How To Get Volunteers for Horse Shows

[mmeqcenter]

Be well-organized. Being a volunteer for a circus where no one has any idea what’s going on is painful. I had to ask at least THREE people where to go and what they assigned me to do on more than one occasion.

Use modern technology.

Make sure all employees and volunteers are on the same page (part of being well-organized), and don’t be an asshole. One dressage show I volunteered at, the person I checked in with said I should run 3-4 tests back to the office at a time. I got to the office with the first batch, and the person I handed them to yelled at me saying I needed to bring them faster. I told her what I had been originally told, and she snapped something like “that’s wrong, run every test or at most wait for two” and walked away.

[Bopper]

I cannot believe some of your experiences as volunteers. Our organization tries to emphasize good sportsmanship and respect for everyone even the volunteers.

[trubandloki]

On the 4h volunteer front - I am not sure if using your ring/facility for a mounted meeting is something that is a plus to them, but that might be worth the work trade to an active club. You provide a list of jobs that have to be handled and it is up to the club to wrangle enough humans to fill those jobs for the day and in exchange you will let them use your ring at some scheduled time. This will likely get the kids and their parents there helping you out.

[quietann]

My best experiences volunteering have been at Groton House horse trials (the “big event” and the schooling trials - hi @frugalannie!) And at the NEDA fall festival. The former is local, but the latter is a long drive, and the free hotel rooms and breakfast/lunch mean a lot.

I think what each has is respect for volunteers, and clearly defined roles. Also knowing that if something goes terribly wrong, the powers that be will back me up (if it’s a show entrant or trainer making trouble) or let me off to deal (if it’s a personal issue - like when my insulin pump decided to die at NEDA.)

[B_and_B]

A lot of great suggestions here. One thing, it might be a little challenge, but if you are doing thank you vouchers or credits; that should also be combined with something for the volunteers without horses. That can help widen the pool of people.

[furlong47]

@B_and_B

A lot of great suggestions here. One thing, it might be a little challenge, but if you are doing thank you vouchers or credits; that should also be combined with something for the volunteers without horses. That can help widen the pool of people.

Some kind of point system might work well, especially if you run multiple shows - each job is worth a certain amount. Collect enough over the season and you can redeem them for items, which could vary from things like a schooling gift certificate and money off entry fees to items like hats, shirts, saddle pads, water bottles, hand towels, etc. Make sure there’s something for even the lowest amount of points, but I would probably come back multiple times if I was trying to earn enough for some cool swag.

Then again, it’s another thing somebody has to keep track of, and I don’t know if all adults are as motivated as I am by nice logo items I don’t own a horse, so in the past I’ve received things like schooling certificates which are a very nice gesture, but if I were going to use one I’d have to spend an additional ton of money to use one of trainer’s horses and pay for trailering out there.

[Angela_Freda]

I was going to mention this.
I’d pitch in at a show or whatnot, but horsey thank you so like saddle pads aren’t really a thanks since I no longer ride.

[MorganMaresVT]

@Bopper, I am coming off of ~18 hours of vet scribing at a big endurance ride, and laughing at your comment that your scribes are paid?!?! What?! I felt great being paid with too much pizza for dinner last night, but I can’t imagine being paid

In all seriousness, often I think organizers that rely on volunteers assume that there has to be some sort of physical token of appreciation, but honestly, how many more t-shirts or mugs do any of us really need? For me, what I really want is clear communication well in advance so I don’t feel like an idiot showing up without knowing what to do and friendly people to spend the day with. I see volunteering as a chance to learn a lot about the sport I’m interested in competing in, so if the organizers can tell me exactly what they need me to do and when they need me there, I’m ready to show up!

Most important to me is having an easy, clear way to sign up. I try to be a good sport but really can’t stand disorganization that starts with the basics of when do you need me, where do you need me, and what is it that I’m doing. I had a friend who wanted to volunteer at the event I was just at, and she received emails and phone calls from three different people who all had different details about what time, what location, and how long they wanted her there, and ultimately, she did not end up volunteering because I don’t think she ever got a straight answer about how long she would have to plan to be there.

As an addendum, I really wish all events/shows would have an online sign up portal so you can see all the details about time/date/location/volunteer “job” description, and maybe even who you’d be volunteering with, when you commit to signing up

I’m on the fence about food. Honestly, I’m a picky vegetarian and I don’t eat what’s put out for volunteers 99% of the time (the pizza I ate for dinner last night was the exception ) - I know people expect it, but I always see food left over and it seems so wasteful. If there’s an on site restaurant or food truck, maybe a voucher to select something, but honestly, I’d much rather not feel guilty about turning down food that I don’t eat. Plentiful water available is helpful, bonus if it’s not in throw away plastic but from a cold, clean source where I can refill my own bottle.

I always forget my folding chair, so chairs to borrow are great.

A lot of people mentioned feeling appreciated, and that’s towards the top of my list too. I feel appreciated when I am prepared for what to expect and know my job when I get there. I feel appreciated when people I’ve met five weekends in a row remember my name or at least acknowledge we’ve met before and re-introduce themselves proactively. I feel appreciated when people recognize that someone new to the sport needs introduction to the rules and the personalities involved. A couple of times this season, I received a completely unexpected email from an official after the event thanking me for coming and mentioning a specific scenario we had worked on together- I was so surprised she took the time to find my contact info and thought about reaching out that way. Something little like that went a really long way to making me want to show up again when I knew she’d be there.

[beowulf]

Very few people want to do grueling and thankless work out of the kindness of their hearts. It shouldn’t be “what can volunteers do for us” but “what can we do to thank the volunteers”? Find your demographic and offer flexibility. Some volunteers ride, some have sunset their riding ambitions and riding swag doesn’t appeal to them. Offer options; maybe gift cards to local places, a voucher for Xc schooling, exclusive venue focused attire, etc and let them pick.

Make sure what ever you do, you find the time to thank them before they leave and give them clear, focused guidance. Like others have said, a poorly run organization will burn through its list of volunteers quickly.

[SusanO]

I don’t need to be fed but geez people when it is hot please make sure the judge and scribe has something cold to drink. I scribed for years and I enjoyed it even though it pretty much shot my day. And it was a LONG drive to wherever the show was held. The last time I did we were sitting in the hot sun all day. When I enquired about something cold to drink because I was parched and thought surely there was a cooler somewhere I just couldn’t see. I had to call into control central and they would bring me something. After about 5 minutes somebody finally arrives at the judges stand with a lukewarm bottle of water. Like that was going to help. And then I had to set said bottle back in the sun for the next swallow. I decided if they were too cheap and inconsiderate of the workers ( and judge) to put a styrofoam cooler with ice and cold drinks by the judges stand then I wasn’t going to make an effort again. So I quit volunteering.

You don’t have to make me feel special but at least provide the basics. Don’t cheap out on taking care of your help.

[Bopper]

I am still amazed at some of these stories. We are a very small wester type association but the judges and scribes are checked regularly to make sure that they don’t need water or a snack and encouraged to take a lunch break or other break as needed. The morning set of classes runs from 9 am to about 1 pm before we switch to another class so I always tell judges to take a break at some point. We also provide lunch for judges and scribes and yes we pay scribes.

The jobs that need volunteers are not complicated and only for a few classes like running the gate for 1-2 reining classes.

[SillyHorse]

One of the issues I’m seeing repeatedly here is disorganization and difficulty with signing up to volunteer. Our GMO not only has a volunteer coordinator, but we use “SignUp Genius” www.signupgenius.com , which allows people to sign up online for the job and shift they want to work. Our web page that has the link to SignUp Genius also has a link to a page that has detailed descriptions of every job. The entire schooling show series is open for signup, and popular positions, like scribe, are sometimes filled months in advance.

We are able to set this up the way we want it, within reason, and make changes to it when we need to.

Here’s what it looks like:

The above is a portion of the signup page. Anyone who would like to see the complete page, PM me.

This doesn’t solve all the problems associated with getting volunteers, but it enables people to sign up easily and eliminates, for the most part, the show manager or volunteer coordinator having to make phone calls asking people to volunteer.

[conniemary]

I have seen some shows require “volunteering” as a condition of entry (I’m not in the US)
It’s a bit off-putting when it applies to everyone including newbies. It does make shows more affordable though.

[trubandloki]

@conniemary

I have seen some shows require “volunteering” as a condition of entry (I’m not in the US)
It’s a bit off-putting when it applies to everyone including newbies. It does make shows more affordable though.

How does this work? Are there enough before show or after show jobs so people showing can volunteer without having to interfere with their show day?

Then there is the road bump about travel. How far is this show from you?

[quietann]

If you have people out in a more remote location, say jump judging, and they won’t be able to leave… Um, make sure they can pee in the woods privately.

I’m only sorta kidding. I love Groton House woods!

[Ghazzu]

@quietann

I love Groton House woods!

You just have to be careful of the poison ivy there.

[quietann]

Yes. And the caterpillars.

[conniemary]

The shows I have participated in only require local riders or club members to name a volunteer, but I have seen some that require all competitors to name a volunteer. I think the assumption is that all riders will have a non-riding companion who can help which essentially assumes all competitors are teenagers with parents.

[oldernewbie]

I have a slightly different twist to put out there: if someone offers to volunteer, please do them the courtesy of replying! I was a walk on volunteer at a big big show last year. Spent probably 8 hours running score sheets. I really enjoyed being part of it. Posted on the discussion group for the show this year that I’d like to volunteer again, someone tagged someone else’s name, and I never heard a word from anyone after that. Jeesh people, as we can tell by this discussion, volunteers are not plentiful. Can’t believe that the show committee can be so cavalier with people wanting to volunteer!

And it would have been nice to have been acknowledged when they were thanking the volunteers after the show last year, but that’s apparently PhD level volunteer coordinating

I was president of the band boosters, youth group and boy scout leader, etc etc etc. The ironclad rule for keeping all that running was to honor volunteers at every possible turn if you want them to pitch in the next time. People seem to forget that sometimes…

[SusanO]

I think you also need to analyze who your volunteers are ( and even more important - who they were in the past). If you are getting people that no longer show but want to give back to the organization - then the incentives have to be different than if you have people that actively show and will pitch in. The GMO here used to require volunteer hours to be eligible for high score awards. If I was not showing then I didn’t give a rat’s patooty about being eligible for an award. And a lot of the volunteers did not actively show anymore. So giving bonus awards for volunteer hours wasn’t an incentive either.

If you need people to hang around after the show is over to help pick up and put things back where they were before then you need to make it worth their while to stick around and not haul their horses home. Maybe non riders could be targeted for this task. If everything is organized and enough people are on hand this can be done pretty quickly. If they have to stand around while those people in charge are wandering around then be prepared for them to not volunteer the next time. The same with pre-set up. i think organization is the key to keep people volunteering for this job.