tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-932439930694780998.post4708092456982560111..comments2024-03-26T17:31:58.290-07:00Comments on 'Fraidy Cat Eventing: my favorite horse show volunteer jobsemmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05686949099663199382noreply@blogger.comBlogger36125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-932439930694780998.post-64127477732653275772018-10-19T15:40:01.084-07:002018-10-19T15:40:01.084-07:00I think I've said this before, but my favorite...I think I've said this before, but my favorite job is golf cart driver :)Training Cupidhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14225857133948773885noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-932439930694780998.post-91766074230130464092018-10-18T15:19:57.668-07:002018-10-18T15:19:57.668-07:00I loved this recap! I had more fun grooming for an...I loved this recap! I had more fun grooming for and helping the barn kids at shows this year than I've ever had showing myself so I have signed up for a couple more next year, where I'll just go for the weekend and help wherever help is needed. I appreciate this post because I've been a little nervous to volunteer for some of the jobs you listed because I wasn't entirely sure what they entailed. Sounds like they are all doable and great learning experiences!Thttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05438372155463437107noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-932439930694780998.post-8428615572562058632018-10-18T09:49:04.745-07:002018-10-18T09:49:04.745-07:00haha but of course!! one of these days tho we have...haha but of course!! one of these days tho we have to get you back out to an event, in one capacity or another!!!! it was too much fun last year ;)emmahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05686949099663199382noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-932439930694780998.post-75482876329520539692018-10-18T09:48:22.969-07:002018-10-18T09:48:22.969-07:00HA! how about this - if you make your way to the m...HA! how about this - if you make your way to the maryland area for an fei event, i'll promise to sign up to do vet box with you and we can roll our eyes together ;)emmahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05686949099663199382noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-932439930694780998.post-80181632503960169252018-10-18T09:45:39.888-07:002018-10-18T09:45:39.888-07:00i keep waiting for all my volunteer experience to ...i keep waiting for all my volunteer experience to translate to being assigned to more interesting jumps but... so far, no dice haha. and actually, if anything, what i'm learning is that esp at the lower levels, most jumps really are pretty straight forward. i always walk my courses like, "oh this one is spooky" or "that one is big!" but when you're jump judging, you kinda see like, uh actually virtually all the jumps are extremely jumpable haha<br /><br />and yea the sj scribing sounds like a good one too. i tend to prefer roles where i can be on my feet for at least some of it - so i think i'd do sj jump crew again before wanting to be a scribe. you can see just as much but get to move around a little moreemmahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05686949099663199382noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-932439930694780998.post-81020525834767848822018-10-18T09:43:50.236-07:002018-10-18T09:43:50.236-07:00i can definitely see that about score running - an...i can definitely see that about score running - and i know some folks who always like to sign up for that job for exactly those reasons too! i've never done it but maybe one of these days i should sign up!emmahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05686949099663199382noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-932439930694780998.post-75460482825849164252018-10-18T09:41:26.826-07:002018-10-18T09:41:26.826-07:00I love this summary of all the things one can volu...I love this summary of all the things one can volunteer to do! Thanks for letting me live vicariously through you this year. =)Liz Stouthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18267806576736655184noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-932439930694780998.post-22561855591206550122018-10-18T09:25:10.454-07:002018-10-18T09:25:10.454-07:00what a great round up of ways to event! I have scr...what a great round up of ways to event! I have scribed and jump judged a bunch, but agree that warm up steward can be really fun too! I kind of wish I had been with you at the vet box, I don't have much tolerance for name dropping (I just really don't care enough to engage) and am curious about what was being said. I am REALLY good at rolling my eyes, lolnadiahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08290914277204973015noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-932439930694780998.post-17780545462043014762018-10-18T08:50:33.413-07:002018-10-18T08:50:33.413-07:00I've XC jump judged, which was good but a bit ...I've XC jump judged, which was good but a bit boring. I am sure more experienced jump judges get the more interesting jumps. <br /><br />I have also scribed for SJ, which was great. I got to watch a LOT of rounds go from Starter - Training, and when you're a SJ scribe, you get to watch the action more than Dressage scribing. It was great to see how different riders/horses tackled my worst phase. Emily - May As Wellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12404536866220283931noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-932439930694780998.post-62001394965166449032018-10-18T07:25:56.546-07:002018-10-18T07:25:56.546-07:00I really like score running. When I did it for dre...I really like score running. When I did it for dressage, I could stop next to the judge's booth, watch the arena and listen to the judge. I got all the educational benefits of scribing, but I was actually able to look up instead of at the score sheet. For XC, I like score running because I will go and stop by each jump and watch how different riders handle it. It's the same educational benefit of jump judging, but with all the jumps instead of 1 and it's a bit less boring than straight jump judging.Olivia @ DIY Horse Ownershiphttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16138490796669110523noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-932439930694780998.post-65641319664049947902018-10-18T06:35:27.403-07:002018-10-18T06:35:27.403-07:00oh wow that is really awesome! i know it was a pre...oh wow that is really awesome! i know it was a pretty big deal when they opened the trials back up again - and so cool that you have been able to get involved again with it!! i've always been a little nervous about handling the start or finish clocks, idk why. so i've avoided that particular job. but yea, like your husband i really enjoy getting to interact with the riders - something so cool about that atmosphere! emmahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05686949099663199382noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-932439930694780998.post-50757572468213544032018-10-18T06:32:49.365-07:002018-10-18T06:32:49.365-07:00the web portal is AWESOME and completely revolutio...the web portal is AWESOME and completely revolutionized my experience as a volunteer. with just a few clicks i can sign up for volunteer opportunities at almost all the major venues around me, and for really big events too - or the low key starter stuff. definitely much much easier than trying to dig up contact information for organizers at each individual venue. esp bc you don't even really need to *know* all the venues or show opportunities, it's all right there and searchable on the website haha. <br /><br />but yea tho, i definitely hear you on the burn out. sometimes i think about getting involved in a more formal capacity for my local association, but there's so much infighting and politics and ppl who do things this "way" bc that's the "way" it's always been done or whatever... and definitely can be a huge time suck haha. but the one-off positions at events seems to suit just fine!emmahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05686949099663199382noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-932439930694780998.post-88796233565833868042018-10-18T06:30:14.921-07:002018-10-18T06:30:14.921-07:00oh man, i don't know what i would do if it was...oh man, i don't know what i would do if it was required to have a helper to compete here. i'm almost always either by myself, or with friends who are also competing. we all help each other, but we all also have our own horses to attend to and virtually never have grooms or crew or anything. emmahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05686949099663199382noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-932439930694780998.post-41703666564456887812018-10-18T06:29:16.449-07:002018-10-18T06:29:16.449-07:00i like watching stadium rounds too - tho i haven&#...i like watching stadium rounds too - tho i haven't scribed for a show jumping judge before. might be one to check out! course design is definitely something i'm interested in too, hopefully will get more opportunities there in the future. emmahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05686949099663199382noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-932439930694780998.post-91698594176505392002018-10-18T06:28:36.320-07:002018-10-18T06:28:36.320-07:00i haven't done much office stuff bc i'm al...i haven't done much office stuff bc i'm always worried i'll get sucked too far into too many directions lol - but maybe not! emmahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05686949099663199382noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-932439930694780998.post-87535880814188107992018-10-18T06:28:06.635-07:002018-10-18T06:28:06.635-07:00yea it's tough when the organizers don't h...yea it's tough when the organizers don't have everything all together or aren't very helpful or welcoming to new volunteers. it can be a real problem, honestly. but glad that you enjoy the jobs themselves! hopefully a different venue will prove to be more fun!emmahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05686949099663199382noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-932439930694780998.post-6227363444885754652018-10-18T06:27:30.234-07:002018-10-18T06:27:30.234-07:00oh man yea for sure i can't imagine doing a bi...oh man yea for sure i can't imagine doing a big job on the same day as competing myself. often at our home shows they offer discounts if you volunteer after your rides finish, but even then it can be a little too much haha. but definitely agreed - when i'm not riding i really like being around in a more relaxed capacity! emmahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05686949099663199382noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-932439930694780998.post-11270369966674668182018-10-18T06:00:02.319-07:002018-10-18T06:00:02.319-07:00My husband and I volunteer at 2 events, one school...My husband and I volunteer at 2 events, one schooling and one recognized. We are jump judges at the schooling event and sit in a tower to look over multiple xc fences which is loads of fun but takes a bit of coordination between us, so its a good thing we get along. <br /><br />He is the warm up steward at the recognized event (2 years running) and loves that job. He loves interacting with the riders. For that event, I've been the combined finish line timer and last jump judge, and last year I was assisting the starter. <br /><br />The cool thing about that event, The Mars Essex Horse Trials is, it was brought back after a hiatus of 20+ years. And 20+ years ago, I was the finish line timer. So coming back and randomly being given that job again was quite the coincidence!Lori Rhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12362487256352609085noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-932439930694780998.post-6613132111091651962018-10-18T04:31:12.533-07:002018-10-18T04:31:12.533-07:00That's great that there is a web portal that h...That's great that there is a web portal that helps connect volunteers to shows. It is super hard to find volunteers to help out a lot of the time. I've actually burned (burnt?) myself out on volunteering and am taking a huge step back. <br /><br />I was on the board of directors for 3 clubs, helping get sponsors for a 4th, show secretary, steward and scribe for others. It left me no time to ride or show myself. I did learn a lot, especially at the larger shows. I think my favourite job is scribing at QH shows for trail, reining and western riding. It's a great chance to learn from the judges.Laurahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07940386405998853917noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-932439930694780998.post-74542498645844010242018-10-17T17:31:05.788-07:002018-10-17T17:31:05.788-07:00It sounds like you get to have a go at so many div...It sounds like you get to have a go at so many diverse jobs! Here we have to provide a helper to compete and most of the jobs are XCJJ, and not too much oppourtunity for much else. Breehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03450707029569925246noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-932439930694780998.post-73296051664139803172018-10-17T15:39:54.418-07:002018-10-17T15:39:54.418-07:00I love volunteering!! Thank you for taking the cha...I love volunteering!! Thank you for taking the challenge seriously! My favorite is stadium jump scribe. I love watching the rounds, talking with the judge and at every event I’ve worked I got to meet the course designer and talk to them about what they wanted out of the course. Love it. Xc judging bores me but I’ve never done it with a friend so maybe that is what I’m missing. Sarahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03346020257901575574noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-932439930694780998.post-66572174662026640112018-10-17T11:50:42.438-07:002018-10-17T11:50:42.438-07:00I think my favorite volunteer jobs have been scrib...I think my favorite volunteer jobs have been scribing, ribbon lady, and office person lolL.Williamshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05052638724440787772noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-932439930694780998.post-30763153358921522802018-10-17T10:20:07.890-07:002018-10-17T10:20:07.890-07:00I really loved being a XC jump judge, would like t...I really loved being a XC jump judge, would like to try a few of the positions you've mentioned too. I volunteered at a hunter jumper show once and it was not a great experience (just wasn't a lot of communication on where I should be etc) but I'm open to trying again at maybe a different venue. Volunteers make the equestrian world go around :) KateRosehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12870548960430847612noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-932439930694780998.post-84813665737535994612018-10-17T10:07:25.107-07:002018-10-17T10:07:25.107-07:00I used to be show secretary and compete- which was...I used to be show secretary and compete- which was crazy. Now if I show I volunteer for the small jobs that always need doing but that I don't have to commit to (like get coffee for the judge, find a competitor etc, spell while someone takes a pee break). If I'm not showing I like to volunteer- my two favourite jobs are announcer and ring steward. You get to see a lot and be part of the action. I have scribed but I hate not being able to watch! TeresaAhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05311118900077951863noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-932439930694780998.post-77753675174342417412018-10-17T09:41:21.467-07:002018-10-17T09:41:21.467-07:00oh man, the secretary job is so so so important, b...oh man, the secretary job is so so so important, but also yea not one that i'm even close to wanting to do right now haha. it's a thankless job! even as a competitor, i always feel kinda guilty when i'm sending 8,000 emails to a secretary asking this and that or changing things at the last minute.... emmahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05686949099663199382noreply@blogger.com