United States Eventing Association

Volunteers by the Numbers

As of August 22, 2018, there are 19,800 hours recorded by 1,577 volunteers across the country at EventingVolunteers.com. Eventers can be strong, hardworking athletes, but the support behind the sport is just as hardworking if not ‘harder-working.’ Of those 1,577 volunteers, USEA Area II volunteers are the ones on top of every leaderboard.

The numbers that make up Area II are 12,031 hours, 858 volunteers, and 36 events, which is the leading area on EventingVolunteers.com. Although Area II could be deemed the ‘most valuable player’ in the USEA’s Volunteer Incentive Program, several areas are close behind them.

The top five volunteers on the USEA Volunteer of the Year leaderboard are Vicki Reynolds of North Carolina with 171:30 hours, Art and Diane Bird of South Carolina both with 145:10 hours, and a familiar face to the Volunteer leaderboard, Michael Smallwood of Maryland, with 138:01. Paige Ervin of Maryland rounds out the top five with 112:25 hours. With December fast approaching, the race is on for who will win the Volunteer of the Year award.

Volunteer Hours by Area.

Area II is the only area that has a five-digit number in recorded hours, coming in at 12,031 hours. However, only 10 hours separate the second and third spot - Area VI comes in second with 1,817 volunteer hours and Area VIII takes third with 1,807 volunteer hours.

The top three areas remain the same with regards to registered volunteers. In the top spot is Area II with 858 registered volunteers, second is Area VI with 181 volunteers, and third is Area VIII with 154 volunteers logging hours using the EventingVolunteers app.

Number of Volunteers by Area.

The East Coast wins when it comes to number of events registered with EventingVolunteers.com. Area II has 36 events, Area III has 16 events, and Area I has eight events. Another notable area is Area VI with 12 events registered. For volunteers to have a chance to compete against heavy hitters like Area II, the USEA strongly encourages show organizers to register their events with EventingVolunteers.com. Only 95 events out of 250 events are currently using EventingVolunteers.com.

Area I’s top volunteer is Margaret Potorski with 62:55 hours, Area II is Vicki Reynolds with 171:30 hours, Area III is Melissa Rundt with 103:00 hours, Area IV is Debra Frye with 20:00 hours, Area V is Donald Slottke with 38:16, Area VI is Pat Noble with 65:29 hours, Area VII is Rick Resto with 77:45 hours, Area VIII is Joan Mayfield with 74:00, Area IX is Kristi Radosevich with 10:00, and the only registered volunteer in Area X is Aimee Arnold with 19:00 pending hours.

The upcoming 2018 USEA American Eventing Championships at the Colorado Horse Park on August 30 – September 2 and the entire fall event season could shake things up. Check out the rankings on EventingVolunteers.com and make sure to thank a volunteer!

About the Volunteer Incentive Program

In efforts to recognize the dedication, commitment, and hard work that volunteers put into eventing, USEA formed the Volunteer Incentive Program (VIP) in 2015. In 2017, an online management portal was designed for volunteers, organizers, and coordinators at EventingVolunteers.com (available as an app for iOS and Android).Volunteer incentives include national and area recognition, year-end awards with ribbons, cash prizes, trophies, 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 over the USEA competition year. Click here to learn more about the USEA Volunteer Incentive Program.

The USEA would like to thank Sunsprite Warmbloods for sponsoring the Volunteer Incentive Program.