Well said. I have no data to back this up, but I’m guessing that the vast majority of horse owners and enthusiasts in this country never compete. Some never even ride. I think the COTH crowd (and certainly my own horse community) skews towards competitors, so it’s easy to forget that millions of people enjoy horses without any competition ever. I often think about that when I’m feeling the pressure to show.
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There are a couple show circles that I sit on the outskirts of, and the other big thing here is Houseman’s Council type get togethers/outings. I am not a super social person either. I do very much LOVE having the community I do and have some very close friends from it, but with that said, I am not looking at my interest in horses as a catalyst to doing all the things with all the people either. I recently turned down an event that I was specifically invited to, that I would have had to take time from work off or an after work rush to get everything put together for if I were to bring pony. Going sans pony was also an option, but then I wouldn’t get to ride that night and at the end of the day, I want to spend the time with my horse 
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Thank you for volunteering!! Eventing simply would not exist without volunteers.
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Unrecognized events have some teeny tiny jump divisions (Elementary, Intro, etc.) where the XC is literally small logs and nothing scary - many could be walked over!
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A local schooling trial I was at not long ago had a green as grass division where fences were optional. There was even one gal who had entered her young horse in one of the tiny fence divisions (maybe intro) and the horse decided he just wasn’t sure about the first fence. She was eliminated for 3 refusals, but they still let her just trot around the whole course, past each of the fences, to put a little bit of mileage on him. It was a nice little “warm-up” event for people to dip their toes back in before the season really got into full swing, and the showrunners were definitely forgiving in ways where a recognized event would not have been (e.g., the young girl who got lost and spent 3-4 minutes galloping around trying to find her next fence before the person in charge gave a jump judge permission to “suggest” a certain direction).
All in all, I thought it was a very fun day - competitive for those who wanted to really compete, but very welcoming for those who needed/wanted a more forgiving experience for themselves and their horses.
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