United States Eventing Association

This month’s VIP Volunteers are a mother and daughter duo who have a unique tradition that started over four decades ago: volunteering at the Kentucky Horse Park together. While both Marjorie “Marji” Hines and her daughter, Robinson Regen, have a pleasure riding background, and Hines used to work cattle with her father on the family farm, they knew very little about eventing when they first started volunteering.

Eventers are generally quite good at creating a welcoming community for people of all backgrounds and abilities, whether they’re brand new to the sport or competing at the five-star level. It’s not uncommon to see an upper-level rider taking their time to say an encouraging word or extending a hand to a new competitor.

You might not know her name, but chances are, if you’ve competed at an event in South Carolina, Virginia, or other venues across the eastern United States, you’ve met Diane Bird.

There are a lot of moving parts behind every horse trial, but one of the most important facets to an event running smoothly is the dedication of the volunteers working the event. Let’s face it, our sport would not be what it is without the time offered up by these individuals. Without the contributions of volunteers, it would be impossible for an event to operate in the way that it needs to and at a cost that competitors could afford. That is why it is so important that we continue to not only recognize the amazing volunteers who give up their weekends to support our sport, but also carve out time in our schedules to volunteer as well and give back to the sport in that manner.

Stuart Landrum and Laurie Garner have been helping direct riders to the dressage ring at the Defender Kentucky Three-Day Event for nearly 30 years, maintaining a calm and collected atmosphere for each pair in the final warmup ring before they head down the chute to the Rolex Stadium.

Since the mid-’80s, lifelong horsewoman and professional artist Debra Sue Waters has devoted countless hours to the sport of eventing, and last year topped the rankings of the USEA Volunteer Incentive Program in Area V. Assisting behind the scenes at an event just comes naturally to the Millsap, Texas, resident.

While not an eventer himself, Jim Moyer has been involved in the eventing community for five decades through his late wife, instructor Jean Moyer. When Jean died in 2020, Jim continued volunteering in the sport to stay busy in retirement and stay connected to the community he loves.

There aren’t many riders who can say they competed at five of the world’s seven five-star events in 2023, but the 2023 World Equestrian Brands USEA Rider of the Year Boyd Martin can. With nine starts across the Land Rover Kentucky Three-Day Event, Longines Luhmühlen Horse Trials (Germany), Defender Burghley Horse Trials (England), MARS Maryland 5 Star, and Pau (France), Martin earned five top-5 finishes.

Bethany Hutchins-Kristen headed into 2023 with hopes of earning the SmartPak USEA Stallion of the Year award for a second year in a row on her homebred Geluk HVF, and after a stellar season, including a top-10 finish at the TerraNova CCI2*-L (Myakka City, Florida), she took home the top prize with an 18-point lead.

For the second year of the program, the United States Eventing Association (USEA) is proud to award free Digital Memberships to qualified participants of the Volunteer Incentive Program (VIP) that completed 10 or more hours of volunteer service through EventingVolunteers.com in 2023. The Digital Membership, which was introduced in January of last year, serves as a “thank you” to the loyal volunteers in our sport for their dedication to supporting events around the country throughout the year.