Pony Patrol Volunteer

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Pony Patrol Volunteers work in concert with park staff and the Horse Management Team to manage wildlife and visitor interactions at Assateague Island National Seashore. These Volunteers provide important safety and educational messaging to visitors about maintaining a proper distance from park wildlife with an emphasis on the wild horses. This volunteer work is physically difficult and may require long periods of time walking on or standing in deep sand or on paved surfaces. Volunteer staff patrol with an electric golf cart or on bicycles in all types of weather including extreme heat and rain. Interactions with the public are required.

Volunteers conduct Pony Patrols throughout the developed area, including park roadways, bike trails, campgrounds and major parking lots. The State Park day use parking lot is included, but not the State Park campground. The Volunteer will travel by bicycle, golf cart or on foot; personal vehicles may not be used. The Volunteer must contact visitors and/or intervene when feeding, petting or close proximity (less than 40 ft.) to the horses occurs. The Volunteer’s primary purpose is to provide visitors with a safety message for observing horses at a safe distance. Volunteer’s may also provide general information about the horses and park resources or direct visitors to the visitor center or park website for answers. Volunteer’s may be required to move horses from roads and campsites under certain circumstances and provide traffic control when "pony jams" occur. Pony Patrol Volunteers must be patient and tactful at all times. Volunteers will be trained in customer service skills and identifying aggressive horse behavior (biting, kicking and charging). A minimum work schedule of one four-hour shift per week, June through August is required. Safety equipment including Class 2 traffic safety vest, park radio, and volunteer uniform including shirt, ball cap and name tag is provided.

Start Date - 2023-04-04

End Date - 2023-12-21

Activities include: Conservation Education;Fish/Wildlife;Science;Tour Guide/Interpretation;Visitor Information

Difficulty_Level: Strenuous

Hosts Housing Amenities: No Housing/Amenities Available