A closer look at the Mounted Patrol A closer look at the Mounted Patrol (October 31, 2001)

By David Boyce

Almanac Staff Writer

In a time and place in which technical expertise is often enough to assume VIP status, the Mounted Patrol of San Mateo County stands apart, restricting membership to a few who demonstrate a deep and abiding interest in horses and an appreciation for the ideals of the Old West, when men on horseback came to the aid of the weak and powerless.

A love of the land and horses, a willingness to sacrifice for others, and the cowboy ethic of manliness and responsibility seem to permeate the clubhouse and grounds at the patrol's 23-acre site on King's Mountain Road in Woodside.

Although the group's name reflects its readiness to mount up and go looking for missing persons in the hills and woods of San Mateo County, patrol captain Budd Colby is quick to point out that members' activities encompass much more than search-and-rescue missions.

The grounds consist of mostly trees and undeveloped land, but down the hill from the clubhouse is a large fenced arena built for rodeos and horsemanship clinics and as a place for members to practice their riding skills.

The patrol sponsors about 15 horse shows every year, several Western riding clinics and as many as two dozen charitable events, Mr. Colby said, including sessions of equine-facilitated therapy for kids with disabilities for whom the patrol raised more than $27,000 last year. All such events are open to both males and females, he said, as are many of the trail rides.

The patrol also sends about two dozen men each year to ride in the Fourth of July parade in Redwood City.
The members

The patrol is a men-only private club with members from a range of professions and interests, Mr. Colby said. The membership, he said, is roughly one-third retirees; one-third journeymen, including electricians, plumbers and contractors; and one-third white-collar professionals, including physicians, lawyers, venture capitalists and programmers.

Consideration for membership generally begins with attendance as a guest at one of the patrol's dinners, he said, which would be followed up by an invitation to participate on a trail ride if the chemistry is right.

"I would not cross paths with 90 percent of these men if it weren't for this organization," he said. Mr. Colby has a doctorate in biochemistry and is a self-employed consultant for the biotechnology industry.

Potential members must own at least one horse, he said. (Mr. Colby owns two: a quarter-horse and a Tennessee walking horse.) To join, the applicant must first have the sponsorship of at least two members and the approval of the membership committee after a face-to-face meeting, he said. Applicants must also be invited to and attend at least six events, including one overnight ride.

For the final hurdle, the applicant must have proven his good fellowship by avoiding a negative appraisal from any of the approximately 100 members, Mr. Colby said.
Search-and-rescue

When the call comes from the sheriff to find someone lost in the woods, members from the patrol's 50-man special unit receive instructions, then head out in pairs.

Some are assigned to search a trail from beginning to end in a quick survey of an area. A more detailed search involves dividing up an area into a grid, which requires horses and men to leave the trail and negotiate the steep terrain and brush.

Riding off the trail makes special demands on a horse, Mr. Colby said. Horses are uncomfortable in the woods because they are prey in the wild and feel vulnerable when they can't easily escape from an animal making noise, he said. "The rider has to convince the horse that there are no saber-toothed ground squirrels," he said, adding that that kind of trust in the rider's judgment takes years to develop.

The patrol gets a call for search-and-rescue efforts about three or four times a year, Mr. Colby said. He recalled one incident several years ago in which a young man of limited mental capacity got upset while eating with his family at the Mountain House restaurant on Skyline Drive and stepped outside. He was mistakenly left behind and spent the night in the woods. The mounted patrol found him the next day walking on a trail.

In another case involving a night out under the stars, the patrol found two children who had wandered away from their new Woodside home and had spent the night in a ravine, he said.

The organization began in 1942 as a coast patrol after the federal government saw advantages to having men on horseback watch over the rugged San Mateo County coastline during World War II, Mr. Colby said.

After the war, the county sheriff kept the patrol going and members were sworn in as reserve sheriff's deputies, he said. That special relationship continues to this day, although since the late 1980s, the group is no longer officially affiliated with the Sheriff's Office.

That separation came about after a horsewoman unsuccessfully attempted to join the patrol on the grounds that it was partially funded by taxpayers. After a lengthy internal debate, Mr. Colby said, members narrowly decided to become a private club that would remain all male, though the issue is not closed, he said.

The patrol's clubhouse was built in 1952. Mr. Colby said it was built to withstand earthquakes and that the group has electrical generators to supply the entire grounds, an independent water system and a kitchen that can serve hundreds. He said the grounds could be used as an effective shelter in the event of a disaster.

The sheriff's canine patrol still trains at the patrol's grounds every Friday morning, and the sheriff uses the clubhouse to hold dinners to recognize drug enforcement and search-and-rescue volunteers in the county, Mr. Colby said.