LAGUNA HILLS : Horse Patrol Role Seen in Emergencies

When Earl Donaldson was a boy, the only way to get from one place to another was on horseback. So it seemed only logical to recall the trusted animals to service when he and other Leisure World residents began preparing for earthquakes.

“There’s still a place for a horse,” Donaldson said. He and other residents of the Laguna Hills retirement community have met once a month since the San Francisco earthquake last fall to practice dealing with catastrophic situations in Leisure World.

In an emergency, the equestrians will be deployed to guard the community or to reach those who need help in areas made inaccessible by downed power lines, impassable roads or fallen trees.

Jack Chezick, 73, a rancher who started the group, said his experience has shown that horses can often move where cars cannot. But Chezick stressed that the volunteers didn’t take chances and didn’t ride solo.

“We’re not just going out and playing cowboy,” he said.

So far, they have ridden around the community of about 2,000 acres just to get the lay of the land. They also have assembled emergency packs with flashlights, batteries and maps of Leisure World. The group will learn first aid and will train their horses to pull ropes to move slabs of concrete or downed trees.

As he prepared his horse Sashah for an afternoon of training, Donaldson said he wasn’t sure how she would react.

“I think there’ll be a little difference of opinion,” Donaldson said with a wink. The equestrians have already practiced some unusual things, like learning to mount and dismount a horse from the right side, rather than the left. Under dire circumstances, a trick like that might prove helpful, said Shannon Fowlkes of Laguna Beach, the assistant manager of the Leisure World Equestrian Center.

Fowlkes said she believes that the group will help save lives in an emergency. But she also makes sure they don’t get carried away in their efforts to prepare for the worst.

“I wanted to keep an on eye on these guys and not let them be GI Joes,” she said.

The five regular members of the group will accept only the most experienced riders. Betty Detsch, 66, grew up in Montana and thinks someone put her on a horse when she was 9 months old. Cleve Selby, 73, has been a wrangler in Colorado. Fowlkes once participated in horse shows.

Meanwhile, security officials at the 22,000-member community have gotten involved in the horse patrol as well. Don Chaney, the community’s hazardous material and fire safety coordinator, rode with the group Wednesday as they saddled up, donned cowboy hats, dug their boots into their stirrups and rode off to survey territory near El Toro Road.

“They’re not out to be heroes,” Fowlkes said. “They’re just good people who want to be in a position to help others.”