A quick overview of the benefits of volunteering and also the different roles available for you to try.

Firstly, many thanks for giving up your time to support our event or even thinking about giving up your time, it is very much appreciated. Whilst there is an obvious benefit to the club, the organisers and the participants, there are also benefits for the volunteer. Such as:

  • Meet new friends – we have some really interesting people involved in our sport
  • Go to some unique and beautiful venues
  • Watch up close how experienced drivers compete
  • Ask other drivers lots of questions – for free!
  • Get a head start on what you need to do, bring, prepare for your first driving event

You don’t need to have horse experience to get involved, there is something for everyone, from low key roles and those needing a bit more organisation to some needing specialist spreadsheet skills.

We organise a wide range of events for our club and each one is different offering up a variety of roles for volunteers, the table below will give you an insight into what some of them are:

Role / EVENT TYPE Description
Starter
@ Driving trials, inside out, social drives and fun competitions (world cup, cones, trec)
Sticks to the timetable – if there is one. Checks the participant is safe & ready to go. Makes sure that the next participant isn’t too close behind.
Section Start / Finish
@ Driving trials 		Records the times a competitor starts and ends a section. Fills in the competitors timing cards.
Timers
@ Driving trials, inside out and fun competitions (world cup, cones, trec) 		Usually done in pairs so if one stopwatch doesn’t go off, there is a backup. Record the time and any penalties (e.g. balls knocked down). Not as hard as you think!
Dressage Writer
@ Driving trials and inside out

Sits with the judge and writes down the scores and comments. Really interesting especially for drivers or ridden dressage enthusiasts.
Dressage Steward
@ Driving trials and inside out 		Manages the collecting ring, allows each competitor into the dressage arena when the judge is ready.
Cones Steward
@ Driving trials, inside out and fun competitions (world cup, cones, trec) 		Watch to ensure the competitor is driving the right course and keep eye out for any balls knocked down. Measure cones and replace balls if knocked. Volunteers are ‘observers’ and report what they see, the judge upholds the rules and makes the decision on penalties etc.
Obstacle Steward
@ Driving trials, inside out and fun competitions (world cup) 		Watch to ensure the competitor is driving the right course and keep eye out for any balls knocked down (if there are any) and replace them. ‘Hold’ competitors if the course ahead is not clear for them to proceed (this can be timed). Volunteers are ‘observers’ and report what they see, the judge upholds the rules and makes the decision on penalties etc.
Scoring
@ Driving trials, inside out and fun competitions (world cup, cones, trec) 		Typically using a spreadsheet or scoring program, you’ll add up all the scores. For the fun events this can be a little more ad-hoc!
Score Collecting
@ Driving trials, inside out and fun competitions (world cup, cones, trec) 		Walking, cycling or driving to each of the stewards to collect their score cards. A big help as it means the scores can be worked out during the event, making going home quicker!
Stewarding
@ Driving trails, inside out, social drives and fun competitions (world cup, cones, trec)		Sometimes to maintain the safety of all concerned we need people on hand to look after access such as gates, entrances and road crossings. Parking lorries, when camping, is important to make sure we have fire safe distances without spreading out too far and emergency vehicle access routes.

Many of the club’s members are active volunteers both at local and national events – we are proud to have members volunteering at competitions like the Royal Windsor International Horse Show, Sandringham International Driving trails and Keysoe National Indoor Championships.