I didn’t read through all the responses, so if this has been touched on I apologize.
There is a local event who is constantly begging for volunteers. I don’t volunteer because, frankly, they’re rude and I won’t give my time to someone who doesn’t respect the people trying to help them.
I also wish more events in Area II had half day shifts. It is hard to give up an entire weekend day. But do think that organizers in Area II generally treat volunteers well.
Regarding competitors - In my experience Olympic riders are more likely to say thank you and be respectful to volunteers than lower level professionals.
I also think trainers should be encouraging their students/parents to volunteer. My trainer encourages her students to volunteer. I think for people new to eventing it is also an extremely valuable experience for learning about the sport.
I try to volunteer when I can. It is tough being a privateer though. I call myself a privateer because I am an amateur who travels/competes alone, sans trainer/help so I have to do it all. And the higher I move up the levels, the more I am stuck committed to caring for my horse. And as someone with a career that is eating more and more into my free time, I work at competitions in order to keep up with my research program and university responsibilities.
Trailer parking zoom meetings)
That said, when I do volunteer, I tell the folks my available times and let them decide if I can be useful.
Also, being a competitor, it doesn’t bother me if I’m out jump judging and nobody says “thank you” or such. I get it. We are in our own heads walking courses and focusing. I know I do.
I generally do my volunteering behind the scenes setting up and tearing down or helping at the zone or national levels which is even more unrecognized. I do it because I am grateful for the chance to do it.
So sadly, I don’t have any real solutions.
A barrier I’ve encountered is that for many opportunities there’s the assumption you have targeted experience going in. I’m happy to volunteer doing a new to me task or across disciplines, but I need guidance.
I am happy to be sorting items, being a runner, etc. where less skill is needed. Alternatively, I need clear instructions around expectations, a point of contact for questions, etc. if you’re going to have me to a new to me task.
When volunteering feels like “entry level 3 years of experience required” people feel uncomfortable and are unlikely to return. Additionally, when it feels like you are one of the few people who doesn’t know anyone, it makes it even harder to understand what’s going on and how to help.
Absolutely.
I have evented once, and I hauled in for all 3 days. The venue is an hour from my house and my ride times were all mid day. No way could I have volunteered a shift and then gotten back home to load and arrive at the show in time to warm up. However, I would have been happy to pay another $100-$200 (or more?) in lieu of volunteering!
I ran that GMO for two years (2012 and 13, maybe?). By the time I got there, there wasn’t much money left LOL- no possibility of putting on a recognized show. We did 2-3 schooling shows and CT. Too many arrogant folks, a very contentious relationship between local big wigs (when two dressage trainers divorce and the only tack shop in town takes sides, take cover!) Anyway… I took over from a great gal who moved here from out of state and ran it a few years then moved again. I inherited from her a core group of volunteers who carried that club. We provided hot coffee/hot chocolate/iced down water and lunch to all volunteers and made sure everyone got fed and appreciated. I made up goody bag prizes that we put on display at shows at check in (so everyone saw that we treated volunteers right) and all volunteers got their name put in the hat- they won GCs to the local tack shops, a free show within 12 months of winning), etc. After shows I mailed everyone of them thank you notes. When I was done being Prez, I was DONE- done done done. We had solid show entries in our schooling series, good volunteer base, solid membership numbers…but no one wanted to step up and run it- so the incoming Prez was a bit of an unknown commodity and she destroyed that club. Railroading volunteers, lambasting the volunteer BOD for the club, being an absolute cow to folks helping reset fences in show jumping are just the start. And I suspect she stole from the coffers, but don’t know that. Entries were already falling off from riders who had graduated to recognized stuff, people aged out, and under that Fruitbat’s leadership, it tanked.
I stayed away for several years- it was just too broken and it made me sad. I agreed to scribe a winter schooling show about 2 years ago. I get there and YALL- there were no clipboards made up of tests for the 2 rings. There was a disorganized accordion folder of SOME copies of tests. We didn’t even have enough clipboards anyway! Insanity. We ended up starting 2 hours late and over the course of the day, more than once I begged the test caller for their hard copy of the test they were calling, if they wouldn’t mind reading it from their phone.
Can you even imagine? at some point a trainer was yelling at me to tell her who the president was and where they were. I was like dude, I don’t even KNOW. I like scribing. I’m scribing. I am not a member of this club, so please either HELP me help you or just stop talking. She finally clammed up but JFC.
Anyway I hate it that shows struggle, but maybe entries DO need to go up. Give volunteers at least gas money (I live a solid hour from any show location here). Give them the tools to do the damn job. And run the dang organization like you care.
Oh- another thing- I put together a scribing and scoring clinic at a nearby indoor. My instructor played the Judge at C, and we all sat in front of her - we put her on a tall stool and we sat on short chairs. It was awesome. I had almost 30 people come and sit down and scribe a couple of tests ridden by a few members on different horses, and one rider went off course (by design) so we could learn how to deal with that. Then we had lunch and all sat down and got copies of scored straight dressage tests and CT tests. It was lots of fun and the event was well-received. it took a lot of time and effort by many people and the farm owner gave us the run of her place for the day…And it did NOTHING to impact who volunteered in the future. Sigh!
It’s noon here and I’m about to need a beer reliving all of that LOL
YES!!!
Totally this.
I know of at least a couple of people whose response is - I don’t know how to do any of those jobs - when asked to volunteer.
I would like to be able to tell them that they will be given proper guidance and hand holding to learn, but I know better, because everyone is doing 12 jobs and even the most basic question seems to never get answered.
I Jump judged one year with President totally out gunned. It was pouring rain, and she had me at a jump that already had a judge. The TD ended up driving me to my car and I left. The organization has since muchly improved, and they are a delight to work with. But it makes a HUGE difference who is organizing.
I know it took me awhile to find my niche volunteering at events. I hate jump judging. I hate crowd control/manning gates/outriding. I really like working the vet box.
I hate the former tasks because I’ve always been thrown into them with so little guidance. They are so critically important. Yet my experiences have been someone handing me a whistle, a clipboard, maybe a walkie talkie if I’m lucky, then sending me off somewhere alone. I spend the whole time hoping I’m doing things right. I’ve been told there are videos online to help, but even still, it’s unfortunate that so many venues give so little guidance for such important tasks.
First time I worked a vet box, I had a great person running it who was very clear on the expectations. Plus it jives with my existing skill set. I can be useful there.
OMG - I wonder where the money went? No recognized shows for 40 years, not much in the way of clinics, lots of schooling shows which used to be well attended. And then the virtual shows during Covid - not much cost there. Now it has been decades but they had 30k in the bank and they were not spending any that I know of because I think they had already bought several arenas and a trailer to store the stuff in. They were running shows at the cheapest facility besides in a newer nicer facility east of town. I did notice that the entries were way down in the last few years shows - maybe 1 or 2 people in each class. So if you use a cheap facility and the footing is not very good you probably won’t have as many people wanting to show there so you really don’t have a positive cash flow on that decision.
I am still mystified at what happened to the money. I remember rumblings about wanting an audit but I don’t think people wanting an audit really knew what an audit was for. Basically all they needed to do was go throw the bank statements and see where the money was being disbursed. Back in the day the club MADE money on schooling shows and the coffer was fuller after a show. And even ran some clinics. Really enjoyed the one with Terry Giotto freestyles that got all the warring factions of the many DQ groups to sit down and come together. Since private clinics were bringing in people like Arthur Kottas, etc. I decided to just pay for those and skip the dues for a club that didn’t offer much to me. It seemed like after somebody was president they washed their hands of the GMO and never volunteered again. Or was ever seen at a meeting again.
I am two hours from any of the venues and as much as I like scribing I am not driving that far to eat dust and look at low level tests. Not that low level tests are bad, I sure did enough of them badly, but you don’t learn much scribing tests that lack all of the basics. BUT I never volunteered to be an officer so I really can’t complain much. I am glad I quit volunteering before the SNAFU’s you encountered. I can’t even imagine! I am glad I missed all that.
30k? I had like 2-3k in the bank. There is literally no telling. I bought the little trailer, all the stuff was on the second floor of the barn in Vincent and that made zero sense for set up and tear down. We had two arenas that could fit in there plus all the other stuff to run a show. When I went to EG for the show I scribed…that freaking trailer was empty. Where is all the stuff??? Who even knows.
The facility east of town is amazing, and likely wanted a fee for the day where EG would let them do it for free and her boarders get to show (and not volunteer).
The owner of the east facility and I are close, she was my treasurer. Yeah…when you’ve begged and pleaded for people to help and it’s like 8-12 people doing all of it all the time. Eff that, nope! No more. I will never be officially involved again.
I was given the task of rolling the centerline in dressage once. I am 5’2" and weighed 106 at the time. I couldn’t even keep the roller from bouncing! Luckily someone noticed and I got a more appropriate job.
One event I went to ages ago had a local shortwave radio club as the jump judges. They trained them well, and they looked like they were having a lot of fun. Another one had mounted Buffalo Soldiers re-enactors running scores and outriding. That was super cool, and they looked like they were having fun, too.
Now the closest event to me is 4 hours away, so I no longer event or volunteer.
Back 50+ years ago I started jump judging at Timber Acres in Alabama. There always was a jump judge training session either the morning of the cross country or the day before. It went over basically everything a JJ needed to know so even if you were a clueless parent or a clueless neighbor you had a good idea of what you were supposed to know.
Then in 78? I got to be an assistant JJ in Kentucky at the world championships. That was cool beyond belief!!! It was worth it just for the special parking areas where we got to park. The best part was when Jack Le Goff came up and asked how the jump we were JJing was riding. Like I (a total non jumping ignoramus) would know. I don’t remember any of the other perks but if I lived in Kentucky I would do it again.
I used to event and now I’m a h/j. I live in eventing heaven and volunteer regularly at one local place. I’m always the dressage bit/gear check, you’ve probably met me 
that event treats me well, the pros are all kind even when things get jacked up (one event I was trying to run dressage steward and bit/gear check due to a snafu and frankly screwed up). And when i reached out to the volunteer coordinator about how not to have that snafu happen again, all was good. It’s an enjoyable day!
Another event in the area does almost zero jump judge training, seems to be run by people who are wealthy but have no actual eventing experience?? Anyway it was awful horrible and I’ll never volunteer there again. Seriously if I listed all the things that went wrong that day you’d say I was making it up. But it culminated with a runner parking her car in the way of XC jump (you could go around but it wasn’t the best path to the jump) me jumping up waving my hands saying you need to move your car, and her screaming do you know who I am?! yeah no thanks
so yeah I’d say well run grateful places with a decent coordinator probably don’t suffer. Others do.
I volunteer at most away shows when I stable there, and have two days basically to myself with one horse. There’s always a free morning or afternoon to help out-- if I go prelim in the morning, I’ll park myself ringside at SJ and jump crew the rest of the day for the lower levels. Or go to the office, say I have some free time and can I help? Nothing makes them happier than a free volunteer just showing up!
It makes it harder at local events, where I haul in for my rides and go home. It’s FL, it’s HOT, and I won’t leave my horse on the trailer for 4 hours after showing while I volunteer. But by the time I take him home, unhook, and drive back to the venue, the show day is basically over. At places like the FHP, it would be awesome if they could offer a half-day stall to someone who wants to volunteer for the rest of the day. I would happily stash my horse in a stall with haynet, water, and a fan, and then help out wherever needed.
Yes! I would totally volunteer if I could do this - great idea!
My personal barrier to volunteering is the length of the day. If they offered half day slots, I’d probably volunteer again. I have not volunteered at an event (outside of Pony club rallies) for the last few years, since I got a puppy who turned into a dog with separation anxiety. I’m also single and all dog and horse care is my job alone so I really can’t be gone for 12 hours at a time (I do have a kid but they’ve been away at college). I also haven’t competed in that time, so I don’t feel too bad.
The last few times I volunteered at Loch Moy, which is about an hour from home. Then they expect you to work “all day” which could mean 7 am to 6 pm. With two hours of driving, I just can’t be there for 13 hours. The end of my volunteering there did sort of coincide with their nasty email to volunteers, but that wasn’t the cause - it was the puppy.
I did just volunteer as horse management for a Pony Club eventing rally, which was held along with an unrecognized event, but I was only needed for 5 or 6 hours.
Random obeservations:
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Back in the days before NEDA became a victim of its own success they used to hold the summer show at the Norfolk Hunt Steeplechase Course in Medfield.
Beth Jenkins was the show manager for many years, and that woman knew how to run a show and treat volunteers.
There was often a waiting list for volunteers for that show.
There was a tent reserved for the volunteers with a wonderful lunch buffet and a chocolate fountain for dipping strawberries.
Everyone got some sort of NEDA swag that was not available for purchase–only for volunteers.
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Back when I used to be a vet judge at ECTRA CTRs and endurance rides, I would warn the riders during the pre-ride briefing that if I saw them giving any of the myriad of volunteers required to put on the ride, they would be in very deep shit.
More than once a volunteer would tell me at the end of ride cookout that they were surprised that the competitors were being “unusally” polite.
This is not to imply that they were otherwise surly–most distance riders are pretty outgoing and friendly, but the vols would tell me that they were getting a surprising number of “thank yous”.
Sometimes people just need to be reminded of the fact that their competitons wouldn’t be possible without volunteers.
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I have jump judged on and off at Area I events, and typically been treated at least OK, and sometimes quite well.
Usually a bag/box lunch and plenty to drink is part of the deal.
Briefing in the morning on how to do it for the uninitiated, and a nice review if you’ve BTDT.
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I busted my ass for years with several different Arabian clubs, ptting on dressage schooling shows, hunter paces, and coordinating the hunter ring at recognized shows.
Was typically treated like crap.
Finding volunters to help was like pulling teeth.
(I quit doing the dressage schooling show when it was discussed at a board meeting as “Ghazzu’s show”, having run it the year before only by recruiting friends who weren’t even members of the club to help.)
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Those who have said that volunteers need to be treated with respect, fed and watered, and made to feel appreciated have hit the nail on the head.
What nasty email to volunteers?
Referenced by @Libby2563 in post 41: “But does anyone else remember Jan of 2021 when they sent a somewhat harshly worded email scaling back their volunteer perks, then 2.5 hours later another email reinstating some of them?”
I don’t remember exactly what it said, but it scaled back the perks considerably, while also berating volunteers for giving away their schooling passes. It was fairly condescending and my reaction to reading it was “wow”. Apparently it was done impulsively and they backtracked pretty quickly. I don’t hold a grudge about it and I would volunteer again if it wasn’t such a long day.
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