By Robin Fuchs
This article received an honorable mention in the 2024 GMO Newsletter Awards for general interest articles for GMOs with 175-499 members. It appeared in the September 2023 South Carolina Dressage and Combined Training Association newsletter, Tracking Up.
VOLUNTEER TO PREVENT DOOMSDAY
Imagine, if you will, that you have planned for this upcoming show from the beginning of the season. Whether you are attempting to get your final scores for regionals, pursuing scores for your next medal, debuting your fantastic new horse, retiring a beloved show partner, or showing for the only time this year, this show is one of the most critical of the season. You HAVE to show at this event. You have now spent a great deal of time, not to mention money, on training, grooming, putting together a killer new show outfit, and signing up/paying the fees (so many fees!) for the show. You are ready, or as ready as you possibly can be, for the big event.
Once you arrive at the show grounds and park your trailer, you head up to the show office to check in. When you arrive at the office, you notice there are shockingly few people to assist; and those who are there seem harried, trying to help an ever-growing group of competitors. After waiting for what feels like an eternity, you finally receive your competitor’s pack.; but upon inspection, you find it to be empty except for your number. You, again, wait in line, and are eventually able to obtain the other necessary materials. As you head back to your trailer where your horse has been waiting patiently to be removed from this inexplicably long confinement, you see a couple people running around appearing to be still setting up the arenas and the other event spaces. Things should run smoother tomorrow… right?!
The following day, as the sun starts to rise and you are putting the final touches on the most perfect button braids you have ever seen in your horse’s mane, you feel confident that this show you have prepared so diligently for will go off without issue. Once you finish tacking up your horse and donning your fabulous show outfit, you make your way down to the show ring to check in and warm-up.
Unfortunately, where you expect to find the show underway, you find chaos. It appears as if the show has not started and all the riders, grooms, and coaches look confused. You ask a nearby rider what is going on and they explain that apparently, the show is short scribes so the rings have not started. On top of that there are no ring stewards to inform riders when it is their ring time. All told, it is pandemonium. After you walk your horse around the warm-up arena for ages, you hear that from some depths of the show grounds, that scribes were found and the show is starting, albeit much later than what was planned. However, there are still no ring stewards perpetuating the discord as riders go into the show rings out of turn. By the time you are able to enter the ring to show, your, and your saint of a horse’s, nerves are fried. You put out the best test you possibly can under the circumstances, but you know it was not up to your usual standards and you are more than a little dismayed. You and your horse make your way back up to the stalls. On your way, you see someone whom you thought was a scribe, running an armload of tests to the show office. No test runners either? Are you serious?! After reversing your routine from earlier, albeit in a much fowler mood, you make your way over to the boards where your scores should be up by now. You storm into the
show office to find that you are behind in yet another que of less than pleasant competitors all asking after their scores. Even more frustrated, you stomp back to your stall. You wait until the evening spending your time listening to the other people complain about how, “if the show had only gotten more volunteers, none of this would be happening.” You cannot help but agree. You make you way back to the score boards for the umpteenth time, but this time your score is up. You have done worse than you thought. You retrieve your test and see
the judges remarks of “capable pair but tense and appearing anxious today.” Well, no kidding! You spent so much time and money to get to this show and now you have not even had the outcome that you had worked for so hard. Maybe you should just stop showing dressage altogether? Maybe underwater basket weaving could be fun…
Calm down, this is just a story, not real life; but could it be our future? Is this what the end of dressage showing as we know it might look like? Well, it doesn’t have to be, but it is up to us as an equine community to band together. Whether competing in equestrian sports is your “thing,” or you prefer to enjoy your horsey counter parts in a more relaxed environment, as equestrians we should be supporting each other’s hopes and dreams, even if they are not our own, for the better of our people as a whole. Especially for those of us who do compete and rely on volunteers to make the shows happen for us, we should make sure we are giving back by volunteering ourselves to make shows happen for others. However, for those of us who are still asking, “Well, what’s in for me specifically,” let us look at the benefits for the individual. To begin, volunteering can help a person better learn the rules in relation to competing in dressage. If you are someone who competes you will be better able to make sure you are not violating any rules and being disqualified for something simple. You can even learn finer points of the sport when you scribe for a judge. I have even had judges review what they are looking for through entire tests which I have been able to utilize in my own competitions. Easy extra point? Yes please! And no matter what volunteer role you take at a dressage show, you often can use those hours to go towards various year end awards in addition to grants to further your dressage goals. More ribbons and prizes! Again, yes please! If nothing else, volunteering at shows is a fantastic way to not spend an arm and a leg to be a part of the dressage community with like-minded people who love our equine partners. Do not get me wrong, it can be difficult to find the time to volunteer between all of our regularly scheduled activities (I mean we are all horse people after all), but if we want our dressage communities to continue to grow and thrive, then we ALL must do our part to help out. After all, only YOU can prevent horse show doomsday.
