Ride Manager Guidelines

GENERAL

Ride managers and their assistants should have a good understanding of the IMO General Rules and follow them.

Ride dates are assigned at the Ride Managers’ Meeting held on the day of, and immediately following, the Annual Meeting. Only IMO annual members may manage a ride. No team member, or anyone who assists in setting up a ride, may compete on the ride.

Start planning your ride well in advance. Obtain up-to-date topographical maps (7.5 minute/scale 1:24,000 recommended, but teams have discretion to make it a different scale so long as you can see the topo and the map has enough detail that is readable) and other information about the area. BLM will charge a Special Use Permit fee and a per-rider fee if you use a parking area that is fenced, has an in-place toilet, graveled, and has a kiosk. A SUP is not needed if you do not use paid public advertising and park at an unimproved site for your ride. At this time, IMO will not pay your BLM fees. Forest Service likes to know the general area of the ride and where parking might be. IMO falls below the USFS 75 participants rule and does not need a special use permit. Check the USFS web sites, or call the District Ranger Station, to make sure the area is not closed. Ride managers will need to contact landowners themselves for permission to ride on private land. Try to get it in writing.

Use two or more members of your team or, if you aren’t on a team, have one or more assistants. They will be of help from beginning to end, double checking accuracy of bearings, correctly assessing marker location on the map, etc. Also, it insures that someone will be there to manage the ride if you have trouble or unforeseen commitments that prevent you from showing up on time on the day of the ride.

Scout the area you have in mind to see if the area is suitable for mounted orienteering. If you haven’t ridden the area before, it is a good idea to ride your mount(s) over the area.

Make up a “Ride Notice” that includes:

· Ride name, date, registration and start times.

· “A timed, equine event—find 5 markers using a map and compass while riding a trusty steed at least 3 years old” (in some form somewhere on the notice).

· Directions to the ride.

· Ride dues for annual and day members.

· Approximate length of the ride, and terrain.

· What participants need to bring (e.g., water for dry camps, food for potluck, compass, pencil, certified hay, rake and/or shovel for manure cleanup, etc.).

· What, if anything, the ride managers are supplying (main course food).

· Ride manager(s) name(s) and phone number(s), or place to get more information.

Send a digital copy of the notice to the IMO Secretary and the Web Master (Historian) about 30 days before your ride. The Secretary will send copies to members, and the web site will be updated. Have copies available at the ride prior to your ride. Post copies of your ride notice at feed stores, tack stores, riding stables, and other places that interested riders might frequent.

Current ride dues (as of 1/2012) are: $15 for adult IMO annual members, $20 for an adult IMO day-membership, and $5 for all riders 0 to 17 years old (as of January 1st of the current ride year).

Make, or order awards far enough in advance. Keep awards simple. Have two sets for each place, 1^st through 6^th. Make completion certificates (if you need help, ask the Secretary).

It generally takes a lot longer to set up a good IMO ride than it takes for participants to complete it.

The plates used for markers must be 9 inches in diameter or square and white or yellow in color. Mark your plates ahead of time with something black, waterproof and durable. Each plate must have the marker number (1 through 5) on top and two or more letters underneath, using different letters for each marker number. Each IMO ride must have five—no more, no less—marker plates. A common practice in past years has been to have the letters on the plates be a word scramble—ride “theme,” something pertinent to IMO—that participants unscramble after the ride for a “prize.”

Marker number one is set up near camp to show participants what to look for and what to do when they find them. Set up the other four away from camp.

Plan the general area for each marker on the map before you ride out to put them up. If possible, make one big loop from start to finish rather than short spurs in different directions. Depending on the terrain, a ride length of 8 to 15 miles is necessary to maintain the 2-hour minimum time. Plan the “2-hour minimum” time for the median riders—the fastest will probably be well under 2 hours, but the slowest won’t be out after dark.

Take a copy of the map, with possible marker locations marked on it, with you to put out the markers! If you know how to use a GPS unit, it is highly recommended.

Put the markers out at least a week in advance so you have time to make or modify your map and make copies of it. Take along compasses, maps, notebook, pencils, folding saw or hatchet, colored flagging ribbon, carpenter’s stapler, long tacks, twine or wire, tape, etc., AND the markers.

Fasten markers to a tree, bush, rock, or whatever, in an effort for them to stay there until the ride. Try not to put markers right on the trail. DO NOT hide markers in thick brush, under objects, way overhead, down in deep, dark holes, etc. In other words—NO TRICKS. Make sure riders can get to where they can read markers from horseback.

For each marker, take compass bearings to or from at least two easily recognized landmarks. Use natural, prominent, identifiable landmarks whenever you can, but make sure ALL LANDMARKS ARE RECOGNIZABLE. Landmarks and markers do not have to be within sight of each other. Make competitors use their compasses to find markers. BE ACCURATE. Double check bearings by having one person take back-bearings (South arrow in North lane) from the markers and another person take bearings from the landmarks. A “FROM” bearing is from the landmark to the marker (i.e. North arrow in the North lane when standing at the landmark). A “TO” bearing is from the marker to the landmark (i.e. North arrow in North lane when standing at the marker). When checking a “TO” bearing, if one person can’t get to the landmark to shoot a back-bearing, have two people shoot the back-bearing from the marker standing in the exact same place.

Mark the exact location of each marker on your map copy. Write down the marker number, bearings and description of landmarks in the notebook (to be transferred to the competition map later). Use “north,” “south,” “east,” and “west” when describing landmarks rather than left, right, up, down, etc.

Ask the Historian for a camera if you need one to use for your ride. Use a camera while setting the ride to take some interesting and beautiful pictures.

Prepare separate copies of marker number one clues (map optional). These may be given to competitors at any time before they start the timed ride. Include number one letters and clues on the competition map.

REMEMBER: Riders use the MAP to find the AREA of the marker; BEARINGS and landmark CLUES are then used to find the marker.

From the map copy (taken with you to put out the markers) and field notes, plot the correct location of each marker on the original map with the number in a circle. If you used a GPS, do not show the coordinates on the map. GPS “blips” can be off the actual location by many feet, so don’t rely just on the GPS, check both for accuracy. Make a “map back” (to be copied on the ride map) as follows:

1 (to 5) 182° from (or to) the NE corner of the outhouse behind the old cabin.

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

NOTES: gates, hazards, water, ride conditions—anything pertinent to the ride without giving too many clues.

Ride manager notes must be on the map and must be read, word-for-word, to all participants as they start but before they are timed out. Include in the notes whether manure and hay must be picked up and taken with or scattered after the ride.

Be careful to not give any additional clues as to the whereabouts of the markers or their letters, except for number one, to any participant until all participants are in.

Leave a blank space under each marker number for participants to write the letters to prove they have been there and found the marker.

The ride name, ride date, geographic north, magnetic north, declination and a distance scale must be indicated on the map. Explain any symbols used.

Make enough copies of the map so that every participant will get one. All maps that participants get must be exact copies. When copying the map, try to have a half-inch border of map beyond each marker. Use a good copier and clear map to make sure ALL lines show up clearly on all copies. It may take several tries on several different copiers to find one that will copy contour lines clearly. Some suggestions: use black and white maps available at Idaho Blueprint in Boise (Forest Service and BLM no longer sell black & white maps); adjust the copier to “darker;” close the lid and put weight on it while copying maps. Some copy centers have digital copiers that make a very clear copy.

Highlight the marker numbers on the map after copying and check the front and back of the map to make sure there no misprints.

Make a map key to check maps of returning participants for correct letters and that letters are in proper order. Keep it in a safe place.

No participant shall have access to the map before the day of the ride or before their time starts.

IMO signs with directional arrows are helpful when placed along the roadside to lead participants to the campsite. Do not fasten them to any part of a Forest Service sign.

REMEMBER: Compass, maps, pencils, map-key, timer (with hours, minutes, seconds), clue sheets for marker number one, time board and wipe-off markers, tables, chairs, main course food, way to heat or cook the food, propane, plates, napkins table ware, word scramble prize (if having one), clip boards, the Ride Manager Box (pick it up at the ride prior to your ride), and the portable toilet (usually at the ride prior to your ride, or at P.T. Chairman’s house, or make plans for someone coming Friday night to bring it).

Registration (one per team or individual, signed by each participant, status checked,1^st IMO ride participants listed, dues paid and noted)

Team Designation (due at 1^st ride of the year; team points don’t start until filed)

The Ride Manager Box also has pens and pencils, a clock and a watch, money bag folder and bag with $50 change.

Register participants, collect ride dues, and give out number one marker clues. If it is any participant’s first ride of the season, have them fill out and sign a “Release of all Claims and Indemnity Agreement” form (liability release), and witness it. If it is any participant’s first-ever IMO ride (excluding the training ride), be sure their name is on the “First-ever” list on the registration form as well as on the participant’s list.

Mark the amount paid by each rider on the margin of the Registration Form as you receive it. It is helpful to make a “ü” by the amount if paid by check, and a “$” if paid with cash.

Record information on the Score Sheets as it becomes available. Print legibly, spell correctly. If you can’t read the information on the Registration Form, ask the participants. On Page One, list all ride managers and the names of the steeds they rode while setting up or taking down the ride (one steed per ride). Some ride managers may not have ridden and won’t have a steed by their name. Write the team’s name on one line and underline it. List the team’s participants for the ride, one per line, starting on the first line after the team name. Show the status (J – Junior; D – Day Member; FIR – First IMO Ride) of participants who are not adult IMO Annual Members. Make sure a FIR is listed with the person(s) he/she is riding with.

If a steed owned by an annual member is being ridden by anyone other than the owner, note the annual member’s name beside the steed. Write the name and date of the ride in the appropriate spot at the bottom of pages 2 and up. Use Page 2 for Page 3, 4, 5, etc.

Be ready to demonstrate compass use and give individual help. Many experienced IMO members are willing and capable to help newcomers with this—delegate.

Participants will choose a start time as they register on a first-come-first-choice basis. If you aren’t familiar with the team names, jot a few of their names down with the team name so everyone is timed out and in correctly.

Clearly mark a start/finish line or place. All team members participating with the team for team points today must be present in this area to get their maps and time out and leave together. The team will be timed in when the last team member finishing the ride is in the start/finish place.

Start team and individual participants out at intervals several minutes apart, depending on the number of entries, the terrain, vegetative cover, etc. Usually 15 minutes is necessary to avoid “stacking” at markers.

Read the ride manager’s notes word-for-word to each team or individual participant as they are ready to leave. Remind them that the notes are also on the map. Don’t add or subtract information once the ride has started.

Record start time to the nearest second, immediately. Call it out to an assistant who can write it down or have a clipboard in hand—it is easy to forget. Use the same watch/clock for the whole ride. However, have a backup just in case (preferably set to the same hour, minutes and seconds).

As participants return to finish, record the time to the nearest second that the last team member finishing the ride comes to the start/finish area, collect a map from one of the team members, then check for correct letters on markers and note the number of markers found, including No. 1. Be sure to check for correct letters and correct order of the letters.

Figure total time and enter it in hours, minutes, and seconds in the Total Time column on the score sheet. Total time is

Subtract the start time from the finish time to obtain total time. If you need to borrow seconds, subtract one minute and add sixty seconds. To borrow minutes, subtract an hour and add sixty minutes.

When all participants are in, complete score sheets—1^st place (most markers found in least time): 2 points per marker plus 6 time points; 2^nd place (most markers found in second least time): 2 points per marker plus 5 time points; 3^rd: 2 points per marker plus 4 time points; 4^th: 2 points per marker plus 3 time points; 5^th: 2 points per marker plus 2 time points; and, 6^th: 2 points per marker plus 1 time point.

Pass out awards and completion certificates. Make a big deal out of it—cheer, clap—it is more fun for everyone. If the Historian isn’t available, take pictures (delegate!). Take pictures throughout the ride for the scrapbook and web site.

Tally receipts with the Treasurer (or another member of the Executive Committee). Give all monies to the Treasurer and the Treasurer will write you a check for $200. The Treasurer will record any new memberships then give the membership forms to the Secretary.

Give a copy of the completed Score Sheets, all the Registration Forms, Start Time Worksheet, and Release of Liability Forms to the Secretary (or other member of the Executive Committee) to be held with the paid membership forms.

Work out a plan for getting rid of the portable toilet. If you borrowed a shelter, return it to the owner. “The Plan” may change from ride to ride, but most often the PortaPotty Chairman will take it for cleaning and redistribution.

Police the area and pick up any trash. If there is time, go out to pick up the flagging and markers. Otherwise, plan with fellow managers to pick up soon. Some participants might be staying another night and would pick them up the next day if you asked them.

As soon as possible, send any pictures you took to the Historian and Web Master. If you used a digital camera, the Historian may be able to download the pictures at the ride.

The excitement builds up more and more throughout all your work and planning. Enjoy it. The day before the ride or the day of the ride, your high spirits may start to slide downhill. However, after a few participants come and the ride gets underway, the excitement will start building up again.