"Hello, Peta? I'd like to report a murder :( " -- Charlie, probably.
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| the poor, long suffering sir..... |
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| "how could you do this to me, tho??" -- charlie, definitely trying to hide how much he loves getting fussed over haha |
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| still a handsome horse, tho, chuck!! |
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| "i'll see myself out :( " |
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| probably commiserating on the difficult life they lead LOL |
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unrelated. enjoy some gifs from volunteering at fair hill last weekend! here's a shot of the USEA Volunteer Program's first gold medal winner -- 2,000 recorded hours wow.
(my thoughts on this program remain unchanged, for those curious) |
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| Sally Cousins & Wizard sailing through the Intermediate coffin complex |
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| Laine Ashker & Call Him Paddy make easy work of the Prelim coffin |
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why go all the way to Paris when the Olympians are right in your back yard???
here's Boyd Martin & Joey Fiddlesticks on the Modified track |
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| Caroline Pamukcu & HSH Sebastion wrapped up our day in the Training division |
I'm doing a lot less volunteering this year now that I actually have a riding horse, omg haha. Ya know. The whole "Keep the Main Thing, the Main Thing" deal. But it's still fun to get out to my favorite venues once a month!
Might actually be jussst enough to button up my bronze ranking (500 hours at recognized events) in the Volunteer Medal Program!! Gotta get that pin and certificate, yo.... lol....
Always good to see more Charlie photos! Having a volunteer program that includes recognition and awards is a good incentive. I'd want that bronze medal too! How cool to live near such a wonderful venue as Fair Hill.
ReplyDeletethe volunteer incentive program is definitely a good thing, and has made it a lot easier for both volunteers and organizers... but imo the actual recognition thresholds aren't scaled well enough to actually drive volunteerism. my goal is to hit about 66hrs this year to reach that bronze level (500+ hrs), but i don't see aiming for the silver (1,000+ hrs) any time soon. the last three years were 100hr years for me as i tried to stay involved despite charlie's lameness, but now with doozy i want to spend that time riding instead of volunteering... maybe if there were more attainable benchmarks it'd be different?
DeleteOh poor Charlie! You tolerate sooo much. 😁
ReplyDeletehe has the patience of a saint LOL...
DeleteHehehe, poor Charlie!
ReplyDeletehis suffering knows no end!
DeleteThose volunteer hour benchmarks are kind of insane. I set aside a full weekend for a show earlier this summer and a few evenings over the winter here and there for planning and it felt like a lot! Maaaybe I put 30 hours in all together for the show, probably another 20 or so for our local equestrian club so far this year. I don't feel like I'd be an unusual volunteer case study - working full time, horses of my own, other organizations I volunteer for, and just life and I feel pretty maxed out on free time.
ReplyDeleteyea honestly my thoughts exactly. when i did the full analysis a couple years ago, the top 10% of volunteers each year were doing about 30hrs, and that's actually almost exactly the lifetime average for ALL volunteers currently in the database. i honestly don't think they really thought deeply (at all) about the recognition thresholds other than, "those sound like good numbers, let's go with it!" but doubling from one level to the next might actually be *dis*incentivizing... like, looking at how much has gone into even getting close to 500hrs (esp knowing that there's basically nothing to show for it), the idea of doubling all that just for the silver medal is literally not at all appealing lol
DeleteI wouldn’t mind if there were a “requirement” ratio of competition hours to volunteer hours but I know there’s no way this would become a thing.
ReplyDeleteEmma do you know if there’s an advantage, seen by USEA, for an event to have a larger number of volunteers vice fewer volunteers donating more hours each? I’m wondering why a local event differentiates between schooling passes (for volunteer themself only) and gift certificates (for volunteer to give away).
Thanks for posting link to your earlier study, very meaty post.
glad you enjoyed reading that earlier post! i honestly had a lot of fun digging into all that data and analysis lol...
Deleteagreed about the requirement, i feel like there are ways to make it happen too but... doesn't seem likely. regarding the number of volunteers vs the relative amount of time each contribute, idk if there's a true right or wrong answer - esp from the USEA's perspective. individual venues and organizers tend to prefer cultivating their own groups of loyal volunteers who become very knowledgeable on the inner workings of that venue's events... but on show days ultimately the event needs a large number of warm bodies with decent eyesight and ability to operate a radio-- you need to have enough xc jump judges to observe every horse and rider at every fence in the event of an accident.
regarding the schooling passes or gift certificates, i don't know much there either. Loch Moy for example has kinda evolved in their volunteer benefits over the years, and reading between the lines i think it's kinda become a pain in the you-know-what for them to manage --- a whole other job on top of running the events themselves.
Oh man. Poor Charlie! As a braider, it hurts to look at. But for Charlie, at least he didn't have to endure having it pulled! That's so cool that you can watch such great riders and horses so close to home.
ReplyDelete