For the past three years, Cape Lookout National Seashore Park has rounded up its herd of about 100 wild horses living on Shackleford Banks to give them their annual checkup and blood tests. It's a critical part of managing the animals--to keep them disease free and to control the size of the herd so that overgrazing doesn't damage the barrier island's vegetation.

The undisputed star of the show and the most critical participant in capturing 100 percent of the herd has been Bob Trick, a ranger and pilot at the park. Bob is an outstanding professional in many aspects of his ranger job, but he is an exceptional pilot. He spends hours in the air spotting horses over the length of the nine-mile island of sand dunes and maritime forest. He also coordinates the efforts of the volunteers and military ground crews, directing the operators of All Terrain Vehicles across the island and guiding walkers through the woods. These teams drive the horses out to the open dunes or sandy beach of the Atlantic Ocean. Once on the beach, the ATV's can guide the horses up the shore to the holding pens.

Bob maintains a cool, calm demeanor in an extremely stressful atmosphere. He recently received a STAR award from the staff at Cape Lookout National Seashore for his work during the roundup.

"Bob's participation has been the crucial factor in the past few years' successful roundups," noted Park Superintendent Karren C. Brown. "His ability to keep his eyes on moving horses in challenging terrain and coordinate placement of ground crews is essential in gathering the horses with a minimum of stress to the animals.

"He can fly the airplane, spot horses, intercept and interpret radio communications and verbally direct ground staff and volunteers; his skills have become legendary," Brown said. "He is the consummate National Park Service Park Ranger and we are grateful to the Cape Hatteras National Seashore management and protection staff for 'loaning' us their pilot and airplane to accomplish this daunting task."

The sixth in a series of scheduled roundups of the Shackleford Banks wild horses began on Jan. 20, lasting three days. During the roundup, all the horses on Shackleford Banks are tested for Equine Infectious Anemia through blood samples collected by state veterinarians. This is the third consecutive year that the horses have tested negative for this disease. The blood drawn is also used for pregnancy tests and in genetic studies. Selected mares are administered an immunocontraceptive vaccine and then the herd is released back into the wild.

This roundup was conducted by members of the Foundation for Shackleford Horses, Inc. (the park's partner in co-managing the herd); 100 volunteers from all over the state; and a number of organizations, including the U. S. Army Special Forces from Fort Bragg; U. S. Coast Guard, Group Fort Macon; U. S. Marine Corps, Cherry Point Air Station; the North Carolina Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, Veterinary Division; Humane Society of the United States; Jay Kirkpatrick of ZooMontana; Dr. Charles Issel, equine virologist, University of Kentucky; and the staff of Cape Lookout National Seashore.