This is part of a series I'm starting on volunteering...
I've volunteered at a lot of recognize shows, albeit it was at least ten years ago. I can recall several interactions with technical delegates, or TDs, and I was impressed with both the people and the position. What do they do? Despite the picture on the left, my sense is that they're not big on the use of force, and they don't issue edicts. I'm not even sure they
enforce rules, exactly, but they wield a lot of inluence in their role as an advisor to show management.
So what is a TD anyway? Well, the TD is not the dressage police and he or she is not the Enforcer, capital E. I have come to think of them as reps or advocates for the USDF rules, and in that sense I'm kind of drawn to the position. I think I might like it!
If you like being a rule maven, if you like management by walking around, you might like it too. If you like..
- helping things run smoothly
- helping people do their job
- collaborating with other show officials
- resolving the occasional problem or conflict...
Then you might like being a TD. I looked into what it takes to be a TD. You have to have a fair amount of volunteering experience to even start the official training. This coming year I'm going to follow some of the suggestions in the article from
Flying Changes magazine,
How to become a dressage TD. I'll be trying out some volunteer positions and testing the assumption that I'd be a half-way decent TD.
