United States Eventing Association

Each spring, as the competition calendar begins to fill up again, event organizers start sounding the call for volunteer signups to help manage more than 220 recognized events that take place in the U.S. every year. It's no secret that the sport of eventing wouldn’t be possible without the amazing volunteers that donate their time year in and year out, so at the “halfway point” of 2025, the USEA would like to acknowledge the 2,582 volunteers who have already donated their time to making competition weekends possible.

As of June 15, a total of 32,826 hours has been recorded through EventingVolunteers.com at 134 events across the country. The USEA Volunteer Incentive Program (VIP), which was formed in 2015, was created to recognize the USEA’s dedicated volunteers through national and area leaderboards, which award year-end awards and prizes.

The VIP Medal Program also recognizes volunteers who consistently serve the sport, based on hours accumulated in EventingVolunteers.com since its inception. Medals were first awarded in 2020, and now there are now more than 70 volunteers who have been recognized for receiving their Bronze (500+ hours), Silver (1,000+ hours), or Gold (2,000+ hours) medals through the program. It was an honor to award the first VIP Gold Medal to Susan Hart in 2024, and since the start of this competition season, two more volunteers have reached the pinnacle award for their service: Diane Bird and Jim Moyer.

Yet again, every volunteer that graces the Top 10 on the national volunteer leaderboard for recognized events is a VIP medal recipient. Moyer of Gig Harbor, Washington, is at the top of the leaderboard again this year, after winning the title of USEA Volunteer of the Year in 2023, with an impressive 343 hours and 30 minutes approved since December. In second place with 309 hours and 31 minutes of service logged is Beth Diamond of Lincoln University, Pennsylvania. Finally, Jerry Buell of Leesburg, Florida, currently holds onto third place with 297 hours and 9 minutes completed through the platform.

Several familiar names are also at the top of the USEA Medal Program Leaderboard, which tracks all of the hours collected in EventingVolunteers.com since Dec. 1, 2016. Susan Hart, last year’s Volunteer of the Year and the first Gold Medal recipient, is in first place with 2,643 hours and 17 minutes. The top five on the USEA Medal Program leaderboard are as follows: Hart (2643:17), Bird (2105:05), Moyer (2039:09), Angie Leihy (1919:53), and Art Bird (1687:59).

Several factors can influence the number of hours each volunteer has, including the frequency of events in each area, geography and the ease of travel, and how many events elect to use EventingVolunteers.com within those parameters. Whether it’s 100 volunteer hours or 10, the top volunteers from each area deserve recognition for their hard work! Below are the top three volunteers for each Area, as they stand on June 15, 2025.

Area I
527 hours – 78 volunteers – 14 events

1. Margaret Potorski – 23:23
2. Ann Grenier – 17:47
3. Alexandra Brackin – 16:17

Area II
7,955 hours – 601 volunteers – 37 events

1. Susan Hart – 269:59
2. Joan Harper – 133:00
3. Barb Bennett – 114:50

Area III
8,072 hours – 398 volunteers – 42 events

1. Jerry Buell – 297:09
2. Catherine Hale – 272:31
3. Lynne Buell – 231:52

Area IV
381 hours – 47 volunteers – 4 events

1. Kandice Bryon – 29:16
2. MaryEllen Miller – 20:30
3. Jeff Bennett – 19:15

Area V
589 hours – 75 volunteers – 4 events

1. Debra Sue Waters – 31:25
2. Andrea Barnett – 24:53
3. Michele Youssi – 20:54

Area VI
1,348 hours – 115 volunteers – 8 events

1. Jim Moyer – 148:30
2. Suzy Edwards – 60:14
3. Layla Schackner – 50:16

Area VII
1,579 hours – 130 volunteers – 7 events

1. Jim Moyer – 195:00
2. Sarah Airhart – 64:20
3. Kendra Zartman – 63:09

Area VIII
11,543 hours – 1,106 volunteers – 8 events

1. Chris Hayner – 152:30
2. Debbie Hinkle – 141:36
3. Mary Fike – 125:25

Area IX
514 hours – 70 volunteers – 8 events

1. Donna Johnson – 42:15
2. Rebecca DeFer – 23:19
3. Kaylean Richier – 23:13

Area X
324 hours – 29 volunteers – 2 events

1. Elizabeth Patten – 32:34
2. Brian Murphy – 28:05
3. Terri Renwick – 28:05

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.