January 2025

On the cover: West Region rider Ashley Sansome, DVM, MPVM, and her Decade Team Missouri Foxtrotter Barney’s Single Shot at the 2024 Rides of March. Dr. Sansome has 2,910 endurance/2,010 LD miles since 2008, while Barney, who turns 20 this year, has accumulated 1,255/500. Photo © Bill Gore of Gore/Baylor Photography.

Table of Contents

President’s Letter: Watch closely for online scams, by Nick Kohut, DVM

Vice President’s Message: Happy new year (once again), by Tami Rougeau

National Championship News: Biltmore how-to with Dr. Sleeper — interview of Meg Sleeper, VMD, by Stagg Newman

Junior/Young Rider News: Meet the junior: Susan M.

The Green Bean Scoop: A grateful Green Bean says thanks, by Hannah Blaasch, with a 2024 GB update from Griffin Keller

Ride Managers’ Forum: Webinars for ride managers, by Mollie Krumlaw-Smith

Features

Carving a Sustainable Trail in the Indiana Hills (Trails Post), by Alex Uspenski

After the Ride is Over (Veterinary Forum I), by Maureen Fehrs, DVM

The Finish Line Pull (Veterinary Forum II), first published in 1995, by Jeanne Waldron, DVM

February 2025

On the cover: Southwest Region rider Debra Freiberg, DVM, and her 10-year-old mare Mi Poetry (Tirzah) at last April’s Lead Follow Bumble Bee ride in Arizona. Dr. Freiberg has 2,065 endurance and 3,225 LD miles; Tirzah has 1460 endurance/330 LD. Photo © Linda Sherrill of Justus Photography, lindasherrill.com.

Table of Contents

President’s Letter: Mark the calendar for 2025 events, by Nick Kohut, DVM

Vice President’s Message: Your short- and long-term goals, by Tami Rougeau

Ride Managers’ Forum: New fund OK’d for 100-mile RMs, by Naomi Preston

Veterinary Forum: Lameness check: a vet’s viewpoint, by Lindsay Fisher, DVM

Junior/Young Rider News: Unsponsored juniors: a how-to, by Jan Stevens, with a sidebar by young riders on the pros and cons of riding unsponsored

Trails Post: More 2024 trail grant projects, by Dawn Hilliard

The Green Bean Scoop: A Green Bean journey to AERC, by Michelle DeBoer

Features

AERC Century Club: Patty Bratsberg & SFF Pyro+/: Meet the newest Century Club teammates

AERC Decade Teams 2024: Tributes from riders to their equine Decade Team partners

2025 AERC National Championships [note: cancelled] : The History – Long Distance Riding on the Biltmore Estate. Read about Biltmore’s rich trail history, by Elizabeth McLean, Cheryl Newman, and Stagg Newman, with a sidebar on what to expect on the Biltmore equestrian trails

March 2025

On the cover: Robert Ribley and his mare mule Perfecta at the 2024 Blackwater Boogie Ride in Florida. Robert and Melissa Ribley, AERC Hall of Fame inductees, have both ridden Perfecta – 1700 miles in nine years. Robert’s seventh on AERC’s all-time mileage list, with 40,667 endurance miles. Photo © Maria Phillips, mariaphillips.smugmug.com.

Table of Contents

President’s Letter: Assessing our progress, by Nick Kohut, DVM

AERC Hall of Fame Recipients

Treasurer’s Report, by Mollie Krumlaw-Smith

2024 Breed Awards

2024 3,000 Mile Horses

2024 National and Regional Awards

Rider and Equine Lifetime Mileage

2024 Year-End Statistics

April 2025

On the cover: Central Region rider Courtney Morrow and her 2019 Arabian gelding Red Velvetino at last May’s Last Hoorah! ride in Texas. Courtney competed on three horses in 2024; she has 755 endurance and 290 LD miles; “Copper” has 100 endurance and 130 LD miles. Photo © John Nowell, remuda.smugmug.com.

Table of Contents

President’s Letter: Import/export of horses, by Nick Kohut, DVM

The Green Bean Scoop: New level: Canned Beans, by Griffin Keller

Ride Managers’ Forum: A SafeSport rep for each ride site, by Mollie Krumlaw-Smith

Junior/Young Rider News: ‘We love our horses and we love riding’ by Alanna Frank

Veterinary Forum: The subtle signs of exertional myopathy, by Melissa Ribley, DVM

Features

Decade Team: Catching up with Siri Olson and EZ To B Perfect

Queen of the Night: How I Beat Night Riding Motion Sickness (Education Update) – Jo Christensen shares her method for overcoming night riding illness

Weiser River Rail Trail (Trails Post) – About the grassroots effort to convert 85 miles of rail corridor to riding trails in Idaho, by Karen Steenhof and Pam Haynes

A Member’s Story: An Unforeseen Drug Violation – A positive drug test came as a complete surprise in the Northwest Region

Recognition for Two Toms: Tom Sayvetz, MD, and Tom Sites – Tom (yes, another Tom) Hutchinson shares kudos given to two influential AERC members