Not Every
GRANDMOTHER Gets To Ride Horses and Play
M*A*S*H
The SAR (Search & Rescue) call came out for a missing young adult male with medical issues. He had been camping
with a group in a remote section of Oregon’s Outback, an area bigger than many eastern states with a population
of less than 7000 people. Mounted resources were requested…
It
had been a long time since my 24
hour pack had seen use, as evidenced by the cobwebs covering it in a
dusty corner of my decidedly not Martha
Stewart home. I emptied and refilled
the water bottles and checked for timeless food—energy bars of unknown
vintage plus some trail mix with all the
chocolate M&M’s missing—plenty for a
middle-aged, overweight grandmother
for well over 24 hours. Now gathering
for a high desert horse trek is made easier
when much useful stuff is already in the
truck or trailer, a by-product of frequent
trail rides and procrastination! Check
for hay, plus refill some five gallon water jugs. Other stuff including folding
chairs, SAR coat, shirts, extra bridles/halters/hay bags/several pairs of hoof boots/
and some big, empty saddle bags to carry
extra gear if needed, are the usual vehicle
fixtures. My horn bag already has first aid
supplies, bug spray, water, more timeless
snacks (but these are of a recent vintage), and
various items that were needed at some
4 • Walking On
previous ride. I choose the 17 year old
TWH mare, Comet (Hale-Bopp Eclipse),
for my mission. She is kind and willing
and easily rides double. As Comet is led
out of the pasture, a suckling filly whinnies for her ‘Auntie Comet’. I will meet
up with more horseback volunteers at the
ICP (Incident Command Post).
Another SAR member, Tracy, rides
with me as we drive the nearly 140 miles
to location. He went to school with one
of my younger brothers, Eric. We talk
about times past and Tracy mentions the
tin foil alien hat Eric made and wore to
school that was 40 years ahead of a SciFi movie with nearly the exact headware. As we travel I remember things
forgotten—small compressor, 2nd spare
for trailer, pillow & fuzzy blanket, toothbrush and toiletries—too late now, just
do without. Fortunately most searches
for campers end quickly, so we both anticipated the ‘subject found, stand down’
radio call at any time. This was summer
with good weather and daylight. The last
seven miles were on a dirt