Dedicated horsewoman and teacher Jean Moyer left this world too soon — in 2020. But her legacy lives in the many professionals she mentored, the horses she sourced and, perhaps most of all, the passion she sparked in her husband Jim Moyer.
If you’re a West Coast eventer, you know Jim. Or you’ve at least seen him…at the back gate, at the parking lot entrance, at the start box or a fence with a jump judge clipboard on competition days. Likely, he was at the venue before you arrived to help set up and will stick around to help after you’ve headed home.
On the long list of volunteer tasks involved in staging an event, dressage scribing is about the only thing Jim doesn’t do. Not that he poo-poos the important task, it’s just not his thing. “I have poor penmanship and I’m not very good at that kind of thing.” And it doesn’t fit his otherwise broad criteria for what he likes to do on site — be on the front lines helping people and horses enjoy the sport he loves and quietly cheering everybody on.
“I really like the positions where you can greet people. I see so many old friends and make new ones. The eventing community is just one big family. They all support each other and everything they do is for the horse and to support the sport.”
Jim and Jean were 2020 USEA Governors Cup recipients as volunteers whose service has contributed significantly to the sport. As of early April, the association’s Volunteer Incentive Program had Jim in the Bronze medal category for a lifetime 519 hours tracked. That’s 21 24-hour days and almost 65 8-hour days.
It’s likely Jim has accrued much more than that and equally likely that he’s not counting.
California Tour
His Galway Downs days during the Spring International Horse Trials fell mid-way in his spring California tour. Jim started in mid-March at the Ram Tap National in Fresno, then headed south in his RV to Galway Downs.
After that, it was a fun detour to Omaha to enjoy the FEI World Cup Finals for dressage and jumping as a spectator, then back to California to volunteer at the Twin Rivers Spring International in mid-April. He’s a fixture at Area VII events close to his home in the Seattle area’s Gig Harbor, including the Spokane Sport Horse Park and Aspen Farms.
At our Spring International Horse Trials, Jim was the guy in the bright yellow slicker throughout Thursday’s endless downpour. “I was only disappointed because I come down here from the Northwest ready to listen to you guys complain about the drought. And here it was nothing but rain, rain, rain.”
The assignment that wet day was keeping Horse Trials dressage pairs organized for their turn in the sand box. “If the eventers are willing to ride in that weather, I’m willing to be out there helping get them organized. The rain doesn’t faze me at all.”
Jim recommends volunteering to everyone. Even a shy newbie will make friend in “about five minutes,” he assures. “There is a lot of team spirit and a great sense of community.” Acknowledging his unique position of being retired and without other obligations, Jim says “I can’t imagine sitting home by myself and watching TV. I like to be out meeting and being around people.”
Volunteering is a wonderful learning opportunity for everyone, and especially young riders, he emphasizes. “A lot of young people should get more involved because you can learn so much.” Even a position that requires no prior experience, like jump judging, can deliver many insights in watching different riders and horses, at various levels, approach the course’s challenges.
Volunteering has other perks, too. “Every venue is so generous,” Jim reports. “They have t-shirts, hats, certificates, etc.” Galway Downs’ Volunteer program, for example, offers $30, $60 and $90 vouchers good toward entries, schooling fees, branded swag or VIP Pavilion access. Jim usually donates his coupons to his rider friends.
Horse Guy For Life
Several Northwest-based riders enjoy a special connection with Jim because they’re developing horses Jean helped identify in Germany. Galway Downs’ recent CCI2* winner Lovely Lola is such a horse. The 9-year-old Hanoverian has been part of Jordan Linstedt’s program since coming to the States and Jim has enjoyed a front row seat to the mare’s ascent. “She is one of a handful of horses that my wife helped pick out for riders. Jordan has three, Sarah Sullivan has one and so does (USEA president) Lou Leslie. I always try to arrange my volunteer schedule so I can watch them go.”
He also videos the horses that Jean sourced and sends them to the horse’s breeders and connections in Germany.
Jim was not a horse guy when he and Jean met, but he became one. “I fell in love with her, then I fell in love with the horses. It all started with her.”
“Jean’s passion was teaching. She’d be happy sitting in a corner and teaching all day.” But Jean didn’t just sit in a corner. Along with giving clinics throughout North America and beyond, she and Jim traveled to Germany to scout and buy young horses and stallion prospects. “She taught me so much about horses,” Jim notes. “I am very lucky that way.” Along the way, the Moyers established lifelong friendships, including Britta and Hannes Baumgart, who continue suggesting horses for Jim to bid on.
In fact, October trips to Germany are one of the few things that keep Jim away from volunteering. He won’t be at Galway for the Fall International because he’ll be at the auctions and visiting private farms in Germany — continuing he and Jean’s long held tradition.
Volunteers are the lifeblood of eventing. Jim’s generosity with his time and the wide range of tasks he happily takes on make him a treasured gem among West Coast event organizers.