United States Eventing Association

A lifelong horsewoman and current Kentucky resident, Carroll Crowl still remembers the exact moment she went from a competitor and spectator to a volunteer.

“At a dressage/eventing competition in Canfield, Ohio, in 1985, Jackie Smith approached me and asked me if I would come and jump judge for her,” Crowl said. “I had no idea what jump judging was, and I thought, ‘Well, that's a good way to spend an afternoon.’ ”

Growing up aboard Saddlebreds before moving into the realm of hunters, it was her first introduction to eventing, and it was a hit. “Oh, I liked it," she said. "There was a lot going on. There were a lot of people to visit with. It wasn't so much of a solitary thing the way that the Saddlebreds or even the hunters were. It was fun, and I did that for two years for her.”

After two years as a jump judge, Crowl worked her way to a coveted job indoors as a scorer. Over the years, she eventually became head scorer for Smith, who runs Winona Horse Trials in Ohio.

“It was nice because I got to meet a bunch of people and it was fun,” Crowl said. “I say it was a nice little social connection and what have you.”

2025 marks her 40th year of volunteering. Outside of Winona Horse Trials, Crowl has also volunteered at memorable events like the 2010 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games, where she volunteered on and off the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington. At one point she had 20 house guests and was in charge of food for 110 people. “It was a very intense time, but it was fun, too,” she said.

Crowl is a regular fixture at the Defender Kentucky Three-Day Event, where she works alongside Sheila Worth. “I start working with Sheila in advance of the Kentucky Three-Day Event, and she’s amazing,” she said. “She’s a genius when it comes to decorating fences. The cool thing about that is, when you're done, we go out and collect the flowers and everybody gets to take home flats, thousands of flats of flowers, with us. Winona Horse Trials is a week or two after the Three-Day event, so I collect flats of flowers, and I drive six hours up to Winona with these flats of flowers and decorate Jackie’s cross-country course.

“Obviously I can't decorate the whole course, but I usually do her water jump with ferns and yellow flowers because they look nice reflected in the water,” Crowl continued. “Last fall, we got a deal on daffodils and planted a bunch of those around her cross-country course, and then we also put in Spanish Bluebells.”

A one-woman powerhouse, she now takes on a variety of jobs after suffering a small stroke in 2022 meant the controlled chaos of being a cross-country scorer was no longer the right fit for her.

“I'm basically picking up the dressage arenas with the trailers, either with the large trailer if we've got four arenas to go out or my small flat bed if there's only three arenas to go out,” Crowl said. “That's kind of my main thing now. And I also go out and collect cross-country scores and take out lunches. I've also been scoring stadium this year and scribing, as well as decorating fences.”

Luckily she had someone ready to step into her shoes after she stepped down from scoring: her daughter, Jennifer Crowl. “My favorite part is scoring with my older daughter and having her take over my positions and what have you,” Carroll said. “It's wonderful. It's just wonderful to work with her and to have her take the lead in some of these jobs.”

Horses have always been a family affair in the Crowl household. Carroll’s two daughters, Jennifer and Laura, grew up taking care of the horses on the family farm and learning the ins and outs of horse care. When she was younger, Laura represented the United States in Australia and in Switzerland at the World Championships for Mounted Games. Today she has her gold medal in dressage and is showing her mare at the Grand Prix level, as well as eventing at the Intermediate level.

While Laura is diving headfirst into the competition world, Jennifer has turned her love of scoring alongside her mother into a full-fledged career. “My oldest daughter actually took up scoring when she was 15 or 16 for Pony Club,” Carroll said. “She has taken on the mantle of scorer. Jenny has basically developed a profession with her computer skills and her scoring programs. It's become her life, really.”

Together, the mother/daughter pair have been closely involved in the Retired Racehorse Project. “I have been involved with the Retired Racehorse Project from the very beginning. I volunteered to help with scoring the first year it was here at the Kentucky Horse Park,” Carroll said. “The second year, Jennifer was a volunteer as well. Their scoring system is complicated since they run 10 disciplines; barrel racers competing against fox hunters, competing against jumpers, etc.”

“Anyhow, the third year, Jennifer wrote a scoring program for them to get it all equivalent,” Carroll continued. “So now she basically created their scoring program so it does work, and she also has a full-time job with them as a contract worker. I go down there, and I score with her for a day to test her scoring systems.”

Horses, and particularly Carroll’s volunteering, has had a ripple effect throughout the Crowl household. Carroll’s volunteering had a huge influence on Jennifer’s career path. An early introduction to horses also nudged Laura along the path to a thriving competition career. The whole family knows firsthand just how crucial volunteers are to the sport of eventing.

“I know that most people couldn't afford Pony Club, couldn't afford eventing, couldn't afford dressage shows, if we were paying every person for every job,” Carroll said. “I mean, the hunter shows are wildly expensive but you know, Laura is able to have three different horses competing in three different disciplines because it's not as expensive thanks to volunteers, right?”

Sadly, Carroll also knows how a shortage of volunteers can be the end of a great event. “Jackie gave up her fall horse trial because she couldn't get volunteers for it,” she said. “Every horse trial you go to is basically begging for volunteers. Even Kentucky, with its huge horse population and huge volunteer population, for the [USEA] American Eventing Championships, they were begging for volunteers.

“Putting on an event is a huge undertaking,” Carroll continued. “And I hate to think if we get to the point where we have to have paid personnel for every position, it’s going to be a big problem.”

For those considering volunteering, Carroll urges them not to hesitate. “Oh, just go! They're going to welcome you with open arms. It’s a very wonderful thing to be involved in.”

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.