11/07/2025
Well said. Too many clubs are dieing due to lack of volunteers.
How to Change the Horse World (Without Becoming a Committee Betty)😎
Alternative title: Join a Horse Club. Or Watch Them Die While Complaining on Social Media.😬
⚠️ Long post warning: But if you’re passionate about helping horses, tired of watching the sport slip away, or still experiencing low-level PTSD from a past committee role—stick with me. There will be laughs. Possibly tears. Definitely head nods.😜
Disclaimer: This post is satire. That means it’s meant to entertain, raise eyebrows, and maybe nudge you lovingly out of your comfort zone. Please read with a sense of humour, not a pitchfork.
Let’s be honest: you didn’t get into horses because you love a well-chaired AGM.
You didn’t grow up dreaming about setting up six dressage arenas at stupid o’clock with a head torch, half the helpers missing, and the other half unsure whether K goes before M or how to measure 20 metres.
No, you got into horses because you were born with The Gene—the one that makes you sniff leather like fine wine and mistake horse hair, sweat, and crushed ambition for the scent of joy.
And yet—and yet—If you really love horses…If you really want to see them thrive in the real world (not just in perfectly filtered paddock pics)…Then I’ve got news for you, my hay-stuck-in-your-clothes friend:
It’s time to get your high horse off its high horse—and join your local horse club.
➡️Clubs: Not Just for Boomers with Clipboards Anymore
Gen X, Millennials, Gen Z: I’m talking to you. Clubs are where stuff actually happens.
Events are held. Skills are built. Confidence is tested. BBQs are burnt beyond recognition. No one cleans their yards properly. And someone always forgets the sugar for the judges’ tea and gets quietly exiled from the canteen.
But something tragic is happening: Clubs are withering. Events are dying. Committees are run by three exhausted humans and one Bossy Pants Betty who’s been in charge since The Saddle Club was on TV..
Why?
Because no one wants to help.
Because the local Dressage Queen once got snippy over the draw and now you're emotionally traumatised.😫
Because Phyllis won’t share the keys to the gate.🙄
Because Dave—who hasn’t ridden since Howard was Prime Minister—still insists on designing the cross-country course with a ruler, a vengeance, and a grudge against “flow”.😵💫
➡️But here’s the truth bomb:
You can’t change horse culture from the stands. Not with arms folded. Not with a snide remark about someone’s “tense” horse. You’ve got to step into the clubhouse, the tent, the sausage sizzle—and BE the culture.
➡️Why Clubs Matter (Even If Meetings Do Your Head in)
Clubs are the pressure cookers of progress. They’re the social petri dishes where horses grow, riders evolve, float tyres are borrowed, and someone always has a girth when yours is mysteriously missing.
You see real life. Not curated Instagram fairytales with matching saddle pads and invisible problems. You see horses lose the plot. You see riders try, fail, cry, cheer. And you learn.
You find out:
Which vet is actually good.
Which bodyworker doesn’t peddle moon crystals.
Which farrier shows up and answers texts.
Where the best clinics are.
Who to trail ride with. And sometimes… a lifelong friend.
➡️“But Shelley, I hate committees…”
Oh, you sweet summer child. Everyone hates committees. They’re where dreams go to die—usually by subcommittee.😆
Yes, there are clipboard tyrants who cling to their role like it’s a sheep station. Yes, there are martyrs who treat the jump wings like heirlooms. Yes, there are governance nerds who think conflict resolution should involve a lawyer and a spreadsheet.
But do you know what fixes that?
YOU.
You, the kind, capable person who doesn’t immediately suggest renaming the club after their heart horse. You, who quietly turns up to set up cones, pencil a few tests, and doesn’t offer unsolicited training advice with your hands on your hips.
You dilute the crazy. You tip the balance. You bring that rarest of equestrian virtues: competence without ego.
Because everything in the horse world grows from culture. And culture grows from the people who show up.
You want better horse welfare? Hold the gate and check the equipment.
You want inclusive, educational, empowering events? Write the draw. Pick up the poo. Smile.
You want people to listen to your views on training and biomechanics?
Earn it. By being useful. By being friendly. By being the kind of human people feel safe around. Because people don’t learn from the Judgy McJudgerson muttering at C. They learn from the one who stood beside them in the rain and said, “You’ve got this.”
➡️A Personal Plea from the Arena of Action
If you live near Camden, NSW—I need you.
Come join me and my excellent fellow committee members at Camden Dressage Club.
We run relaxed, inclusive, community-powered events in my beautiful historic hometown. Our committee is full of genuinely helpful, friendly people (shocking, I know), and we desperately need a few more humans with working limbs and kind smiles to:
Pencil a test. Make a cup of tea for a judge. Check some gear etc. Be the person who turns up and makes things better.
Because if I’m going to make a difference in this sport, it won’t be from a soapbox. It’ll be from the scribe box, the marshalling area, and the judges car—with a clipboard in one hand and purpose (or a pooper scooper) in the other.
➡️“But how can you stand seeing horses struggle?”
I don’t stand it. I understand it. I see people doing awkward, messy, borderline bonkers things with their horses because they’re overwhelmed, scared, and doing their best.
Just like I did. Just like you probably did. Or do.
But someone once stood beside me and didn’t make me feel like a failure. They just helped. Quietly. Kindly. Without fanfare.
And that’s why I show up. Because maybe, someday, someone will look across the warm-up and ask me something— And maybe I’ll say something that helps them, and in doing so, helps their horse.
And that, my friend, is how we change the sport.
So. Are You Helping?
Because change doesn’t come from snarky social media comments. It comes from humans. In real time. With real horses. Doing real work.
✅ Things to Do Now...before it is too later
👉 Live near Camden? Join us at dressage . Message me. Stalk our website. Put your hand up. I have put links in the comments!
👉 Nowhere near Camden? Excellent. Google your local club. Email them. Offer to help. Don’t wait until you’re “good enough.” Clubs need you as you are.
👉 And for the love of horses—be the kind of person that makes people want to come back. That’s how the culture shifts. That’s how the sport grows. That’s how horses win.
So pull on your boots, grab a clipboard, and let’s go change the world—one sausage sizzle, test sheet, and warm-up area chat at a time.
IMAGE📸: See how beautiful our Camden grounds are - and no, I didn't see any horse freak out at the hot air balloons 😜‼
