10/20/2025
In 2024 Mary Coldren asked me if I would take on a “small” job as the team lead for the cross country crossing guards for the and I am so grateful for the opportunity!
Team Leads are volunteers who organize a group of volunteers. Our preparation begins in June. We attend monthly, then bi-weekly, then weekly meetings leading up to the event. We work with other team leads to coordinate jobs that overlap and interact with directors, safety staff and officials to ensure that the event runs as smoothly as possible.
In July I begin contacting prior year volunteers and recruiting new ones.
A week before the event I meet with the ropes manager Bob and his wife Kay to preview the course and see where crossing points are. We discuss pinch points, potential problems and problem solve. Then I walk the course myself and finalize crossing guard assignments.
Lots of communication between myself and the volunteers is key for a smooth EARLY Saturday morning of cross country day. Our briefing is Friday afternoon and the volunteers have the opportunity to run through a “dry run” for the following morning.
My volunteers begin arriving around 6:15am for a 9am start for cross country. We have about 50 crossing guards and around 300 volunteers total for cross country day.
Crossing guards keep the spectators safe by providing a place to cross the track in a controlled manner to make sure that no horses are coming. They are VERY important for the days operations!
Once the first horse is on course I can always breathe a sigh of relief that we did it!! All that preparation for about 9 hours of competition.
In addition to this role, I have also been asked to manage the conformation volunteers for the Young Event Horse East Coast Championship that takes place on Thursday. My other hat is for the , managing the prize giving for the 4 and 5 year olds for that event.
I love being behind the scenes and knowing that I contribute to the success of this event. Not only is this important for Maryland, but the sport of eventing!! To add another world class 5* and event right in my back yard is a dream come true. ❤️💛🖤