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AERC Convention
Reno, NV --- Feb. 1997
This convention marked the 25th anniversary of AERC. Attendance was good
with few open chairs during the seminars or general sessions. There were
over 100 exhibitors in the commercial area so it was easy to stock up
with goodies for the upcoming ride season. The Central region was well
represented in both numbers of people and enthusiasm during the awards
presentations on Friday.
The educational sessions were very well done. Dr. Grant's session on
lameness was great, the thing I came away with is that if you are
looking at a problem in one leg don't ignore the opposite side as there
is probably something going on there also. Dr. Scoggins talk on biting
was also very helpful in the area of mouth wounds. He stressed that
because of the amount of blood flow in the area many nasty problem will
heal if given care within 24 to 36 hours of occurrence. Ann Stuart DVM
gave many helpful hints about how to use massage therapy to prepare for
and correct minor problem during a ride.
This convention marked the last for Vonita Bowers as our president,
during her tenure in office she has served the organization and our
region well. Dane Frazier DVM from our region is the new president. The
other officers are; Stagg Newman Vice President, Louise Riedel
Secretary, Lynn Goleman Treasure.
There are several rule changes which will be distributed for comment in
upcoming editions of AERC News. These potential changes will be
addressed by the board at the mid-year meeting. These proposed changes
encompass the areas of Limited Distance and sanctioning of rides with
cash awards;
* The proposed changes in LTD are in several areas. The first would be
to change the time to reach finish pulse criteria at the end of the ride
from 30 to 15 minutes. This was proposed as a means of curtailing
excessive speed at the end of a ride. Second, would be to add specific
completion times for 25 and 35 mile events to the appendixes. The third
would be to exclude the hold time from the ride time i.e. you would have
a full 6 hours plus hold time to complete a 25 mile ride.
* The competition committee has proposed a significant addition to rule
11.8. Generally the rule change would add significantly more stringent
requirements to receive sanctioning of rides were prizes of over
$1,000.00 are given. [The changes would not effect currently sanctioned
events like IAHA Regional and National rides.] There would also be more
stringent rider and horse requirement to enter the new events. Riders
would need 1000 miles and a horse would need to have done five events
similar to the length being entered i.e. if it's a hundred mile race the
horse would need to have completed 5 100 mile rides, multi-day rides
would require 1000 mile for the horse.
The Limited Distance Committee recommend that the board instruct the
sanctioning directors to pay closer attention to the requirement of
sanctioning LTD rides. There are several regions where LTD's are
regularly held that are not sanctioned.
The AERC International committee prepared a letter to FEI that will be
jointly signed by AERC, AHSA, and USET regarding the sanctioning of
"Marathon Endurance Race". The letter will state that the aforementioned
organizations do not feel that the current FEI rules are adequate for
the protection of the horse and riders in these events. The letter will
go on to say that AERC, USET, and AHSA will not sanction the events in
the US. The "Marathon Endurance Races" are 42km [26 miles] in length and
have significantly less veterinary control than our LTD, 50 mile or 100
mile rides. This represents the first time these three organization have
combined to take a position on an issue relating to the world of
endurance.
The food was great and the skits were hilarious at the National Awards
Banquet Saturday night. A number of National awards went to riders and
horses from the Central region;
* Erma Cook and Tejanos Warrior received a 5th place awards in the
middle weight division of the National Championship Series.
* Linda Corry and Baskhari received a 6th place award in the light
weight division of the National Championship Series.
* Bernice Cruikshank and CA Sir Winston received a 7th place award in
the feather weight division of the National Championship Series.
* King Cub owned and ridden by Sue Phillips was named the American
Quarter Horse Association Endurance Horse of the Year.
[If I have missed someone who received an award Saturday night I
apologize as I have slept a few times since then]
This was a great event to learn more about our sport and to socialize
with riders from all over the country. Remember that the 1997 convention
will be in Lexington, KY. See you there.
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