At 26 days, Barbara Culbertson topped 2025’s list of Galway Downs Power Volunteers. And she enjoys volunteering so much, she may exceed that in 2026.
“I’m very grateful for the opportunity to volunteer at Galway,” Barbara says.
The 72-year-old horse woman began at Galway about one year ago. While watching a friend ride at the Fallbrook Riders Field, in San Diego County’s Fallbrook, Barbara met Jerri Lance. A long-time leader of Galway’s Volunteer Organizing Committee, Jerri never misses a chance to recruit new people. Barbara had volunteered at other venues over the years, so she was a prime candidate.
A Horse of Her Own
Barbara dreamed of having a horse as a young girl, but it didn’t happen until she bought one for herself at the age of 30. First her father, then her former husband, said “no.” So she made it happen for herself, even as a single mom working as a small animal veterinary technician.
“I grew up watching Sky King and Fury,” Barbara shares. “Horses were all I wanted to do, but it just never worked out.” When she was able to get her own horse, enjoying it and the lifestyle that comes with horse ownership became the hub of her social life.
A few years ago, she’d decided she’d had her last horse. Barbara gifted her 28-year-old Off The Track Thoroughbred mare back to its previous owner, a recent veterinary school graduate.
“I made it about 8 months, then decided I wanted to have a horse again,” Barbara explains. “I purchased a horse advertised to be 13 years old. But when the vet checked his microchip ID, it turned out he was a 7-year-old. So, I’m 72 now and I have a child!”
Fortunately, her horse, Love’s Therapy, aka “Vic,” is “pretty level-headed,” she continues. An incident involving a trailer set back their progress a bit, but Barbara is confident he will “be a lovely dressage horse.” They are recovering while riding around the boarding property where Vic lives near Barbara’s Moreno Valley home.
Relatable Roles
Barbara comes to Galway Downs with the perspective of having spent five years working for the Kentucky Horse Park, in Lexington, KY, and its Hall of Champions. The living exhibit is a retirement home for some of the world’s most famous equines – many of them racehorses.
Working there was a front row seat to beautiful horses that Barbara loved. And, it came along with chances to see the Kentucky Five Star Three Day Event, and to work through the World Equestrian Games held at the Kentucky Horse Park in 2010.
In Kentucky and in Temecula, Barbara delights in seeing people of all ages enjoy horses and horse sports. At the Hall of Champions, she especially loved seeing boys be breathtaken by the beautiful, retired champions they visited. At Galway, she’s blown away by young girls riding in the upper divisions and flying over fences she would never have imagined jumping herself.
As a volunteer, Barbara most enjoys managing the dressage warm-up ring or jump judging. She relates to many scenarios that unfurl in the warm-up ring. “I love to see their preparation and how they handle their nerves,” Barbara shares.
“There was one woman who was crying in the warm-up before going in. She was ready to quit, but she went in anyhow and rode an extremely good test. She came out beaming ear to ear. I know that fear of going in, and to see that transformation was awesome!”
Volunteer Incentives
In addition to being part of emotional moments like that, volunteering puts Barbara among good people and provides a front row seat to watching beautiful horses and riders pursue an exciting sport.
In 2025, she especially enjoyed watching fellow volunteer, and Volunteer Committee member, Laura Jaeger, excel with her horse Dondero in the USEA American Eventing Championships and the Eventing Championships at Galway Downs. Knowing and volunteering alongside Laura heightened the inspiration of seeing her succeed. That was one of many moments where a shared sense of success enhanced the volunteer experience.
“And to be honest, I get fed really well!” Barbara laughingly adds of the good care Galway is famous for giving its volunteers. She also appreciates the volunteer incentive program in which hours translate to credit for entries, schooling rounds and/or swag.
She wishes there was an option to transfer those credits to a single parent or veteran. Recalling her own days as a horse-owning single mom, that would have been really helpful, she shares.
Barbara encourages all to try volunteering. “Even if you don’t ride and don’t know anything about the sport, they are really good about teaching you. They’ll stick you with someone who is more experienced that you can learn from.” Even after her 26 days last year, Barbara says she has lots to learn about the sport rules and she looks forward to continuing to learn while helping out this year.
