500 Hours Later

US Eventing launched the Volunteer Incentive Program in 2017 to make volunteering at events easier for both volunteers and organizers -- in addition to recognizing the contributions of time and energy that make our sport possible.

how it started @ Shawan Downs back in 2015, pre-dating the volunteer portal and medal recognition program

The VIP Medal program was developed from this framework and recognizes volunteers for their cumulative lifetime hours (since 2017).  

that's a lot of time spent at horse shows

This weekend at the Maryland 5*, I finally hit that first threshold for recognition in the Medal Program -- reaching 500hrs of volunteering at recognized events for the Bronze Medal award. Woot woot!

show jump steward @ Loch Moy

In the grand scheme of things, it's maybe an arbitrary and sorta silly "accomplishment," except that I really really enjoy the time I spend at horse shows. 

xc jump judging @ Loch Moy

Especially during the last few years with Charlie being lame more often than sound, and with feeling a little fragile about competing... Volunteering really helped fill that void in my horsey experience.

so many great local venues!

There's just something special about that horse show atmosphere, ya know? 

FEI dressage steward @ Fair Hill

I was completely new to eventing when volunteering for the first time in 2014 -- just months before my own first ever entry in a three phase starter trial (almost exactly 10 years ago, wow). 

event prep @ MCTA Shawan

But since then, the Volunteer Portal has helped me explore all sorts of new venues and the various volunteer roles that are critical to the organization and administration of our sport. 

stewarding is my favorite!

It's no secret that volunteers are the backbone of eventing, but it's been eye opening to see just how many warm bodies are needed in all phases of show execution. 

Like preparing for the event -- painting fences, decorating the course, setting flags.... However long you think it takes to flag tracks for the event, double it. And the roping.... so much roping!

vet box @ Loch Moy's FEI

And then on show day -- every single xc jump needs to be observable by a set of eyeballs attached to a radio. And not just for fairness in scoring penalties -- but by the basic necessities of safety in the event of an accident.

There are also the documentary tasks like scribing and scoring -- easily overlooked but, again, critical to smooth operations. And key traffic control jobs like in/out gate coverage, jump crew, and crossing guards. 

event prep @ Fair Hill

My personal favorite positions, however, involve interacting directly with the riders. Warm up rings always have such cool electric vibes -- riders who are excited, nervous, tense, all the feelings! 

I love all that atmosphere -- esp when *I'm* not the rider. Like, just normalizing all that excitement and energy has helped me come to grips with some of my own psychological responses to the stimuli of competition.

i've prioritized recognized events in recent years, but can never entirely neglect the starters!

In the post-covid years, I averaged about 100 qualifying hours annually, and was usually in the Top 25 Area II volunteers, and Top 100 nationally. There's no special recognition for any of that, obvi, but I liked it anyway. 

event cleanup @ Great Meadow (for the Tokyo Olympic Team's mandatory practice!)

This year, tho, well... Things are a bit different now with Doozy in the picture! I obvi want to prioritize my weekends for riding and showing myself -- what a concept lol! 

dressage scribe @ Loch Moy

So I made a plan early in the year to figure out just how many days / commitments it would likely take to hit that 500hr mark, and substituted advance sign-ups for my favorite jobs with more last-minute sign-ups for whatever was still needed -- often xc jump judging. 

i like to mix it up between normal national classes and the big internationals

And in this way, just in time to close out the year, I hit the mark. Whew! 

I'm sure I'll continue to volunteer in the coming years -- maybe even somewhat close to monthly during the competition season. I love my favorite venues and am more than happy to contribute my time in exchange for schooling passes or entry credits too! But there are definitely no plans for trying to aim for the Silver Medal threshold (1,000hrs, yeesh!). 

YEH scribe @ Loch Moy

It's been a fun, rewarding, educational and fulfilling 500hrs for sure. But it's also pretty exciting to get back to keeping the main thing, the main thing. 

So here's to putting that time back into the saddle in the years to come!!