“I haven’t failed, I’ve just found 10,000 ways that don’t work.”  Thomas Edison

I believe that this quote perfectly fits horsemanship. Many of you wont have to work very hard to imagine this scenario:  You have owned that Thoroughbred for many years and have gone through enough missteps and vexations to give yourself ulcers and sleepless nights. But despite the hardships, you have practiced for hundreds of hours to reach your goal of successfully riding at first level and jumping a beautiful 3’ round. Eventually, you reward yourself with an ‘upgrade’ and purchase a warmblood…. And discover that everything you thought you knew about riding doesn’t apply at all! You are back at square one and feeling like you are learning to ride all over again.

Even if that scenario doesn’t describe your life, we all know that frustrations abound aplenty for those of us who

There are 10,000 bugs down here.

ride and love horses. Sometimes we feel that every step forward is balanced by a step backwards. And on the days when I know that I am not emotionally or physically prepared to tackle a challenge with a horse, I remember a very poignant quote from a friend of mine. He once told me that I didn’t have to do much with a horse, just a little bit every day.  He gave me such good advice in very few words. I am going to be successful if I don’t take any steps backwards. So, if I am able to modify my ride in little ways to have a positive end, then I am one step ahead of yesterday. Everyday, I try to understand my personal limits, and I chip away at those 10,000 mistakes that potentially could be made. Every step forward begets another step forward, and I choose to look at my daily riding in that light. Its not a series of mistakes, but a series of successes that help keep me and my horses happy and looking forward to tomorrow.

To this end, today was the first day of my 2013 competition season! I took Lear to Aspen Farms derby, and in my persistent search to link together positive rides into a chain, Im fairly certain I succeeded. He got in the trailer for the first time since last September and he is noticeably nervous. My goal was to make the day easy enough for him that his confidence soared. Normally, he is the spooky, jumpy horse who has trouble in the arena for some different reason every single day. He is nervous, even at home, to the point that some workouts never reach completion in lieu of a more relaxing walk to soothe his nerves. So when I went today to Aspen, I knew that I needed to not make one of those 10,000 mistakes that one is wont to do.  Lear had to start in the hopeful arena, which doesnt sound all that impressive for a horse who Im certain can go to the upper levels. But that arena was like a soothing nursery with pink walls and stuffed animals around. After we mastered the course,  we could graduate to the big boys arena. He did two nice rounds at novice height and I decided to call it a day at that. He got four flying changes in his second round, and I am pleased with that. Jon gave me a thumbs up and my day was complete.

I would tell you the complete tale of my OTTB, Cochlear, but I have already done that way back in the spring. This Blog summed it up pretty well, but it doesn’t have how the 2012 season finished for him. So here is an abbreviated story:

I finally found the right place to move Lear up to Training level. It took a while, and I wish that I had done it sooner. He was ready to move up at Rebecca – but I am hesitant to move ANY horse up there. The atmosphere is big, and the show jumping is intimidating compared to other events that we have in VII. Next, at YR Benefit Horse Trials, I used up all my begging trainer Karma when I asked on Thursday afternoon if I could move up my working student, Kiera, from novice to training. Given that there is no internet or cell reception way back there in the corner of Lincoln Creek, the secretaries are slightly haggared by the request. I decided Kiera was more important than Lear (you are welcome Special K!) and we tripped around the novice way too boldly!

Finally, Lear did manage to move up successfully at Caber and at Aspen. I actually cant remember being more excited after XC in the last 5 years than I was after Caber. But a little background to explain: at home, Lear cant even trot by a ditch without dropping a shoulder and snorting. Trot sets that enter the outer ring orbit of a jump cause him to gasp, literally! He loses his breath and bugs his eyes out.  Sometimes we find ourselves facing a different direction. In July, I started introducing Lear to more complicated ditch scenarios… and it frightened him.  A plain ditch got his heart pumping, and if you added a log before or after it, he was downright terrified. He is not the sort of horse that takes pressure well, so it was time and patience to help mend his little shakey soul. You can then imagine my heart sank a little when I saw the proper big coffin with black boxes and black ditch at Caber. And that combination is directly followed by the Weldon’s wall.  I forgot that John made a decent course! And I hoped that I was not going to dent Lear’s delicate confidence.

Apparently, Lear has an alter ego that he reserves for the competitions. At home, he is Clark Kent with his dorky glasses and a goofy whistling noise comes out of his nose that is not manly at all. He takes his workouts way too seriously at home and likes a schedule tighter than a Swiss clock.

But at shows he rips open his dull grey suit, winks at the swooning girls while he skips around XC with panache. I got off him at Aspen and wondered what horse I was on? Where did that Superman cape come from?

I am very excited about his upcoming year. He is enjoying more time off than Boogie and Dino partly because he had a bigger year, but also because he is easier to train than either of them. They need to continue doing homework throughout the winter while he can resume his training in earnest in January.  I am hoping to continue him next year at training level until Rebecca and then decide whether he will do the Training 3 day, or move up to Preliminary. I think that I am most appreciating him for his true Throroughbredness – that tough cookie who loves to gallop, looks through the bridle at a challenge and jumps because his heart is in it.  Its so refreshing after the warmblood quirkyness that the other horses have!

The squeaky wheels get the grease! A number of you have made it clear that you are waiting for the next “young horse” review! And its finally here – this one is about Boogie.

I have posted about him before, back when I thought he was going through a difficult phase. You can find that

HERE. Well, I am no longer riding him in fuzzy cheek pieces, although that was a good idea at the time. And as I think back on all the alternations, negotiations, revelations and frustrations….. its clear that this horse is not in it for the short haul. Boogie is here to stay, if for no other reason, than to expand my horizons as a rider and trainer.  He is my mood ring, and a subsitute for the psychiatrist’s couch. One day, I am going to write about how nice it is to ride a well trained, polite and obedient horse like Boogs. But that is in the distant future. I have heard that one’s children are windows to the parent’s soul. Gawd, I hope that is not true in this case!

Here is a photo of when I bought him in 2009 from Kathleen and Colin Dumont, in Pendleton Oregon. He was bred

2 year old Boogie

in Texas by the Dumonts and they brought him up here as a 2 year old, and I bought him a few months later. I wont go into his breaking/gentling years, that was in the blog of last year, but lets skip ahead to this year: his 5 year old year and his first full season competing.

If you had asked me in Feb 2012 whether Boogie was going to compete, I would have snorted through my nose and said a big NO Way. He is a mentally immature horse, and I am going to bet that it will be another 2 years before his brain catches up with his physical development. But, as the season approached, I knew that part of his education was to go away from home and experience new environments in a low stress manner. I tried extremely hard to keep

it low stress… for him anyway! Shauna and Kiera can attest that Inavale and Montana were full of very careful planning and specific rules for tacking up, walking with saddle, warming up… etc. Boogie has continued to be extremely sensitive about the saddle and girth. I constantly remind myself that he does NOT buck, rear, spin or spook….. he just scoots. He keeps his stress in his back and rear, and folds tighter than love note in a pocket.

I carefully chose the locations where I took him. Inavale, Montana, Whidbey Island and Lincoln Creek all are venues which have ample free room for longing and riding. If Boogie got concerned about the warmups anywhere, I could escape and find a corner to be alone and decompress him. That plan worked well for all the warmups. In view of his performances: he had a “Confusal” at Inavale fence #2, which I don’t blame him for at all. Fence #1 was such a surprise that it took him until #2 to realize that he was shocked! After a pat and a circle, he completed the rest of the course fault free. He stormed around both Whidbey and Lincoln Creek as well. He showed that he was brave, bold, and a thinking XC horse. Dressage is OK – and I look forward to

him being more relaxed in public in the coming season to get better scores. Show jumping – Bam. Done that. Eat that up like its whip cream on a brownie. * Note: watch THIS video from a jump school this week to see that he would have been very unimpressed with a beginner novice height SJ course.

At Aspen, I got a chance to talk to Kristi Nunnink about Rosie (R Star) who shares his sire. She confirmed to me that, like Boogie, Rosie was very very brave over obstacles as a youngster. And like Boogie, she was also difficult to train. Im hoping that our Boogs will follow his sister’s footsteps in the next 6 years. That is a LONG time to look ahead, but Im glad to do it. I have not had a horse, ever, who exhausted so much of my brain power to train. I have to think through every single day and hope that I am thoughtful enough to come up with a solution to the issues that he keeps throwing at me. I might pull my hair out at times, but my mantra with him is: “you are worth it”.

Over and over again.

TIOM (the issue of the month): is the girth. Yes, you know that squeezing, compressing, pinching serpent that bleeds the life out of a horse?! The very one. I think that I have felt him have a longer stride and a more relaxed start to the workout when I have a long girth on him. As opposed to the short girth that goes with the monoflap jump saddles that I own. Of course…. Boogie wants a new saddle.  He whispered that he would like a custom one, but I pretended not to hear that. We will have a visit from a saddle fitter and see if we can cope with a plebian, off the rack saddle.

This fall I have been very lucky to get a lot of help from Kim Severson and Scott Keach – both whom have helped me see where I am going in the future with Boogie. Day to day can seem like one step forward and one step back… but I know that is not true. We humans can dwell on the negative more easily than champion the positive. I have to remember that he has progressed brilliantly this year. The video I made this week of him jumping showed me that I have a lot of work to do to get him more relaxed in his back over the fences. He has been so full of energy – raw, youthful power- that I felt I needed to make the jumps higher if not to just get his attention. While he was quite obedient, there is alot I need to do to help his form become more relaxed and commonplace. I dont want home schooling to be so brilliant and big. Next video will show him with less “superman” on the back side of the fence and a little less jumping “at” the fence. By that, I mean I would like him to be more relaxed on take off and less forward at the base.

Next blog: Cochlear the Wonder Irish horse.

Im beyond excited to be finished with my competition commitments for 2012! Every year, for the past 2 decades I get tired of the driving, tired of the gas money, tired of long weekend away from home, and ready to have a weekend with no horses in sight. I am now at that point in the year. Last weekend was the final clinic held here at Polestar (except our monthly Jen Verharen vitamin) with Grand Prix show jump rider, Scott Keach. Weekend before was the clinic with Kim Severson. And the weekend before THAT, was Margarito and Angela’s wedding here at the farm! Its been busy!!

My goal for this blog is to describe the growth and training of my young horses, De Novo, The Boogieman and Cochlear. But before I start with how they are doing now… I have to remind you where they have been.

Dino (DeNovo) is my 6 year old homebred who has not competed since April 2010. Back then, he was 4 years old and went to California for his first few shows… and ended up with tendonitis in a hind leg. The boy is just too bouncy and too hot to rush along, so I viewed his rehab and therapy as the long, patient road to get an edju-mu-cation. Dino has always found leaving the ground quite easy and fun, and he does it in whatever capacity as often as he can! Rehab was not always the best of times, and I can say that he was definitely challenging.

By mid-summer 2012, I found him to be well off the vet’s radar and free to train as a normal 6 year old should. I delayed the jumping for at least 8 months longer than I needed to. But, honestly, I was having a lot of fun with his dressage and I didn’t feel like I was missing the jumps at at all. He was becoming more confirmed in his half-halts, learning the beginnings of collection and understanding half pass and counter canter much better.  His topline was changing by the month in great ways, but, eventually, Dino needed to bounce around over jumps. We didn’t get to any recognized shows due to me being busy and me also emotionally full to the brim with difficult horses (wait for the Boogie article), therefore Dino had to wait for this fall to go do some outings.  In the last few weeks he has gone to Upson Downs to clinic with Kim Severson and he also rode here at the farm with Scott Keach. Both clinics were SO fun!!  Both Scott and Kim found similar ways to keep Dino mentally busy and productive, but with different means to the end. Kim and I needed two days of jumping to finally get him to focus and be in a learning mood. His boundless energy is impressive, but it can be exhausting to work through. Kim had me do lots and lots of interesting lateral/flatwork in between the jumps to keep his attention. Leg yielding to a jump, counter canter to jumps and lots of transitions helped him stay productive and focused, rather than silly, bucking, overjumping and goofing around on landing. Her overall lesson for me was to find ways to put my leg on Dino, have him accept it, and ask more of him. She felt that on both Boogie and Dino, I need to ask more of them with my aids and that I am too quiet of a rider at times. However, I’d much rather be a quiet rider and work to be louder than vice versa!

The most exciting part of my Kim lessons is the jumping – I always seem to ride better when there is more expected of me. I have two awesome videos from Julie Thayne that I am watching repeatedly to help me absorb all the good nuggets that Kim threw at me.

I am beyond excited to take lessons from two such highly skilled coaches, who have similar messages but different techniques. Above all, both are extremely good horsemen and they relate to my problems with my young horses as if they were riding them as well. They teach methods that make sense to a rider – not just bookish advice. Kim is deeply rooted in classical dressage and fundamentals of eventing (US Olympic team ’04 Individual Silver, team Bronze, World Equestrian Games ’02 and ’06). I always thought that she would be an excellent US team coach, and maybe someday she will be. She is an exacting teacher, whether it is over fences or on the flat, and demands perfection and great understanding.

Scott’s background is extremely varied and he draws from a wide variety of experiences: working on cattle and sheep stations in Australia,  eventing (Aussie Olympic team ’88) and Grand Prix show jumping. He is a dash of cowboy at heart and very creative in his problem solving. Last year he told a group, “You wont read this in any jumping book, but this works for reiners.” And proceeded to teach us a technique that I use nearly every day since.

Dino showed fabulous consistency with his difficult and distracted behavior on day one of this clinic too. Like Kim, Scott also had me finding ways to put my legs on him and have him accepting my requests. We did endless turns and changes of direction and gaits. Eventually, Dino started to flick his ears back to me more than he was looking at everyone and everything else. It was pretty exhausting to realize that I have months and months of this with him. Possibly its something that I must do at every show he will go to, but its worth it. Because the end result is a listening Dino who was receptive not reactive. One of my most favorite Scott messages is that we don’t nearly reward and praise our horses enough. He gives a masterclass on patience and praise at the right moments.

Next Kim clinic is November 17 and 18, and I encourage more people to audit. See you with the next installment: The Boogieman, just in time for Halloween.

Annie Budiselich was here the other day and she retold the drama of having her daughter Tulie’s lovely horse stuck in the trailer on I-90. Through creativity and sheer strength, they did a great job extracting the horse out of his predicament (no, he was not injured).  However, I am prompted to write this blog about first aid that you should travel with so that should something awful happen to you, you can at least apply something to your horse’s wounds to make him feel better and heal

“Where is the *7#$%T^& thing??” (photo by Julie Hook, 2012)

faster. Above all, you will not feel helpless and at the mercy of others when you ask to borrow a thermometer.

First rule of trailering: trailer with the essential needs for safe travel. By this, I mean that you should always have a trailer jack or tire changer with you at all times.  If I had a 16 year old horsey girl, I would require her to use the darn thing at home and get used to it so when there are semis flying by 10 feet away she still knows what to do and isn’t waiting for some knight in shining DOT truck to pass by. Some other must haves are buckets and a container of water, clean towels,  grain and electrolytes, hay and blankets (thinking about winter here). The grain I find helpful because you can induce some interest in water if you add a handful of grain and make what we call “yummy water”. They snoofle around looking for the grain and perhaps get a few gulps ingested.

And then there is the oft talked about First Aid Kit. Here is the list of things that I always have in there:

• digital thermometer
• Gauze 4×4 squares
• gamgee cotton
• vetwrap
• saran wrap
• diapers
• duct tape
• epsom salt
• animalintex poultice
• previcox and bute paste
• betadine scrub
• alushield spray
• clotting powder
• desitin ointment
• neosporin ointment
• saline solution with large syringe to irrigate puncture wounds
• DMSO roll on
• furasone ointment for sweats
• soaking boot
• poultice
• various needles and syringes
• dexamethasone granules
• banamine
• ace
• pocket knife
• scissors

I keep all these things in a small plastic trunk that never leaves my trailer and takes up very little space. When you are at a show and there is a mishap, I can usually always find a way to treat the horse so the wound/injury doesn’t get worse. Here are a few examples of how I would use the stuff:  DMSO is in case a horse whacks itself on the splint bone and pops up some swelling, dex can be very helpful when a horse breaks out in hives from the new bedding, animalintex poultice is like any other clay poultice and I use it to remove heat and swelling from an injury to a leg or hoof that is not an open wound. Desitin is my go-to ointment for any type of abrasion caused by bell boots or galloping boots and furasone is great for a sweat to an area with edema.

And then I have a separate farrier kit that also lives in the trailer. It takes up so little space that I often forget its there:

Nail puller, rasp, soaking boot, Old Mac boots and Magic Cushion

Small but helpful when you need it! The duct tape and required diaper are in the first aid kit for when the shoe does come off and I need to protect the throughbred’s delicate, shelly feet with Magic Cushion. Magic Cushion is a great paste product that contains Venice turpentine to take the sting out of the newly naked foot. I like Old Mac Boots better than EZ boots because a) I can get them on and off without cursing up a snowstorm b) the boots don’t have the metal spikes that grab the hoof wall and perhaps grab my hand, fingers or coronet band in the process of putting EZ boot on horse. That is a product that I have never been friends with.

To Wrap of Not to Wrap, that is the question.

This might be the most discussed subject on Thursday mornings as we groom the horses and get ready to load them up. I have some fairly firm feelings on the subject that are based on real experiences I have had. Others have had opposite experiences and Im sure are willing to go to bat for their methods. But here is what works for me:

I always use tall standing wraps all the way around for every trip. My horses sometimes do have bell boots on, and sometimes don’t. My favorite horses wear the shock absorbing gellies on their front hooves to reduce the road rattle to their bones.  I have had very very very bad luck with the tall shipping boots that they sell in the catalogs with the large Velcro attachments. To me, this product is difficult to keep sufficiently clean and when you put them on a leg you create a moist, warm environment with sweat and bacteria to help create an exciting dermatological experiment. On Saturday when you try to put the galloping boots on your horse and he falls down with pain when you touch his legs…. You will know the reason why. You can put clean standing wraps underneath these boots and probably prevent the skin meltdown, and most people do this on Sunday on the drive home when the horse is bandaged anyway after his tiring weekend. But on the way to the show is often overlooked in lieu of getting out the door in a hurry. I think that if you have a horse who kicks in the trailer then the tall hind boots are probably necessary to protect him from capping his hocks. And a stable wrap is then a very good idea to help dull the impact when, not if, he kicks his other leg himself.

So there you have it. Meika’s few tips on trailering safely.  Surely, I have overlooked something and this is a subject that you should ask experienced horsemen about. The oddball accidents do occur and most are preventable, and you can learn a lot by asking questions. I know Michael Pollard is going to write some good articles about trailering safely this fall, and you can find them on his website: http://pollardeventing.com/

When something bad does happen, I have found that DOT workers are the MOST helpful people around. Paramedics and

Our worst nightmare. Thankfully, this was an RV, not a trailer.

officers look at you like you are crazy (picture Annie B with wild hair racing about to secure the scene!) while DOT guys are used to heavy machinery, strange metal contraptions, and don’t mind getting their hands dirty. I have nothing but gratitude when they were the first to show up for my past mishaps and last to leave.

Happy travels!

This has been quite the whirlwind two weeks. I feel that the faucet feeding my life has been turned on full blast. The calendar this year has been a little bit out of whack so that we have back to back events with Whidbey and Rebecca. No problem, we can do it with generous amounts of coffee and beer to supplement on either end of the day.

I entered Whidbey because Boogie needed another BN run before he did the 5 year old class at  Rebecca. And it turned out be a really good decision. I loved the Whidbey course, it educated and built up confidence in us. The jumps were too small at times, but I think that it was very appropritate for the level. Boogie did a good test for dressage, clear on both xc and stadium to end up in 4^th place. My only comrade from Polestar was Lorane on Gogo. And sadly, after a great dressage test, she got popped off on jump 6 when Gogo left a little long and made a big effort. I loved his attitude the whole weekend, and I think that Lorane has a lot to look forward to….including sitting trot without stirrups!

I came home on Sunday and rode as many horses as I could, taught as many lessons as possible and then packed furiously to depart for Rebecca on Tuesday, 5 am. The biggest change this year from past years, is that Mark made the trip with us! At this very moment, he is off mountain biking at a local park that boasts lots of trails. We are planning on a trip to a ski resort tomorrow for some fun downhill.

The most notable thing about today was the heat and also it was Boogie’s 5 year old class. He was actually very good, despite being DFL. I ask you to look at that score with a little bit of understanding and less judgement because I always knew that this course might be too much for him, but thought that the experience was going to be a good one despite that. I thought his dressage was good – again for him, as he has only been in an arena twice before. His jumping was fantastic!!! But what really buried our score in the depths was the fact that he had lots of stops to look at everything. He is still green enough that ditches are no problem when they are BN size and also jump 10 on the course. This is a very abbreviated course that is super short and rides more like a show jumping course, the ditch was big and not 50 seconds into the course. We had quite a few stops, and apparently that is a judged component on the course. I thought that the idea was to judge the horse based on potential and talent, and not count stops. Obviously, I was mistaken! Despite that, I am really happy with the quality of Boogie’s jump over his fences. He was lofty and rideable when he understood. We all know that he has taken the long scenic path, nay actually he took the raft with broken paddles upstream both ways, towards his education. His girthiness is still a challenge, especially when we are in a new situation and environment but it is getting better. Sometimes the slow, winding path is the one that creates the best horse in the long run. I always tell myself that this is the most exciting horse Ive ridden in years, and I can wait a few more years to see his talents reach their peak.

I cant believe how time is zooming along. I am still complaining about the weather, while summer seems to be creeping up on us on the calendar only. I really wish summer would arrive in temperature as well.

That being said, we are starting to plan for a few fun events here at Polestar. Put July 21st on your calendar as EI Derby One Day event. The Event Flyer can be found here and the entry form: Entry Form July.

The event will be limited to one day, and we are sorry to say that we will have no stalls available. Please work out of your trailer.

Next, is the French Creek Derby on Sept 1st. We dont have the flyer and entry form available yet, but its in the works.

We look forward to seeing you here and using our schooling shows as prep for the recognized shows!

I am currently recovering from helping organize a schooling show at the Horse Park, and I am slowly realizing that it is high time that I gave back to the sport that I love. I am director of eventing for Equestrians Institute, a non-profit group whose focus is education and organization of shows. We put on recognized, and schooling shows for eventing, dressage and combined driving. My formal commitment to EI involves attending board meetings every month for spring, fall and winter. In the summer season we are swamped in show season and forego on the meetings, but exchange rapid and voluminous emails about how our summer season is progressing.

But a little logistics background first: I have been participating in events as a competitor since 1984, when I rode Zildjian in both of our first Novice event. BN was not offered back then, and I wouldn’t have even known the difference if it was.  Since then, I have ridden one one-star, 8 two-stars, 5-three stars and almost all of Rolex.  All of those FEI events were done at full format (except one) and I get dizzy with the number of horse trials that Ive ridden to qualify for those events. I think that I have easily ridden horses in 24 events per year for most of the last 12 years. That works out to at least 288 events since 2000. And at least 400 events since I first wore a pompom on my helmet in 1985.

My point is not to list my accomplishments, but rather, I would like to point out that I have been a rabid, drooling consumer of USEA eventing for the past 28 years. While I am horrified to calculate that number, I am also realizing that it is high time that I gave back to our sport. I happily accepted the EI position when Todd Trewin told me that it was an offer I just could not refuse (with twinkly eyes).  So far, for every year I have been a competitor, I have donated back less than one weekend of volunteer work.  That is terrible odds, but lets keep going with the numbers.  For every 7 days working in my barn, EI demands about 5 hours of emails, paperwork, and logistic planning. For every hour at show that we put on, I have to find 12 volunteers to join me in performing thankless jobs. But if I think that my schooling show was difficult, my head spins when I think about Jon and Suzy and their situation at Aspen Farm. Aspen Farm is in it’s 5^th year of running horse trials, and they will soon have BN – Advanced events twice yearly. Those two have probably quadrupled the amount of time giving back to the sport if they calculated time spent staining jumps, ordering ribbons, washing jump poles and dragging arena footing, just to name a few of the endless tasks that are needed when you host a high class event. I admire them for how they have given back in such a huge way.

While I am so excited about our schooling show that we are running here at the horse park, I am also overwhelmed when I think about the number of events that I personally have participated in the past, as well as the number of events that are hosted across the entire US every year. Maybe you don’t realize the volunteer effort that is needed, until you are ankle deep in it, but I am so grateful to be involved in a sport that has such a strong support base. Next time you are at an event… calculate the hours that it took for you to get there, and then look around you. How long did it take to set up the dressage arena? Who donated the flowers at each letter? Who washed and painted all those poles? Who is sitting behind that desk listening to people complain about how their trailer parking is too far from their stalls? Who packed 400 packets with papers and goodies?

Im not trying to guilt anyone, rather, I am trying to convey just how amazing our eventing sport is. Lets keep it this way. If you are only riding one horse at an event,  see if you can spare two hours to volunteer at the show at bit check. If you live nearby an event, ask a month ahead if they need help to prepare.

Its not much. Give back and you will get big karma points.