United States Eventing Association

As we close out 2025, the USEA would like to recognize the many volunteers who dedicated their time to our sport this year.

The USEA’s Volunteer Incentive Program (VIP) tracks hours logged by volunteers at USEA recognized events, and we’ve put together some stats!

In 2025, 4,346 volunteers logged a total of 70,886 hours at 189 events who used the eventingvolunteers.com platform.

The VIP Program was created in 2015 to recognize the USEA’s dedicated volunteers through national and area leaderboards which award year-end awards and prizes. You can read some about some of our incredible volunteers at this link, and as always, if you know of a volunteer who you think deserves recognition on the USEA’s website, email Lindsay at [email protected] for a chance to have them featured in our monthly VIP series.

The top-10 volunteers on the national volunteer leaderboard have all received their VIP medals. The VIP Medal Program has been recognizing volunteers who consistently serve the sport since 2020, and there are now more than 80 volunteers who have been recognized for receiving their Bronze (500+ hours), Silver (1,000+ hours), or Gold (2,000+ hours) medals through the program.

This year’s USEA Volunteer of the Year is Jim Moyer, of Gig Harbor, Washington, who was also champion in 2023. He logged just under 500 hours of volunteer work in 2025 and earned his gold medal as a result.

Since the VIP Program’s inception, Moyer has logged 2,195 hours, giving him second place on the all-time leaderboard. Susan Hart, last year’s Volunteer of the Year, is leading the standings with 2,735 hours.

New VIP Medal winners for 2025 are listed as follows:

Gold Medalists (2000+ Hours)

• Jim Moyer
• Diane Bird
• Angie Leihy

Silver Medal (1000+ Hours)

• Beth Diamond
• Karin Farrow
• Sarah Airhart
• Masae P. Muramatsu
• Tonie Marie Woods

Bronze Medal (500+ Hours)

• Barb Bennett
• Ron McGinley
• David Slagle
• Rachel Courtney
• Marjorie Hines
• Corinna Lewis
• Barb Fraley
• Kendra Zartman
• Mary Tinder
• Rudy Vogt III
• Karen Mumme
• Lisa Pragg
• Janice Holmes
• Mary Ann Andres
• Joan Hilsman
• Julie Murray
• Lynn Nelson
• Bub Dillon
• Pamela Kimmel
• Mary Quarles
• Joe Hannan
• Erik Amesen
• Julia Porcino
• Holly Covey
• Mary Margaret Drake

Several factors can influence the number of hours each volunteer has, such as the frequency of events in each area, geography and the ease of travel, and how many events are using EventingVolunteers.com. Whether it’s 100 volunteer hours or 10, every top volunteer from each area deserves recognition for their hard work! Below are the current top-3 volunteers from each USEA area.

2,328 hours - 231 volunteers - 19 events

1. Margaret Potorski – 52:13
2. Crystal Santos – 51:15
3. Hannah Strobel – 49:54

Area II

25,531 hours – 1,451 volunteers – 47 events

1. Susan Hart – 362:14
2. Dennis Davis – 332:13
3. Barbara Davis – 291:13

Area III

10,498 hours – 463 volunteers – 53 events

1. Jerry Buell – 347:37
2. Catherine Hale – 335:51
3. Lynne Buell – 269:19

Area IV

1,253 hours – 109 volunteers – 8 events

1. Kelly Cross – 67:45
2. Michelle Keene – 66:30
3. Amy Roberts Werner – 58:00

Area V

1,196 hours – 134 volunteers – 7 events

1. Debra Sue Waters – 57:57
2. Michele Youssi – 29.22
3. Andrea Barnett – 27.21

Area VI

4,113 hours – 281 volunteers – 17 events

1. Jim Moyer – 182:39
2. Barbara Culbertson – 106:02
3. Suzy Edwards – 96:15

Area VII

4,079 – 238 volunteers – 10 events

1. Jim Moyer – 317:00
2. Sarah Airhart – 207:26
3. Kendra Zartman – 192:21

Area VIII

19,391 hours – 1,361 volunteers – 12 events

1. Debbie Hinkle – 391:09
2. Chris Hayner – 253:00
3. Shelley Ryan – 222:32

Area IX

1,930 hours – 156 volunteers – 10 events

1. Donna Johnson – 103:50
2. Kayla DeHart – 100:06
3. Rebecca Defer – 77:22

Area X

563 hours – 42 volunteers – 6 events

1. Elizabeth Patton – 58:47
2. Brian Murphy – 49.42
3. Terri Renwick – 44:52

About the USEA Volunteer Incentive Program

Volunteers are the lifeblood of our sport—the unsung heroes, and the people who make it possible to keep eventing alive. In efforts to recognize the dedication, commitment, and hard work that volunteers put into eventing, the USEA formed the Volunteer Incentive Program (VIP) in 2015. In 2017, an online management portal was designed for volunteers, organizers, and volunteer coordinators at EventingVolunteers.com, which is also available as an app for iOS and Android.

Volunteer incentives include national and area recognition, year-end awards, a top 10 USEA Volunteer leaderboard, and a Volunteer of the Year award which is given to the volunteer who accumulates the most volunteer hours on EventingVolunteers.com at recognized events throughout the USEA competition year. Click here to learn more about the USEA Volunteer Incentive Program.

The USEA would like to thank Horse Illustrated for their support of the Volunteer Incentive Program.