Mounted search and rescue

[ALLEN SNYDER <allendana1@sbcglobal.net>]

I agree with all of your posts and wondered how the injured friend is doing?  Hopefully her horse is OK physically, but it will take some time and training for both of them to overcome the  impact of one thoughtless person. 

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From: "pennbo@verizon.net" <pennbo@verizon.net>
To: msar-riders@lists.ibiblio.org
Sent: Monday, September 9, 2013 10:55 PM
Subject: [MSAR] Horses vs Dirt bikes

This is a horrendous and scary story from Washington state. The woman who is relaying the story and was riding with her friend is a posse member in that area. I hope they catch the perps and charge them heftily. This is another danger to keep in mind when we are on missions. Sad but true.
Chris

 First is a link to the news story- and all the inane comments left by people. (please consider adding your voice in support of the horses and horsewomen). Here is the rest of the story as relayed to me by a good friend. (I've removed names for privacy):

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=647541778598912&set=a.119068864779542.15053.112779115408517&type=1&theater

A lovely trail ride with a dear friend on Mann Road trails today was viciously interrupted by two motorcyclists riding on the logging roads illegally. We stopped when we heard them approach from behind us and turned to face them. One of the motorcycle riders turned off his engine, the other one was confrontational and spooked my friend's young horse repeatedly by revving his engine and spurting gravel with his tires. When the horse bolted in fright the second motorcycle rider took out after her, my shouts to stop and attempts to block him with my mare were in vain. He attempted to ram Callie's shoulder with his bike as he accelerated, I had to pull her back and he drove under her neck as she threw her head in the air. My friend disappeared downhill on the logging road on her frightened gelding at a dead run, the motorcyclist continued chasing her, approximately 5 feet behind her horse.

Horrified I headed after them as did the other motorcyclist. When we got to the bottom of the hill and the galloping tracks continued on the gravel road I shouted to the motorcyclist beside me "this is BAD!!!". He drove ahead of me and sped off. I asked Callie for every bit of turbo drive her little old legs could give me and pounded down the logging road after them, following the long galloping stride tracks of the gelding in the gravel road. I went over a mile and finally saw what I thought was a saddle in the roadway. As I got closer I realized in horror it was my friend, sprawled unconscious, on her back in the road. Her terrified gelding was no where in sight and neither were the motorcycles. I noted that the motorcycle tracks swerved at that point, which means they DROVE RIGHT BY MY FRIEND as she lay injured in the roadway!

I bailed off my Callie, let go of her and knelt down to hold my friend's head to prevent any further injuries as I desperately dialed 911. After I got aid units rolling our way I started calling posse members to notify her husband, open the gate at the end of the Mann Road and help search for the horse. My phone was giving me fits, kept saying 'not in network'. Ugh! I had to lean way over to the side of my friend to get cell reception as I held her bleeding head. She regained consciousness but was very confused. As I was keeping her still and waiting what seemed like forever for the aid car I realized my mare had quietly positioned herself to shade my friend's face and upper body from the hot sun shining down on her, she had her left front leg right behind my back as if to say "I am here with you, I will protect you". Once again my very opinionated little red headed mare earned her stripes in an emergency situation.

 Many thanks to XXXX for contacting XXXXXX . XXXX for racing to the scene and guiding the aid units to us, enlisting all the riders she could find at the trail head and asking them to search for the loose gelding- then unsaddling him and taking him to one of her paddocks for safekeeping after he was found. To XXXXXX for contacting my friend's husband. To XXXXXXX  for shuttling me back to get my friend's rig and horse then buying me dinner after she followed me to my friend's house and brought me back to Monroe. To XXXXX  for helping get the gelding settled in back at home. To the EMTs and paramedics that rendered aid and took this incident seriously enough to contact the sheriff's office and to the deputy that responded professionally. Several residents on Mann Road have come forward with information on this motorcycle riding thug. We WILL catch him!!!

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