AUGUST 15TH BULLETINS!!
DATELINE FLAGSTAFF, ARIZONA: Miki, Howard Shenk (520-749-1162)
will fax the announcement to you.
ZONE SQUAD ANNOUNCEMENTS: Miki, I have instructed the individual
zones to fax their squad announcements to you on or preferably
before the 15th.
NATIONAL NEWS
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(Please print separately as a display ad)
ELECTIONS!! The deadline for nominations to serve on the
International Committee is October 31, 1995. Interested members
please send your nomination to Chuck Gray, 4214 67th Dr., Union
Grove, WI 53182. (In small print) Elections will be held in
November by mail ballot. Persons who have been AERC International
members for over 3 months are eligible to vote.
________________________________________________________________
ATTENTION AERC INTERNATIONAL MEMBERS!! Do you have a genuine and
enduring interest in the future of all aspects of International
Endurance Riding? Can you make it a priority to attend just two
AERC International meetings a year? (A meeting is held at the
AERC Convention and typically at the North American Championship
in uneven years and at the mid year AERC board meeting in even
years.) Do you find yourself talking up International Endurance
Riding to friends and even perfect strangers? If you answered
YES to these questions, then you would make an excellent
representative to the International Committee from your Zone.
What are some of a committee member's responsibilities? 1)
Promote International Endurance Riding to interested American
riders and support endurance rides world wide. 2) Recommend AERC
International representatives to other appropriate organizations
such as AHSA, FEI, ELDRIC, USET, etc. 3) Help with elections by
encouraging qualified people you know of around the United States
to nominate for a committee position in their zone. 4) Oversee
selection of American squads for FEI Continental Championships.
5) Arbitrate disputes that may arise regarding selection or other
matters for a FEI Continental Championship. 6) Recommend sites
for North American and World Championship rides to be held in the
United States. 7) Appoint for your zone a Chairman of the
Selection Committee and a Chef d'Equipe. No, it is not written
in the by-laws that committee members do these jobs themselves.
International members are encouraged to nominate to both their
zone reps if they want to serve in either of these positions. 8)
For world championship competitions, the International Committee
will recommend a candidate as National Chef d'Equipe and a
candidate as National Selection Chairman to the USET Endurance
Committee.
1996 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP NEWS
"Know thy enemy." In truth a fellow competitor has never caused
you to have a poor performance or a failure to finish. Your true
foe is the trail. To beat it, you should know the trail well,
prepare for it, then ride your own ride. North American
competitors have the rare opportunity to know INTIMATELY the 1996
World Championship trail a year in advance.
THE ROAD TO THE CHAMPIONSHIP 50 AND 100 MILE RIDES (95 RTCR),
October 13-15, 1995 Rock Springs Ranch will be on the trail to be
used for the 1996 FEI WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP-ENDURANCE (96 WC-E),
September 17-22, 1996. The trail's start and finish will be at
the headquarters for the 95 RTCR and 96 WC-E, the Rock Springs
Ranch, 15 miles south of Junction City, Kansas. The headquarters
are in a beautiful setting of natural stone cabins which will
house up to 650 persons, variously sized meeting halls, 600 seat
auditorium, cafeteria, swimming pools and horse barns and
corrals. This should be a near perfect site for riders, crews
and officials for the rides.
Manhattan and Junction City are about 150 miles west of Kansas
City, and the trail will be in the Flint Hills south of these
cities. The trail will be included in an area south of
Interstate 70, east of Highway 77 and west of Highway 177.
Almost all of the trail will be on private range land. The
riders will start in a large open prairie pasture and after about
1/4 mile, the trail will join an old abandoned county road
heading east from the headquarters. The road is wide and has
excellent footing for the horses and riders, and this site will
provide an excellent vantage point for spectators and crews to
see the start and finish. After about 2 miles, the riders will
cross a 2-lane highway (Highway 77) and head across native
pastures east and north east. The trail will go across rolling
"flint hills" covered with native, blue-stem grasses on the upper
slopes and through wooded areas in the canyons. Much of the
trail will be "cross country," some will follow 2 track pasture
trails and very little will be on roadways.
Riders will have an opportunity to feel the excitement of the
open prairie just as did the Native American hunters, the
soldiers of the U.S. Cavalry and pony express riders about a
century earlier. There will be little or no repeat trail, only
short distances (less than 5 miles total) of gravel road, and no
paved roads. Both the 50 and 100 mile trails will be continuous
loops through the Flint Hills. The footing will be good, but the
lime-stone rocks and sheets on the upper edges of the slopes will
require good judgment and pacing in spots. None of the hills
will be more than a 1/2 mile climb, but the hills "just keep
coming," i.e. it is in rolling country. There will be ample
water in stock tanks, earthen dams and at additional sites along
the trail.
We are planning 5 veterinary check points along the trail. There
will be easy access to the veterinary check points for crews and
spectators. However, there will be restriction on access of
crews to sites along the trail.
There will be extra-fun events in association with the 1995 RTCR
and the 1996 WC-E ride. The Awards Ceremonies for the 1995 ride
will be combined with the Black Tie and Blue Jeans Ball, a fund
raising banquet with live entertainment (Wichita Linemen), silent
and live auctions and more! 1995 RTCR entrants are admitted
FREE.
The 1996 World Championship trail will be different from any of
the previous 5. It will be the closest to the "trail" used by
many of the forerunners of equestrian endurance, and it will be
exhilarating and challenging.
1995 NORTH AMERICAN UPDATE
As of August 1, 1995 the North American Championship was still
under the cloud of Vesicular Stomatitis (VS). To date there has
been only one premises quarantine in Arizona. The Federal task
force monitoring the disease has seen no new cases of late and is
seeing a slight downswing at this time. On August 15 the
Flagstaff organizing committee will announce if the event is a
"GO" or "NO GO" for 1995.
Due to the current situation, Howard Shenk, head of the
organizing committee, has worked out a plan with AHSA regarding
FEI passports. They have agreed to allow applicants to wait
until August 15 and then expedite the passport process to ensure
riders will have passports in hand in time for the North American
Championship.
Over the July 29th weekend, Dr James Bryant, Foreign Technical
Delegate, Dr. Jerry Gillespie, President of the Veterinary
Commission, and Dr. Mitch Benson, Veterinary Commission Member
and 1994 USA Team Veterinarian, inspected the barns and grounds
of the Flagstaff Riding Club. The trail, including the
modifications made since the 1994 preview ride, were also
inspected and approved. Dr. Gillespie said that it would be a
real shame if the ride can't happen this year because Flagstaff
is a spectacular venue and Howard Shenk has done an extraordinary
job of organizing the event.
ZONE NEWS
CENTRAL
from: Loise Reidel
As of August 1, 1995 the Central Zone squad (alphabetical) and
alternates (ranked) for the North American Championship are as
follows: SQUAD: Russell Broussard and Werbor's Sensation, Susie
Carlton and Grand Drubaska, Lynda Corry and Baskhari, Melissa
Crain and Whoa Jack, Nina Warren and Desert Ballad, Jan
Worthington and LM Mastermind. ALTERNATES: Ray Gehrig and
Rushcreek Luv, Mary Lou Rounds and ENM Eddie, Audrey Gehrig and
Czar Louis, Wendy Maas and Rushcreek Quasar, Darolyn Butler and
Albanet.
EAST
from: Debbie LaBerge
The East Zone squad has tremendous support behind them this year.
Thanks to the generous efforts of many people behind the scenes,
they have both financial and product sponsorship.
ARIAT is supplying each squad member with Ariat boots, half-
chaps, and fanny packs. For squad and crews Ariat is giving wind
breaker jackets, T-shirts, and water bottles. PATAGONIA is
supplying riding pants for the squad. MPI OUTDOORS is supplying
mylar rescue blankets for horses and riders. MARINE MINERALS is
supplying shirts with collars and caps for the riders. ADVANCED
BIOLOGICAL CONCEPTS is giving Power Plus products. SLYPNER is
offering horseshoes. XL PERFORMANCE is loaning to all riders
before and during the NA Championship, Equitemp On-Board
Temperature Probes.
Kanavy's held a weekend fund raiser. Mary Ann Wates and Chrissie
Unser held a pleasure ride fund raiser. Keith Byergo organized a
lecture series with Jeanie Waldron DVM, Debbie Gordon and Val
Kanavy to benefit the ETZ. Steve Rojek donated $1000 to the ETZ.
MOUNTAIN
from: Naomi Tyler
Mountain Zone nominees are having a strong showing at rides this
summer in preparation for Flagstaff. Our outstanding list of
riders currently includes: Whitney Bass, Karen Binns DiCamillo,
Cynthia Binns-Mendoza, Jerry Barfield, Beverly Gray, Clydea
Hastie, Linda Howard, Don Jacobs, Catherine Leaver, Carrie
Miracle, Patricia Murray, Tom Sites, Holly Ulyate, Kevin Waters
and Cheryl Winter.
In addition to keeping their horses happy and sound, Chef
d'Equipe Naomi Tyler is urging riders to make sure THEY are in
their best physical condition going into the Championship also.
"If you tail or do ground work with your horse during a
competition, make it one of your goals to be as fit as you can
for Flagstaff. And, if you don't perform well in the heat, get
out and train during the hottest part of the day. Be sure you,
the rider, are as fit as your horse."
PACIFIC NORTH
from: Tony Benedetti
The Pacific North nominees have rounded the final turn and are
headed down the home stretch to the 1995 NAC. The nominated
entries listed in alphabetical order are: Jim Brown and NL
Starfire (Rocket), Terry Huff and Rabau, Chris Knoch and NV Fifth
Avenue (Saxx), Ona Lawrence and Dandy McCoy, Alan Mitchell and TA
Flyte, Susie Morrill and McFyre Flyte, Susie Morrill and Shah
Zeter, Cassandra Schular DVM and WCM Magnet, Sandy Skinner and
Strikes Comment, Marcia Smith, DVM and On A High (Elvis), and
Joyce Sousa and Jim Bob.
A number of these horse and rider teams have shown their stuff at
the ROC and Tevis not to mention many other rides. They are all
well prepared and ready to race in Flagstaff. The Pacific North
wants to thank everyone who has supported our effort. We look
forward to fielding a competitive squad at the NAC and we are
going to have a great time doing it. If you are interested in
joining in the fun and getting some FEI experience, please call
Tony Benedetti, the Pacific North Chef d'Equipe, at (707)538-
8865.
PACIFIC SOUTH
from: Nancy Elliot DVM
Now that the demonstration rides are all done and the dust has
settled, we have nine horse/rider teams who are eligible for the
NAC. The list that the squad and alternates will be chosen from
is: Shirley Delsart/KJ Destination (with BC and 2nd place at
ROC!), Loretta Potts IVR Ranchy, Becky Glaser/Tio Tito, Barbara
Sanches/Calculator VA, Jeff Wall/Rushcreek Rawhide, Lyn
Abrams/Little Eli, Jack Enderle/Fad Silver, Debby Lyons/Shekh
Isa, and Dublin Hart/Comet's Brandywine. We just had a fun and
HOT get together for a pleasure ride and barbecue hosted by Ron
and Barbara Sanchez. Most of the nominees are looking forward to
riding together at the Swanton 100 as their last go before
heading to Arizona.
Teresa Cross, chef d'equipe, has all in order for a well
organized, and great team experience at the NAC, including a
"formal" team dinner and Grand Canyon trip. Dr. Jamie Kerr is
keeping everyone updated on the latest news regarding Vesicular
Stomatitis.
Our T-shirts sales have been brisk (everyone is going to want one
of these Judith Ogus designed shirts!) and sponsor contacts are
going well. The reigning Silver Medal Team will be looking
forward to further our collection of Team and Individual Medals,