February 2023
On the cover: Ansley “Pancake” McCabe heads to her first 75-mile finish under soggy skies with SAR Wileycoyotesmokes at the 2022 Mary and Anna Memorial Pioneer in Oregon. Wiley, owned by Ron Sproat, has 530 endurance miles and 290 LD miles. Ansley, now 16, has 225/250. Photo © Jala Neufeld, dktajay.smugmug.com.
Table of Contents
President’s Letter: Hello, new AERC board members, by Nick Kohut, DVM
Vice President’s Letter: Convention is coming! by Monica Chapman
Hot Topics: You’re invited to attend discussion sessions at the AERC convention, by John Parke
From the Archives: Endurance ride or race? by Loreley Stewart
Poem: The Endurance Rider, by Katheryn Rogers
Ride Managers’ Forum: More ideas for making rides fun, by Laura Horst
Trails Post: Sustainable trails, right at the start, by John Favro of American Trails
Junior/Young Rider News: Southwest Grands, with Effee Conner and Landon Cartrette, Maribel Paulson and Jeremiah Young, and Vivian O. Blevins and Jayden Blevins
AERC International News: Roadmap for AERC-I in 2023
The Green Bean Scoop: Green Bean ’22 awards, by Griffin Keller
Features
AERC Century Club – Meet new Century Club members Dorothy Foster and Dancers American Beauty, with a bonus poem by Dorothy
Treatment: It Happens (February Veterinary Forum) – Be prepared for the event that your equine needs treatment at a ride; this article explains what to do in case it happens, by Jeanette Mero, DVM
Riding in Sync With Your Horse, Part 2 (Education Update) – Beyond the neutral pelvis, here are ways to check your saddle and think “light wrists” and “meet and meld,” by Naomi Preston
Are You Really Prepared for Traveling? Nancy Mitts ran into trouble on the road and found that the best help was a fellow endurance rider (namely, Gunnar Frank)
Ask the AERC Members: Favorite rides of 2022, skills to improve in 2023, and hints for this year’s NCs by AERC riders
The Four Seasons of Endurance Riding – A reprint of Angie McGhee’s classic reflection on the seasons of the endurance year