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U.S. Nationals
Meet the Volunteers
October 27, 2009
Mary Dobson
Mastering the Puzzle
Turns out that Mary Dobson of Raymore, Missouri, lives just a mile away from U.S. Nationals Barn Manager Glen True. Proximity somehow roped her into working the barn office at U.S. Nationals for the past six years in a volunteer role that she looks forward to each year. "I enjoy the job," she says. "It's a three-week challenge, but I enjoy the people, camaraderie, seeing all the horses, talking to the owners and trainers, as well as getting to know them."
Dobson and the rest of "Glen's Crew" arrived at ExpoSquare on October 13 in order to develop the stall charts, mark stalls, designate stalls that need repairing and readjust for changing numbers of reservations. "It's sort of like a jigsaw puzzle," she says. At times, Dobson said their duties also include some detective work in tracking down people and horses throughout the course of the show.
Dobson is a retired high school librarian, a position she held for 32 years. During her 12-hour shifts during the course of U.S. Nationals, she said she feels at home and that some of the challenges and investigative services remind her of her days of tracking down information at the library.
Aside from U.S. Nationals, Dobson shows her Western Pleasure partner JJ Matador (Magnum Psyche x Analeesa), a 7-year-old bay gelding, at various shows held in Regions 8 and 11. She also volunteers at multiple local shows, organizing the volunteers. She is the treasurer for the Greater Kansas City Arabian Horse Association, as well as a past president and membership chairman for the club.
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