Mounted search and rescue

["Jorene Downs" <Jorene@CEOates.com>]

If you think outside the box for an MSAR-specific weekend training/conference and plan on horse camping, in many parts of the country there are huge farms and ranches, hunting preserves, etc., with owners agreeable to allowing use of their land within certain parameters. “No existing facilities” is simply a challenge to overcome with good logistics planning.

 

If there is any charge for use, sometimes the owner is willing to waive actual payment as a tax donation write-off. (Assuming a tax deductible status.)

 

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Jorene Downs

SAR & CERT

Mounted SAR

www.ceoates.com/msar

 

 

 

From: IRVIN LICHTENSTEIN

 

The facility to be used depends on the purpose of the conference.  […] And if you are going to teach or exercise MSAR tactics you need all the land and the horse support facilities. You also need to support the conference itself—meals, sanitary facilities, first aid crew, administration and logistics.  

 

[…] The major problem is finding a facility that combines all these features or can be adapted for use.  State/ County parks often have the land, camping sites, and may even have a nature center auditorium.  Unfortunately they may not have horse or dog accommodations and do not allow for exclusive use of an area.  Similarly, horseback riding vacation facilities may have the stalls but the cost may be too high for volunteers.  […] Could this activity be staged entirely indoors or in limited outdoor competition areas?  This would open the possibilities up to include show grounds and even the Pennsylvania Farm Show Complex.  Depending on the levels of support needed even a 4-H center would do, if you want to pay $600 per ring per day, plus crew.  And you still need overnight facilities in most locations.  […]