us>]

Thanks Una,

K1STX, General Class, hopefully upgrading to Extra after the first of the
year!

Yes, this event is Bandera!  Guess I left out the fact the Bandera 100k
is one of the most sought after of the Ultra-marathons!  And I believe they
still hold an Endurance ride there each November, around Thanksgiving!

With the exception of myself, the Horse Patrol for this event uses a 
commercial
band UHF repeater and coordinated HT's to stay in touch with the each other,
the Aid stations and race control.  I carry both, and sometimes think I look 
more
like a porcupine than a rider!  Each Aid station and Race Control will have 
a full
time Amateur during the event, and any information is then relayed to the 
Horse
Patrol as needed!

While the task is serious, most of us get a large amount of enjoyment out of
it, and get lots of saddle time! When conditions permit, I usually ride my 
zones
late in the evening and early morning!  The participants have always 
welcomed the
site of the horses on the trail during the toughest times of the event!

Looking forward to learning from this group, and hope to meet some of you in 
the
future!

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Una Smith" <una.smith@att.net>
To: "Mounted search and rescue" <msar-riders@lists.ibiblio.org>
Sent: Monday, November 17, 2008 9:14 AM
Subject: Re: [MSAR] Newbie to the List


> Hi Louis.
>
> Welcome to MSAR-Riders.  By radio I expect you mean Amateur Radio.  I
> am KE5CEP.  I got my Technician Class license 4 years ago.  Here in New
> Mexico most SAR units use public safety band radio frequences, so their
> members don't need any license, but many SAR volunteers also are hams.
> Being a ham and using the radio outside of SAR helps a lot to build up
> good radio skills.  I don't use ham radio much except to support field
> events such as endurance rides and ultramarathons.  You will find some
> posts from me about this in the MSAR-Riders archives.
>
> Everyone, I highly recommend volunteering to help with radio comms for
> events like this.  It is great training for SAR in logistics, ops, and
> comms.  If you get involved early, you can also do plans.
>
> The location Louis mentions has a web page that describes facilities.
> I believe this is the same place that is known among trail riders as
> Bandera and a very popular venue for endurance rides, competitive trail
> rides, trail trials, etc:
>
> http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/spdest/findadest/parks/hill_country/
>
> Una Smith
> New Mexico
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