Paul wrote asking advice for putting on an endurance ride.
Here's the best thing that has happened on our rides:
We got the local Search and Rescue involved. They were
just wonderful. It was the Mounted Posse SAR unit, and
they were stationed at camp, vet checks, and possibly
confusing intersections of trail with :
1. radios
2. clipboard (to write down numbers of riders who passed)
3. maps
4. their own horse trailers ( 4 horse stock trailers-
we had a bad experience one year with a pulled horse
who wouldn't load into a 2 horse trailer- took 5 hours
to get that one horse back to camp)
5. medical know-how ( they are all first aid trained)
( luckily didn't need it this year, though we have had
some humans with heat problems in past years)
The Sheriff himself spent the whole time in camp
running the radios and checking on who had passed
which point etc. Next year they plan to make it a
mandatory practice event, sweeping the trail after
the ride, and we may even stage a practice search,
where a person goes and waits to be found and then
has specified "fake" injuries and has to be brought out.
I got the idea to ask them from rec.equestrian. I've
also heard that Ham radio operators like to help out
on rides. Good luck planning your ride........
Ann & The Gaited Gang
RLINARCH@wsuvm1.csc.wsu.edu