Is Gymkhana Tracker really free?

Yes. Gymkhana Tracker is available free to nonprofit riding clubs.

There is no subscription fee, per-rider charge, setup fee, or required donation. A club should not have to choose between better event-day tools and protecting a limited volunteer-run budget.

Optional ways to support the project may be offered separately, but financial support is not required to use Gymkhana Tracker.

How are you able to keep it free?

Gymkhana Tracker is an independently developed project rather than a traditional commercial software product.

Development and maintenance are contributed directly, and hosting costs are currently kept modest by using a simple, efficient technical architecture. Optional donations may eventually help offset hosting, domain, and infrastructure expenses, but access for nonprofit riding clubs is not dependent on donations.

Keeping the project focused also helps control costs. Gymkhana Tracker is designed specifically around riding-club gymkhana workflows rather than trying to become a general-purpose event platform.

Who develops and maintains Gymkhana Tracker?

Gymkhana Tracker is developed and maintained by Paul F. Carlson, a longtime information-technology professional and member of the riding-club community.

The project combines decades of experience designing and supporting business systems with firsthand exposure to the practical realities of registration, scribing, announcing, results, and volunteer-run gymkhana events.

Gymkhana Tracker is an independent project. It is not backed by a large software company or staffed support organization.

Why can't I just sign up and start using the application?

Gymkhana Tracker is designed around each club's own event structure, including seasons, rider classes, event types, eligibility rules, points configuration, records, memberships, and operating procedures.

That means onboarding requires more than creating a username. Before a club begins using the application, its configuration needs to be reviewed and set up carefully so registration, run order, scribing, results, and standings reflect how that club actually operates.

This guided onboarding also helps prevent clubs from discovering configuration problems in the middle of an event.

A self-service signup process may be considered later, but only if it can preserve the same level of accuracy and reliability.

Will you come out to our club and help us set it up?

In many cases, initial setup and training can be handled remotely through planning conversations, demonstrations, documentation, and guided configuration.

On-site assistance may be possible for clubs within a reasonable distance of Colorado Springs, Colorado, depending on scheduling and the needs of the club. It should not be assumed to be included or always available.

The goal is to create an onboarding process that clubs can follow confidently without depending permanently on in-person support.

As the project matures, the website will include more setup guides, volunteer instructions, event-day checklists, and training materials.

Who are you?

I'm Paul F. Carlson, the developer and maintainer of Gymkhana Tracker.

I spent nearly thirty-five years working in information technology, designing, implementing, and supporting complex systems. I am also involved with riding-club gymkhana events, including volunteer roles such as announcing and supporting event operations.

Gymkhana Tracker grew from seeing how much work club volunteers do behind the scenes and how easily important information can become scattered across forms, spreadsheets, paper, and individual knowledge.

The project is my attempt to build something practical, dependable, and genuinely useful for nonprofit riding clubs.

Are you going to verify that my club is actually nonprofit?

No. I will take your club at its word.

Gymkhana Tracker is offered free to nonprofit riding clubs, and access is based on the honor system. One principle of the Cowboy Code says, “When you make a promise, keep it.” That is the standard behind this policy: clubs requesting access are trusted to be honest about who they are.