Message: 1 Date: Fri, 17 Jun 2011 12:17:36 -0700
(PDT) From: Yvette Rollins < hoosierhorsemen@yahoo.com> Subject: [MSAR]
Search for Lauren Spierer To: Mounted search and rescue < msar-riders@lists.ibiblio.org> Message-ID:
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text/plain; charset="utf-8" Hello All, ? We have been
searching in the Bloomington area for Lauren Spierer, missing IU
student. So far not successful. We have another search scheduled
for tomorrow. Saturday morning June 18th. ? Question: We
have a lot of horseback riders joining in the search that have no
experience. What is the best advice you can give me for preparing
these people for the search. We had a search on Tuesday and
fortunately only 19 riders showed up and it was easy to work in
teams but we had one team that went off like they were going to
the races. I tried to emphasis caution and care for the horses as
well as the riders and preserving the scene but I do think in
their excitement that did not happen.
Yvette ?Tread Lightly upon the Land and Leave
No Trace!? (... balast of message truncated for
space..)
-------------->
Yvette,
Were not the volunteers instructed and given
assignments? You were lucky to have the manpower and
horsepower, but if they were not given some initial instruction at
the gate which I find hard to beleive... then yes perhaps they
were acting upon impulse and adrenaline, hard to say form the
information..but rejoice that you had them.
Whatever the case, if their names were received, which they
should have been at the gate, perhaps before passing judgement,
take the time to invite those people to come to formal
training. You cannot prepare them for the past search, only
guide them to a future one. Im guessing some
might be interested and others will not be interested at
all. If you want people more formally trained you have
to solicite to them without turning them off.
When you volunteer you are putting yourself out, your
equipment, you are giving an extra hand, you are literally taking
money out of your own pocket and time. You may or may not
know exactly what is expected.. if you dont, you should ask and
then proceed. Coming to a search is not a ride in the park
event. Common sense would tell that. It is
with purpose and not to say you were there. Volunteering to
help is just that, you need to ask as to what needs to be done
then act accordingly. Where some of those horse noses
might not have been experienced, they surely could have had some
purpose. And surely no horse should have been left
idle.
It works both ways as sometimes the "pros" do not know
exactly what to do first and getting organized quickly is
paramount, and often difficult at best and quickly learning
who is able for what is part of the responsibility of the leaders
of the teams so if the volunteers did not act according to how
perhaps the leadership wanted.. there seems to me to be then a
failure to communicate. Just my 2c. What could have
prevented that? Hello, leaders.. your turn! You need
to break the barrier of communication and get with it too.
Even the leaders assume that anyone with a horse might have
experience or they might not.
The other thing is, is volunteers are reactors, they are not
responders. They do not have the same mentality as a pro, but
may be skilled none the less and you dont know unless you ask.
They do not get paid for their work, they do not expect
anything in return not even a pat on the back. I think you
were very lucky to have that many hands. I would never
underestimate the power of any volunteer even if they showed
up in short shorts and riding bareback. Anyone willing
to volunteer to jump into poision ivy or maybe a lake riding
that way is either crazy or willing to go above and beyond to save
someones six. My guess is the later.. so what seems silly
might not be. So never underestimate the power of your
voulunteers. Where paid MSAR listen to protocol, the
volunteers however skilled or unskilled are valuable
people. That extra hand you have in them just might save your
six. Its up to the team(s) to work so as not to get in each
others way and to work together. Coming to something where
you do not know people and getting something laid upon you that
you might not know how to can get to be an experience, but extra
eyes and ears, noses and such looking for socks in bushes is a
good thing to have. Been there and done it.
Getting foreign animals to team up quickly, getting the ones
that might not be compatible to ride side by side etc
quickly sorted and positioned will be learned only
through acting to see who can ride near each other..
while I would trust the mounts not to kick, you never know so if
yours is not wanting to ride near the others.. space it. You still
have a rider up and two extra eyes and ears etc coverign
territory tha tmight not otherwise get covered so USE it.
You also cannot expect these people to be trianed to your
protocol if you are the leaders. But I would question, is it far
better to have more than less? Maturity of those riders..
would make a difference.... Obvioulsy you could weed the younger
folks to other tasks but I would not underestimate even the
skills in those riders. Their bones are young!
Question now, is this seach still a search mode or is it
leaning more towards a recovery? Some horses are more adept
to searching a live subject vs the latter even on a volunteer
basis and even the basic trail riders horse can discern
decomp. Question is - does the rider know it and know
his mounts reaction... knowing your horse had how it reacts to
decomp is a plus especially in searches that have lingered for
days with no results.
Could it be you are also tagging volunteers as
amatuers? Just because they are volunteers do not make all
of them ametuers. Sometiems the difference between an
amatuer and a pro is simply the fact that one is paid.
You also cannot lump 19 or whatever the number of volunteers
into the same bag when each rider is aobviously of a different
skill.
I think you were really lucky to have that many hands when in
the past, getting half that skilled or not was an issue!
If you want to convert some of those volunteers to more
formal training, you cannot turn them off or you will get no
one. If you dont want people to volunteer, then do not make
it an open call out.
One thing it is evident, the pros are always concerned on
insurance... the more I read on this the more we
start hearing no one jumped in a lake to save anyone.. so folks,
guess its the call of the times. Doing the humanitary thing
either voluntary or is it coming too a point where the hireds are
not going to do the job? Its becoming apparent that in
some cases only the budget and mindset will tell for
sure.
Hope your search ends well and she is found. In this
heat you have your work cut out and I woudl say quickly.
Sorry to ramble on here.. but these are the pros and
cons we see and just some points to ponder..
We would join this search, but do not have a mount prepared
far enough along and common sense says she does not have enough
saddle time.
Karen Nesbitt - VMSAR - Iroquois County -
Illinois.
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