It’s a stark reality that the amazing sport that is Eventing, simply wouldn’t be viable, safe or quite frankly as much of a community spirited sport, without the thousands upon thousands of hours, donated by it’s awesome army of volunteers.
All equestrian sports and pastimes rely heavily on the generosity of volunteers - it’s takes upwards of approximately 200 volunteers to stage a day of British Eventing. And that’s just one event, often there are (back in those lovely ‘normal times’) three or four fixtures going on around the U.K. on any one weekend from March to October. So a quick tally up gets you to nearly 1,000 volunteers a day on event days to run our wonderful sport.
Hard at work; volunteers at Osberton International Horse Trials, October 2019
I read lots of posts on social media a few weeks ago for #VolunteersWeek; wonderful, heartfelt posts about events thanking their wonderful volunteer army - but I often get asked as a volunteer: ‘how do I do that?” Or worse, they don’t ask and we lose that spark of interest…
I only mention this as, I too would often enjoy a day out Eventing and see the volunteers and wonder, how did they get into that, I fancy that, how do I get to sit there? But not knowing where or how to start…
It’s not as daunting as some may think....
You don’t have to make a long term commYou don’t have to make a long term commitment, give as little or as much time as you may have.
It’s as easy as picking up the phone, filling in a form on a website or sending a quick email - contact your chosen event or club and it’s as easy as that. Just say hey I can help and they’ll take it from there...
Volunteer roles are so varied and can be completely tailored to what time you have to offer, what skills you have or what you’d like to try.
It can be International, I’ve had some amazing adventures. But it can just as easily just be local. A few hours helping your local riding club or event is just as valuable, often more valuable than the larger events that grab the headlines - the local events often get forgotten and can actually be the easiest to volunteer at and often the highest sense of satisfaction that you made a difference. .
Ready for the action to begin at Strzegom Eventing European Championships, August 2017
I have been lucky enough to do all sorts from cross country crossing steward, show jump scoring, dressage writing to cross country fence judging at the European Championships.
Before Corona came to spoil the party, I had made it through the selection process for Tokyo. Volunteering really can take you to some amazing places. I was very lucky to join good friends Victoria and Peter, fence judging at Badminton Horse Trials in 2017. The world really is your oyster with volunteering, it can lead you as far as you wish to go!
I came into volunteering not knowing all the rules and not really knowing anyone - some 5 years later, I’ve made life-long friends and have a much better understanding of the sport, the rules and a front-row seat on the best action out there.
Friends for life: The volunteer gang at Belton Horse Trials, March 2019 L-R: Melissa Warner, Tori Asprey, Peter Asprey, Hannah Cole
Each event really does value their volunteers - more and more events are looking at different ways to thank their army of volunteers. There is often the customary bottle of wine and schooling vouchers (a great way to rack up free use of a venue’s facility hire), but there are also some events that have a great money-can’t-but experiences for their volunteer army. I have had behind the scenes trips to Chris Bartles’, Ros Canter, Army Animal Defence Centre at Melton Mowbray to name but a few.
You don’t need any special equipment or prior knowledge, although waterproofs, sun cream and comfy shoes will do you no harm to bring with you! Training is provided by the event and BE usually run some FREE pre-season training thanks to the generosity of Lottery funding.
I got into volunteering this way, I signed up to British Eventing’s free volunteer training courses, run pre-season. I ventured along to Solihull Riding Club for an informative day, great food and made volunteer friends for life. Solihull then invited us to volunteer at the end of the course if we wanted to and that was it, the volunteer journey began. Less than a couple of summers later, I was fence judging at the European Championships in Poland.
All volunteers are extremely well looked after by each event, including the customary afternoon cake run
It’s a great thing to do, volunteers are a fun crowd to be part of, endless tea and cake and you will make life-long friends along the way. But you also get a front-row, money can’t buy seat at the forefront of the action. You get to see the stars before they become stars. Chat with a five-star rider while there is a hold on course and wish Olympic team-mates the best of luck for their round, as they walk the course past your fence.
There is a great team spirit, you become ‘part-of-the-gang' - even through lockdown, the wonderful folks at Bede put on virtual quiz nights for their volunteer army and they have been such a laugh and a great way to stay connected during the endless days of lockdown (Massive thanks to Bede for organising these).
It really is as easy as an email, phone call or looking up ‘volunteer’ on an event’s website. Following the recent resumption of the sport, if you have fancied giving volunteering a go, now is a great time to consider volunteering some of your time. Why not contact your chosen event and give it a try - whether its a couple of hours or a whole weekend, support your sport and give it a go.
Badminton memories: The tricky Mirage Pond Fence 17 at Badminton 2017, a great day with Peter and Victoria Asprey
Want some more information, here are some useful links to find further information:
Hopefully that has given you a taste of how to get involved and what to expect, I look forward to saying good morning to you out at an event sometime soon…
Happy Eventing all