Reprinted from Endurance News, July 2007, Ride Managers’ Column, monthly publication of the American Endurance Ride Conference, www.aerc.org, 866-271-2372
Ah, Murphy’s Law. If something can go wrong, it will.
Take a big bunch of horses and riders, a little speed, add a marked trail and the fact that we’re competing by the good grace of Mother Nature, and we virtually beg Murphy to show up at our endurance rides.
The motto of the Boy and Girl Scouts serves ride managers well when it comes to a visit from the ol’ Murph: Be prepared.
While it might be a little terrifying, one of the best things a ride manager can do to prepare is to imagine the things that could possibly go wrong and have a plan in place to deal with them.
Additionally, it often behooves the ride manager to have a “go-to” person in the event of certain types of emergencies. Who is the person who can be counted upon for rapid, wise decision-making in the face of a crisis? Who can help us “fix” it?
Weather emergencies
Sit around a post-ride campfire long enough, and you’ll hear tales of rides visited upon by thunder and lightning, hurricanes, tornadoes, and even a blizzard or two. Never mind heat and humidity, which is par for the course for some rides.
Whether the extreme weather is before the ride, or occurs suddenly during the competition, the ride manager’s primary concern is for the safety of the horses, riders and ride staff. If the weather conditions make the trail impassable, or leave horses and/or riders in conditions that prove highly risky, the ride manager often has little choice but to cancel the ride before it starts or — as we’ve seen occur from time to time — mid-ride.
Anything that can be done to provide safety and comfort to the riders, horses and staff is a wise idea, whether it’s sending a volunteer on an ice run for hot conditions, finding a way to pull bogged-down trailers out of the mud post-rainstorm, or loaning everyone shovels for the big snowstorm, it certainly helps to have the riders know you’re doing the best you can in a lousy situation.
When a ride needs to be canceled, no one is happy. Everyone is out money, including the ride manager, and everyone who took vacation time to fuel up their rig to come to the ride. Often it helps to work out a way to reschedule the ride and make the financial damage done to all parties involved as equitable as possible.
Trail marking sabotage
This is one of a ride manager’s biggest nightmares: perfectly marked trail checked and rechecked and then sabotaged by an angry neighbor, hunter, or folks looking for a giggle at the expense of horses and riders trotting aimlessly across the countryside. Some saboteurs are more clever than others; some pull a few ribbons or a turn marker (and often riders find their way in these situations); others will turn arrows and send riders in the wrong direction, complete with confidence markers on the “new trail” to be sure they keep heading that way.
Here’s one of those situations where cool and quick minds prevail. Is everyone off course? Is it possible to head riders off at a road crossing? Can someone be sent ahead to re-mark the trail and lead riders back on course? How do we make completions equitable when some riders found their way and others did not?
Some things handy to have in these situations: several folks who know the trail intimately, an extra four-wheeler or four-wheel drive pick-up or two, two-way radios (where cell signals are lousy), and several extra rolls of the surveyor ribbon or the trail markers you’re using so that the trail can be re-marked if necessary.
Badly marked trails often send riders from zero to furious in about two off-course miles, but most riders shrug their shoulders about a ride trail that has been sabotaged despite a ride manager’s best efforts. As long as the ride manager makes quick and wise decisions about how to get folks back on course (pun fully intended), and keep things as fair as possible, most riders do their best to make a bad situation salvageable.
Horses needing treatment
Ride managers pre-plan for horse treatment in various ways. Some rides have a treatment vet on site, ready to provide treatment as needed, with riders responsible for arranging and paying for the treatment. Sometimes one of the ride vets is designated as the treatment vet should a horse require treatment.
For some rides, this is impractical, so a nearby vet is “on call” for treatment. If this is the plan you make for your ride, be sure you have contact information for the treatment vet available in camp both before and after the ride and, if applicable, clear directions posted to the treatment clinic.
It may behoove a ride manager to keep some simple treatment supplies on hand — fluids, a nasal-gastric tube, and/or intravenous setup, perhaps some Banamine.
The worst thing a ride manager can do is have no plan at all. At a minimum, the ride manager should chat with the head vet about the plans and supplies, and how treatment will be handled.
Keep in mind that vets need to be licensed to practice in the state where the ride is held. Be sure the vet that you’ve designated as treatment vet has all paperwork completed, with i’s dotted and t’s crossed.
People accidents
Nothing fills a ride manager with more dread than the prospect of a seriously injured rider or staff member. From riders taking falls onto their heads, to in-timers sent flying at the finish line, to vets being kicked by unruly horses — like other emergencies it pays to be ready in the event someone is injured badly enough to require emergency transportation.
How will you call for help? If there’s no cellular phone signal in your area, can you convince a ham radio operator to be on site the day of the ride to summon an ambulance? If you do have a cellular signal at camp, realize that sometimes cell phones do not pick up the closest emergency dispatch when 911 is called. Be sure to be prepared to provide both general and specific information about your location. If possible, send someone to meet the ambulance at a main road to guide the ambulance to the victim.
Is anyone on site an EMT or have a medical background? Is there a stocked first aid kit available? Do you have information on how to reach a rider’s family in the event they are involved in a serious accident? (This is often the section of a ride entry the rider leaves blank. Do you check to ensure there is a phone number listed — with area code?) Do you give riders the opportunity to tell you about medical conditions they have that might be critical in the event of an emergency? (The Biltmore Challenge provided cards to be placed in the windshields of vehicles, which provided not only emergency contact information, but information about medical history and insurance. If you’re interested in doing something similar, contact Biltmore ride manager Anne Ayala.)
In summary
Nothing ruins a ride manager’s day like hearing something has gone horribly wrong. If you evaluate the bedlam that Murphy can bring to your ride, it leaves you with a plan in mind to prevent a bad situation from getting any worse.