How To Get Volunteers for Horse Shows

[Bopper]

The association that I ride with puts on a few shows a year. These shows are mostly locally attended. In the past we had plenty of volunteers to help with the gate, set up, take down of stuff, move cows around from different pens, etc. but lately that has decreased.

Does anyone have any suggestions that they have seen other associations use to encourage volunteers? We usually give a small award to the member that is outstanding in the ‘helping hand’ area but we need something a little more for smaller stuff. We have made announcements at shows asking for volunteers, tried sign up sheets, etc. but nothing is working.

[anon68314200]

1. feed them well
2. staff t-shirt (nice color, nice graphic)
3. Have conversations with any professionals bringing many students to compete who may not have the best reputation for how they treat staff at the horse show.

I have to say as a many time horseshoe volunteer this is the worst part. The bigwigs in the area are just obnoxious. Plenty of people make money at shows but you want a class of people who are going to come work and not make money. You’ve got to justify that somehow. Or raise prices and hire professionals.

[Ghazzu]

Years ago, before NEDA was so damned big, the summer show was held in Medfield on the Norfolk Hunt steeplechase course.
Beth Jenkins was the person in charge of volunteers, and she usually had a waiting list for people who wanted to help.
Why?
Because she made us feel special.
There was a tent set up with lunch/snacks/drinks just for the volunteers.
(Often included a chocolate fountain with strawberries for dipping.)
She made sure that the vols got a break now and then.
There were frequently NEDA-themed objects (nice canvas totes, pins, etc.) that could not be purchased–only given to people who volunteered.

Other organizations I’ve been associated with made a certain number of volunteer hours a requirement for eligibility for year end awards.

[Highflyer1]

If you can offer a discount toward entry fees or a free schooling that might help. Or a special clinic just for volunteers.

[trubandloki]

As someone who volunteers more than they ride, I agree with @Ghazzu’s list.

The whole point is the line about making the volunteers feel appreciated and special.

That is not always giving them stuff, either.

Let your volunteers pick their job (clearly there is some limitations to this). Some people love running the in gate, some people find it to be the most torturous job ever. Some people like the job that has them away from all the hustle of the show (say score keeping), some people prefer a job where they get to see all the action.
Make a list of the jobs you need and make sure the person assigned to a specific job has the tools/information/knowledge to do that job. There is nothing more frustrating as a volunteer than having to tell a constant stream of people (who all clearly think you should know the answer to their question) that you have no idea and you can not direct them to the right person for that answer. I am not saying everyone needs to know everything, but if nothing else they should know where to send people asking a rule, or asking a time, etc.
Treat all of your volunteers like they matter.
Example - do not give a free schooling certificate to the cross country jump judges but not to the show jumping ring volunteers. They are all there the same amount of time and all important.
Don’t make them ask about that type of stuff either. If you are giving all the volunteers a free lunch, make sure they all know how that works. Is lunch being brought to them or is there a tab at the food booth for volunteers?
There is nothing more frustrating as a volunteer to not know what is going on.

I also agree with the last sentence of Ghazzu’s post. Many places require volunteer hours to get year end awards. For those showing those would happen with set up or clean up help.

[wsmoak]

Write up job descriptions so people know in advance what they are expected to do and how everything works.

Think of this like onboarding an employee at your job. You wouldn’t hand them a clipboard and radio and point in the general direction of their work space, you would give them a tour, show them where to get coffee and lunch later, explain their tasks and who to ask for help.

I know this is hard when volunteers are few, but pairing people up can help. Even if they are both new at least there is someone to hold down the fort if the other person has to leave and find help. And they don’t feel so alone.

[fledermaus]

At dog Agility competitions – many volunteers needed – you get vouchers for volunteering. You might get a voucher for every hour you put in (I can’t remember how it goes now, it’s been 25 years since I did that). Of course you get fed etc, but the vouchers go toward entry fees. They add up quick. Of course, they have the advantage of five minute runs, hundreds per day per show, and dog competitions are much much cheaper to put on. It was at that time possible to volunteer all morning and get all free runs in the afternoon.

[Displaced_Yankee]

I think that shows/associations build a reputation over time to be a good or bad event to volunteer for.

Some things that I have seen be successful that bring people back or people recommend helping out:

• a good lunch with a variety of drinks (soda, diet soda, bubbly water, iced tea)
• one person as a point of contact (volunteer coordinator)
• specific instructions and info sent out in advance (“Enter at gate C, go to the coliseum, check in at the volunteer table” “This weekend forecast is hot, chance of storms, bring a hat and rain gear”)
• Sunscreen/bug spray/water available (extra masks and hand sanitizer in COVID times)
• Someone checking on you throughout the day. The worst is being stuck, having to pee but not being able to leave your post.
• One show had volunteer vouchers at the coffee/smoothie food truck for any item up to $X (show paid the $X for each voucher turned in)
• Another show offered $Y per day/shift or voucher for future schooling, show entry, etc. Most people took the cash (not much, but it helps people cover gas to and from the show)
• Show staff being flexible around reasonable needs (Sue could arrive at 9AM, but the show started at 8:30, so we had someone else sub for 30 minutes)

[Djones]

sometimes you can’t win. I had a great scorer who always complained about being stuck behind a table in the heat (alabama). She loved scoring, though. So I put her in my LQ with the AC and a radio, tv options, private bathroom and offered to give her breaks throughout the day. she declined them all (I’m on a roll). I fed them all well and there was a bucket of coronas when we were done.

Afterward she complained about not seeing anything all day. Nevermind she could have unplugged the calculator, taken it outside and move her carcass to the table under the awning…literally 10 steps away?

[Luseride]

We do a five show series. In order to qualify for a year end award you must have so many work points. One point earned for each hour, not exact hour but close, or a sponsorship. That has helped very much. Even little kids can hand out ribbons and they love doing that.

[clanter]

rotate the personal to keep one or more from becoming the Authority that overwhelmingly becomes the dominate person … once that person does loose interest there is no one who will step in to cover because it has Always been that dude’s task

[2DogsFarm]

@trubandloki

The whole point is the line about making the volunteers feel appreciated and special.

Yup.
I’ve volunteered for CDEs held by a local club & volunteers are treated like royalty
Chairs provided where possible, shade tents too. A golfcart circulates with drinks & snacks + a sack lunch.
I’ve gotten t-shirts & once a choice of ADS swag
But, most important to me, I was made to feel like a valuable part of the team. Members were great at teaching me how to do jobs I was clueless about.
So, in addition to getting to watch some awesome competitors (human & equine ) I got a free education in my sport of interest.

[happilyretired]

@trubandloki

Make a list of the jobs you need and make sure the person assigned to a specific job has the tools/information/knowledge to do that job. There is nothing more frustrating as a volunteer than having to tell a constant stream of people (who all clearly think you should know the answer to their question) that you have no idea and you can not direct them to the right person for that answer.

As a past volunteer scorekeeper I second the above comment. Its very frustrating to be trying to do a job that requires some focus and having lots of people asking you questions that you can’t even answer.

[Night_Flight]

You’ve gotten some great suggestions so far. An easy way to make a volunteer never return is to put them in an isolated place with no chair, no food or no choice in food (I was once just handed a sandwich and that was it; what if I couldn’t eat the filling or hated it?), and/or insufficient instructions.

I volunteered at one show where I definitely didn’t have enough information or tools to do the job (think list of which prizes for each division, class lists, etc.), but the organizer clearly had an opinion on how things should be done. Given she wasn’t available to answer my questions after I made several attempts to ask, I made do with what I had and did my best to make the competitors happy. It was clear at the end of the day that she wasn’t happy with how it went, and I didn’t feel very valued despite going out of my way throughout the day to try to get the info I needed in order to do things her way. If you make the volunteers’ lives much harder than they need to be AND don’t show appreciation when they’ve pushed through a hard day, don’t expect them back.

Depending on your volunteers, thanking them by name in the program or in social media posts can show appreciation in a big way, too.

[BatCoach]

Excellent points have already been made, so I’ll echo that yes, you must value the volunteers time. Someone is giving up a day to help your organization- that is important!

Having a volunteer coordinator is a must. There is nothing worse than arriving at a show in the pre-dawn hours ready and willing to help and the scene is absolute chaos. We all know manure can hit the fan, but plan out which volunteer is doing what job before show day. Have written job descriptions, show maps, class list etc ready to go and walk the volunteer through it.

Free lunch, snacks and t shirts are great, but nothing is more important than treating people like they matter.

I think show runners can get in their bubble and forget that some of the best volunteers are non-horsey parents or spouses of riders. Take they time to show them how to do the job, introduce them to other people they will be working with and make them feel welcome make sure that they are confident that they can do the job assignment. Be crystal clear on expectations are, when breaks are, and when their shift is over etc.

Overall - run a good show. Last minute class changes, trainers hogging the warm up, stabling issues etc etc should be dealt with by the show office. Don’t put a volunteer who has no power to fix that issue in the bind. When things go wrong or off the rails don’t blame the volunteer who had nothing to do with it. Be kind and show appreciation.

[Bopper]

Thank you so much for the suggestions. I will bring these up to the board.

This is a small western type classes association and we only need volunteers for specific, short term jobs such as - taking down panels after cutting classes, moving cows out of the arena after each working cow run, running the gate for a few classes (only about 2 hours other all day gate is covered all day with paid help), setting up and taking down trail pattern, setting up markers for reining class, etc. All short term jobs but still lately the volunteers have just disappeared.

[Displaced_Yankee]

Have you considered contacting your local 4H club? A group of big kids (10+ years) could move panels, get trail equipment in and out of the arena. You may need an adult to double check distances, but they can the stuff in and out pretty quickly. Granted, I have no idea how to move cows…I am no help there.

Our 4H club also has a teen judging team. They attend QH and other shows to practice judging. The adult in charge will sometimes send them down to help clear the arena between classes, etc.

Regardless of the discipline, this thread could be a great and current resource for other show organizers!

[starrunner]

Lots of great ideas. I don’t think this is an issue just limited to horse shows as my dog show & even my husband who is involved in aviation has said there are major issues in recruiting volunteers.

Ends up being a catch 22 IMO since people want money or a stipend for volunteering and many of these events aren’t really making a profit now either.

But from my volunteer hat perspective, I enjoy picking my job if I’m able. Having a volunteer coordinator is nice. Food/drink/chance to take a break and watch the event if I like would be fabulous.

One of my favorite memories is working for a week at Collie Nationals (and I don’t show dogs) running the trophy table. I had enough time to enjoy the show, everyone I interacted with was pretty pleasant, etc.

My club has tried random prizes (gas gift cards), a volunteer awards division for the year end awards program, a chance for scholarship money (open to everyone…amateurs/pros for anything horse related to learn), and none of these have really had much effect on who volunteers. Still the same 5-10 people and those unfortunate enough to be close enough friends to be pressed into service.

[Bopper]

We actually try to get 4-H members as scribes and to run the one gate that goes all day since those are paying jobs. We try to stick to members for volunteers and we only need them for short term specific jobs not all day duties.

Also, forgot to note that we don’t have many trainers that bring students. Many of our riders ride with different trainers for different classes (they may have a reining trainer and a separate cutting trainer so that they can show in both) so they don’t have one trainer. The trainers that do come volunteer for more skilled work like turn back and herd holding in cutting.

[Djones]

@happilyretired

As a past volunteer scorekeeper I second the above comment. Its very frustrating to be trying to do a job that requires some focus and having lots of people asking you questions that you can’t even answer.

I feel you. I had a scorer miscalculate high score at a schooling show. Per the rules, you question dressage scores within x time…two days later the person who won it incorrectly pitched a fit that the high point actually belonged to ABC kid. I was like I’m sorry, it’s yours it’s done, just leave it alone…and she proceeds to rant about the masses of scoring errors during the show…I’m like full stop. ONE test mid day was scored wrong and caught by the scorer and fixed and the rider notified and apologized to proactively…YOUR test was miscalculated by a different scorer in the midst of you and your pals and the BO chugging Pinot Grigio and whooping up a storm
…

Pause

She owned it and apologized.

Don’t poop on the volunteers. Including the gmo president.