Getting Involved
Helping at a ride
EGB rides and events are run on a voluntary basis and lots of helpers are needed to make them happen. Coming along to help is a great chance to talk to people and find out what goes on at an endurance ride.
There are lots of different jobs to do on the day of
a ride including:
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Secretary –dealing with the paperwork at handing out bibs and rosettes;
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Timekeeper- noting the time you start and finish the ride;
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Stewards-traffic parking, manning road crossings etc Gate stewards – a lovely easy job where you can relax and read/knit/whatever!
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Vet writers – one of the most popular jobs where you take notes for the vet;
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Manning a checkpoint – you can usually sit in your car & note the riders who pass you.
If you want to compete at a particular event, you might still be able to help out in some other way before the day, such as:
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riding the route to check it;
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marking the route (sometimes we have do this on horseback, on foot or by bicycle if there are restrictions on the use of vehicles);
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publicity for the event;
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taking the ride entries.
If you are interested in coming to help at an Offa’s Dyke ride, please contact us. We would love to hear from you!
There are many non members and non riding members of EGB, who don’t have a horse, but enjoy getting involved in organising or helping at rides. We are very grateful to them all for working so hard, so that we can enjoy our sport.
Crewing
Coming along to crew for a friend can also be great fun. Crews help the rider with the horse before and after the ride and can if they want to drive out to meet the rider on the course with water to drink and ‘sloshes’ to cool the horse. Many people really enjoy crewing and find it an interesting challenge to work out what the individual horse needs to encourage it to drink and relax to present to the vet with a low heart rate at the end of a Competitive Ride
Offering to crew for another rider is another good way to find out more about endurance. To find out more about crewing (see the Crewing page).