One of the drawbacks of riding a horse through downtown Point Reyes Station wearing a badge that says "Sheriff's Posse," is that the rider has to pass Third Street.
Posse Deputy Loretta Murphy said some of the kids who hang out there shout questions like, "Hey, you headin' off to lynch someone?"
For the record, neither Murphy nor any other deputy in the Marin County Mounted Sheriff's Posse has ever lynched anyone, she said. "That's the problem with the Sheriff's Posse - people really don't know what the function is."
Murphy and her husband Matt, who live in Point Reyes Station, are newest and youngest members of the all-volunteer Sheriff's Posse, which has gradually evolved since its start in 1942 as a group of horseback riders looking for soldiers gone AWOL.
The posse has played a role in its share of important cases. They patrolled the Point Reyes National Seashore during the search for David Carpenter, who later was convicted for the infamous "Trailside" killings of 1980.
These days the mounted posse mainly searches for people reported missing. However, they're also used to search for evidence in criminal investigations, such as the case two years ago when a murdered Santa Rosa man was found in a van parked near Platform Bridge.
Throughout 1994 and 1995, the posse was called in 26 times to search for missing people and 11 times to scour the ground for evidence.
They were also called on three times to help sandbag against floods during the storms of January 1995.
Murphy said she joined up because "it was a perfect amalgam of horses, community service, and having a kid that made me realize what it would feel like having him get lost."
Although the volunteers saved the county roughly $300,000 in man hours last year, virtually their entire budget comes from their own fundraising.
With new Sheriff Bob Doyle in office and Lieutenant Jim Riddell acting as administrative liaison to the posse, the department has started providing support - financial and otherwise. But the posse needs more.
That's why from 1 to 6 p.m. this Sunday, Sept. 15, the mounted posse will hold its first-ever Western Jubilee and Raffle at the Nicasio Town Square.
Planned are a western trade fair, a tack swap, a silent auction, a western costume contest, as well as live country music, hayrides, trick-rope demonstrations, dance lessons, tin-type photography, and games and prizes for kids.
Rancho Nicasio will serve a barbecued-chicken dinner from 2 to 5 p.m. Tickets are available at Toby's Feed Barn and Cabaline Saddle Shop in Point Reyes Station.
The posse does train regularly, taking part in monthly rides through the Marin wilderness and participating in a huge, annual multi-agency training session complete with simulated injuries. To be considered "active," members have to attend 70 percent of the meetings and training rides.
A large part of their orientation includes learning how to interpret maps and handle their horses in the dead of night, when most children, joggers, and hikers are reported missing. They are also trained to administer first aid and CPR.
Added Murphy, "You have to have a bullet-proof horse. A lot of horses are not cut out for search and rescue. Horses are pretty spooky. Their first impulse is to run."
To make sure a horse is ready for search and rescue, the animal is sent to a special, expensive bullet-proofing school, which essentially amounts to five days of what sounds like sheer terror for the horse.
The school puts horses through training exercises that subject them to all types of noise and distraction - waving flags, flares on the ground, people beating drums, rounds of exploding firecrackers, smoke bombs, police sirens, cannons, etc.
The result is a horse that doesn't have to be pampered in the midst of a late-night search. "You can be looking at the outer stuff, and the horse is taking care of what's on the path," said Murphy
"The horse is a prey animal," added Weiland. "His whole defense thing is that he has to handle himself night or day. He can tell you what's 150 feet off the trail at night just by the way he acts and responds."
Horses and riders put their training to the test just last week when a 28-year-old mountain biker from Novato was reported missing nearly two days after he set out from Devil's Gulch to ride on Marin Municipal Water District land.
The man was finally spotted on the south shore of the lake by a water-district ranger at about 10 a.m. the next day.
Sometimes, posse members said, they search through the night for missing people who'd rather not be found.
A few years back, recalled posse deputy Tabby Stackpole of Point Reyes Station, a guy went for a walk on Mount Tamalpais late one evening and was gone for hours.
The posse saddled up and began the search. Eventually, he turned up - but he wasn't lost. "It turned out he had a lot of in-laws visiting," said Stackpole. "We had our suspicions about that one. I guess his in-laws had been there a while."
Murphy discovered one side-benefit to the job on a recent search. Hustled out of bed one night to hunt for a missing hiker on Mount Tamalpais, Murphy found herself riding on the east peak of the mountain in the still early-morning hours.
She looked up and realized she could see 360 degrees around her. She soaked in a full moon, the lights of San Francisco, and the serenity of West Marin. "I would never do that if I didn't have this obligation," she said. The hiker was found safe a few hours later.
"There's usually a feeling of accomplishment," Murphy said, "and it's always an adventure."