United States Eventing Association

The VIP Volunteer: Roger Chick Has Found His Place in the Eventing Community

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. That welcoming spirit also extends to the volunteers, who have an even more varied level of horse experience. Roger Chick is one such volunteer who, despite not knowing a thing about horses when he first started, has found a spot in the eventing community.

Volunteering at events all over his local territory of Washington state, even extending out to Rebecca Farm in Montana and the USEA American Eventing Championships in Kentucky, Chick has racked up a whopping 681 volunteer hours, giving him a bronze medal on the USEA Volunteer Leaderboard. For those who aren’t math inclined, that’s more than 28 days, the equivalent of volunteering every day in the month of February with no breaks.

Many volunteers specialize in doing one job that they enjoy the most. For some it’s scribing for a judge, for others it’s decorating cross-country fences. Chick’s go-to position is running the cross-country warm-up, a position he fell into at Rebecca Farm after they were short a volunteer. “I started doing it, and I've been doing it ever since. They keep inviting me back, so they must like what I'm doing. And now every other show that I do, other than Aspen Horse Trials [Yelm, Washington], I will run cross-country warm up.”

Chick started volunteering around 2011. His oldest granddaughter, Samantha Hollow-Bist, had taken up the sport, and he started attending her horse trials to cheer her on. “We would take her to shows, and in short order, I realized she only needed me for just two minutes while they were getting going. Being there the whole day was boring to me, so I started volunteering.”

While Hollow-Bist waited for her ride time and got ready to compete, Chick worked. Then just in time for her round, he would hop on his bicycle and head over to the dressage, then show jumping, and cross-country to cheer her on, before heading back to his post at the cross-country warm-up. Now though, those days are in the past.

“She’s gone to the dark side,” he chuckled. “That’s what I tell people since she’s a hunter/jumper now. Actually, she would still like to get back into eventing, but as long as she has this horse, she's content with what she's doing.”

Eventing has slowly become a family affair. Chick’s wife, Anne Chick, hopped in the saddle when she was in her 40s, and he followed suit. “[Anne] was 49 when we bought her a horse. At that time, I was volunteering for Little League. I did that for the first six or seven years, and then I realized that for us to be together, I really needed to start taking lessons. I took just enough lessons, so I knew what a horse was anyways, and then just trail rode with her until the horse we had for me passed away. I haven't ridden since.”

Roger’s dedication to supporting his wife and granddaughters’ passion for horses extends beyond volunteering. He now has five horses and a barn in his backyard. “I help my wife take care of them and my youngest granddaughter, Natalie [Hollow-Bist], now comes over most days so that she can ride in the backyard,” Roger said. “It’s work. I enjoy the work. I don't want to make it sound like I'm being penalized for having horses. I don't mean to say that at all. But I can't say that I feel close to the horses. I enjoy it because I'm helping my wife with the chores.”

Natalie has now taken Samantha’s place competing at the horse trials while Roger volunteers. While he has a competitive side, he’s proud of his granddaughters no matter what happens. “I enjoy seeing their shows, seeing their performances. And of course, I'm always pleased with whatever happens, whether they get a 45 in dressage, or whether they get 28 in dressage, whether they knock down a rail, or they don't knock down a rail. I'm always supportive of whatever happens, as long as they try their best.”

Roger has always enjoyed volunteering, working for his sons’ Little League long after they had grown up and moved on. Now turning to the eventing community, he says he’s not motivated to volunteer by a deep love for horses. Instead, he’s driven by his desire to support his family and the sense of community he finds at horse trials.

“Everybody asks me, ‘Wow, did you see that horse? Did you see that horse?’ You know, I have no interest in them jumping,” Roger said. “I have no idea what it all means. I mean, I do from the perspective that I know if they drop a rail, they're going to get points, and you can't get penalty points. I know the basics, but to actually have a solid interest in seeing every horse jump and see their style and all that? I don't do that. My passion for eventing is limited to volunteering and really seeing my granddaughters do very well.”

Like many horse show dads, Roger enjoys chatting with the riders, their families, and their coaches. “You end up being friends for that moment or for that show, or whenever you see them someplace else, you can say hi and talk to them,” he said. “And you know there's a familiarity with knowing these people. So that's the biggest thing. I'm more social than I am judgmental. I'm going to talk to the coaches. I'm going to talk to the riders, make them feel comfortable. You know, we’re all there to have fun. I think with every culture, there is a togetherness and family and camaraderie.”

For a brief moment as they head into the cross-country warm-up, every rider gets to feel like Roger’s granddaughter. They get a brief taste of his kind personality. “That's one thing I say to everybody going in there, ‘Hey, have a great ride. But most of all, have fun.’ You know, we pay all this money, and if we're paying all this money, the goal should be to have fun.”

Roger embodies the idea that everyone is welcome in the eventing community, whether you’re there as a passionate horse lover, or as someone who may not know much about horses but who enjoys the camaraderie. “Some people have hobbies, and they hide themselves in their wood shop,” he said. “Some people have hobbies where they love gardening or whatever. I don't have that, and so I find it's really a lot of fun to volunteer. That's what it's all about. I look forward to the summers. I look forward to the first horse trial I volunteer at in May.”

Whether or not his youngest granddaughter continues to compete, Roger said he has no plans to stop volunteering anytime soon. “As long as I'm healthy, I will keep volunteering.”

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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 ten 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.