BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEETING August 23, 1996

Lexington, Kentucky.

These minutes have not been approved. Watch Endurance News for corrections.

The meeting was called to order at 9:00 a.m. by president Vonita Bowers. Also answering to roll call were Lynn Golemon, David Clinton, Susan Kasemeyer, Jim Baldwin, Brad Patterson, Terry Huff, Amy Whelan, Courtney Hart, Stagg Newman, Lawrence Kanavy, Earle Baxter, Dane Frazier, Mike Tomlinson, Jan Worthington, Steve Johnson, Louise Riedel, and executive director Miki Morrison.

L. Riedel, Secretary, reported that minutes of the annual meeting had been approved. It was felt that printing the minutes in Endurance News with the disclaimer that the minutes had not yet been approved resulted in a more timely publication and should be continued.

Treasurer’s Report. L. Kanavy went over the financial report item by item. He announced

that a certificate of deposit paying 3.5% interest had been purchased from checking account funds. All cancelled checks are being sent to the treasurer for his verification. He suggested that it probably is not always necessary to have a review (at a cost of $3500) or an audit (at a cost of $5000) on alternate years. In light of the fact that the treasurer is in effect reviewing all of our current assets and income statements, L. Golemon moved to suspend having an audit this year. B. Patterson seconded. Motion carried. (The policy of having either a review or audit each year will continue unless the board in the future votes to suspend.) L. Kanavy will prepare a consolidated financial statement for publication.

L. Kanavy reported having recieved a letter from ELDRIC (the European endurance

organization) stating that we owed dues to this organization for the past 4 years. He does not feel this is a valid expense. C. Hart listed some advantages in retaining a tie with ELDRIC. L. Kanavy will correspond with them suggesting a complimentary exchange membership. The matter will be referred to the International Committee. B. Patterson moved to approve thetreasurer’s report. S. Newman seconded. Motion carried unanimously.

National Office Report. M. Morrison, executive director, reported on the AERC charge

card as offered by MBNA. This arrangement will furnish $1.00 per approved application plus $.20 per transaction to AERC. The process is underway, but is behind schedule. It is MBNA’s responsibility to promote this program. She presented a new brochure listing the benefits of AERC membership.

She inquired as to the possibility of producing a 1997 membership directory. B.

Patterson moved, S. Kasemeyer seconded to produce such a directory that will list

members alphabetically by name, region, and state in the first section, and then

by region and state with addresses in the second section. This booklet will be sold

for $5.00 each, and should be available at convention. Motion carried unanimously.

New ride managers’ insurance is being investigated. Questions had been raised at previous boardmeetings concerning Trail committee funds. The director searched old records and could find no trace of Trail committee funds being deposited in a special account.

1998 Convention--to be held at this hotel (Hyatt Regency in Lexington KY) which is

connected to the convention center where the trade show and meetings will be held and to other hotels by indoor walkways. The Lexington convention bureau will have a promotional booth at the AERC 1997 convention.

T. Huff moved to move the convention out of Reno every 4th year to a site east of the Rockies instead of the present plan of every 5th year east of the Mississippi. B. Patterson seconded. After discussion the motion was withdrawn.

Endurance News - The policy of not printing photos of riders who are not wearing helmets will be adhered to. M. Tomlinson suggested that articles promoting helmet use be printed. M. Morrison suggested that a new questionnaire be produced.

1997 will be the 25th anniversary of AERC. Nina Gibson was appointed to chair a

committee for the promotion of the anniversary at convention. C. Hart previewed some of the plans and speakers for convention.

B. Patterson referred to difficulties he and others have encountered in receiving mail from the national office. M. Morrison explained how requests are processed.

Technical Support Committee. M. Tomlinson reported that new computer hardware has

been purchased rather than being leased. The systems are working well. It is now possible for the computer to produce automated mailing of patches, certificates and ride results in Endurance News. The committee is working on a 5-year plan and reviewing the software contract.

Protest and Grievance Committee. Jim Rogan reported that the first protest of the year

has just been received and the committee will begin considering it..

Ride Managers’ Committee. Paulette Brehob has been in contact with ride managers in

various regions, and has written a monthly article in Endurance News. She inquired what

options there are to deal with poor rides. S.Johnson suggested having a ride managers’ booth at committee which would be concerned with matters such as trail marking, entry forms, etc.

The meeting broke for lunch and reconvened at 2:00 p.m.

Hall of Fame Committee. S. Newman reported having met with the committee Friday evening.They felt that it may be appropriate at some time to induct more than one candidate.

Sanctioning Committee - L. Riedel reported, in the absence of Randy Eiland, that the

committee had met Friday evening. They discussed the situation where a limited distance ride was being put on the day after the sanctioned endurance ride. The Limited distance committee will present a motion on this issue. They also discussed the 120-90 day requirement for time limits for sanctioning requests to be received. It was the consensus that this plan be adhered to. Any possible exceptions concerning late submissions will be based on an agreement between the sanctioning director and the executive director. Emergency situations concerning sanctioned rides will be referred to the Executive Committee.

International Committee - A written report had been received from Chuck Gray. The new Procedural Manual has been sent to all International members. The error pertaining to the conflict of interest policy has been corrected and that new page will be sent to the membership.

Deadline for nominations for zone representatives is October 31. T. Hoff moved to approve the AERC International logo. Motion seconded and carried unanimously.

Awards Committee - The executive director announced that jackets have been chosen.

Scoring for the national best condition award was remanded to the Competitions Committee.

Rules Committee - A question has arisen about points for the junior division. present

there must be a full class of 6 juniors for a junior to receive full points. This does not apply to weight divisions. C. Hart moved to give full points to juniors even though there is not a full class. (same as senior weight divisions). However the total number

riders entered in the ride must be 11. To be effective for 1977 ride season. (This

change is dependent on there not being a serious financial impact.) Motion carried unanimously.

C. Hart moved that the following be passed to replace Rule 13.1.

AERC DRUG TESTING SUPPLEMENT!

A. Upon discovery of the presence of such drug or medication, approved laboratory shall

immediately report the matter to AERC. Any action or substance administered internally or externally, whether drugs or otherwise, which may interfere with the testing procedure, or mask or screen the presence of such drug, is forbidden.

B. Presence of such medication or drug in an equine participating in an AERC sanctioned event shall be grounds for review by the Protest and Grievance committee with input of the Veterinary Committee.

D. Every entrant shall, upon request of an AERC approved veterinarian, permit a specimen of urine, saliva, blood or other substance to be taken for testing; and refusal to comply with such request shall constitute grounds for immediate disqualification of the equine/rider from further participation in that day’s ride and shall bar the equine/rider from participation in future AERC sanctioned events for such period as determined by the Protest and Grievance committee.

Motion carried unanimously.

C. Hart moved that rule 11.8.2. be changed to read "the name of the steward should be

submitted by the ride manager at time of sanctioning, reviewed by both regional directors, and submitted to the executive committee for final approval. A Regional director may not participate in the selection process if he/she has a conflict of interest." To be effective in 1977. A packet of rules and information will be sent directly to the steward. Motion carried with 15 in favor and one abstention.

Competitions Committee S. Johnson reported that a proposal for a new award was not

considered and will remain on the table for the next meeting. The proposal to change the name of the championship series was refused. S. Johnson moved to include 3-day rides in the Pioneer award. Only one multi-day ride may go on at any one time. The rider

must complete the ride in its entirety as it is sanctioned (i.e. not 3 days of a

5-day event) To be effective in 1997. Motion carried unanimously.

The committee ruled that in the national series, if a rider is pulled on one of the first 2 rides and then rides another regional ride, he/she may ride the final ride for double points, but the ride on which he/she was pulled will count as one of the 3 required rides.

S. Johnson moved that the following criteria be adopted for the National Series

Championship:

1. Entry qualification. Enries in the National Series Championship (hereinafter NSC) must.have 400 lifetime miles for the horse and rider team.

2. Ride Selection: Each region shall host a NSC to be slected by that region’s AERC Regional

directors. The selection will be approved by the (1) Competition committee, and the (2)

Executive Committee.

3. Fees: There will be no extra ride fees to compete, nor special veterinarian employment

requirements.

4. Veterinary Criteria: AERC Rule 6 shall apply, with the following additiional requirement: SYNCHRONOUS DIPAHRAGMATIC FLUTTER (thumps) must not be present at the time of the required veterinary examination for ANY check point, including post-ride examination or will result in disqualification.

5. Declaration of Rides: Riders. Each rider shall submit in writing (to the AERC office) all NSC rides completed. This list may be submitted any time, but must be postmarked not later than December 5 of the current calendar year.

6. Points. Each rider may compete in any or all of the eight NSC rides. Howeve, only the best 3 placement’s points will be tabulated for Final National standings. Points will be based on overall placement in the ride (rather than against only NSC riders).

7. Awards: Top ten awards shall be provided in all divisions for the NSC final point standings, and will be presented at the National AERC Convention. Motion passed unanimously.

The national office will attempt, to publish a list of the qualified equine/rider teams.

The NSC rides scheduled at this time are:

West - Tevis - July 19; Central - Poetry Fantasy Flight - September 14; Midwest -Grand

island - May 23; Southeast - Long Leaf II - Nov 8; Northeast - Flesherton-Duntroon –November 8; Mountain, Southwest and Northwest - not announced.

C. Hart questioned whether the Tevis should be a NSC ride because of their weight

requirements of 165 Ibs. to compete for top 10. The decision is up to the competitions and executive committees. A straw vote showed 13 -2 with one abstention in favor of using the Tevis.

A discussion followed as to whether nerved equines should be allowed to compete. Remanded to Veterinary committee.

The American Association of Equine Practitioners (AAEP)has requested that endurance rides graded. The committee did not approve this request. J. Baldwin will notify the AAEP.

Rule 1.3.1 which deals with emergency changes in ride mileages was remanded to Rules

Committee.

B. Patterson moved that a Rookie of the Year award be established as follows: An

annual award to the rookie rider who completes the most rides on one equine in one season. A rookie rider is defined as an AERC member who has completed fewer than 250 miles prior to the current ride season. In the event in a tie of mileage the winner will be the rider with the greatest number of completions. In the event there is still a tie the winner will be the rider with the highest completion percentage. B. Patterson will pick up the cost for the first 5 years of the standing trophy as well as the awarded plaque or trophy. Motion seconded. Defeated 9-7.

S. Newman moved that this proposal be presented to the membership in Endurance

News with possible implementation in1998. S. Kasemeyer seconded. Motion passed

unanimously, Pro and con statements will appear along with the proposal in Endurance News..

.Limited Distance Committee. Rule 1.4 states limited distance rides .... must be...held in

with an AERC sanctioned endurance ride. B. Patterson moved “that the following

be inserted after the words "conjunction with: ...” within an adjacent 24-hour time

time period.” Motion carried unanimously.

The committee voted to retain rule 1.4.1 which states "Limited Distance rides must be at least 25 miles but most exceed 35 miles."

There are no ride times set for limited distance rides. B. Patterson moved that the following be added to Rule 5.2 "6 hours for 25 miles." Included with this addition, in Appendix A, times for 25, 30 and 35 mile distances will be added to the chart of Maximum Ride Times Motion carried unanimously.

He also moved the following: In rule 1.4.8 delete #5.3 from list of exclusions. This rule

which states "Riding time is the time used by the competitors to complete the course, excluding all hold time, and is the time used for AERC ride results." will apply to limited distance rides D. Frazier reminded us that any time committees wished to make rule changes, they should coordinate with the Rules Committee. The above motion will be remanded to the Rules committee.

The following rule changes: 1.4.7.3. to change recovery time from 30 to 15 minutes; and in rule 1.4.8. to delete #6.2.1.5 and substitute 6.2.1.2 will also be remanded to the Rules

Committee.

Brad suggested printing a more complete fee schedule to be sent to ride managers as an

additional sheet to be included in the ride managers packet and to be furnished to sanctioning directors.

Education and Safety Committee. C. Hart proposed articles on colic and electrolytes for the endurance News. He demonstrated a safety-release snap.

Veterinary Committee - M. Morrison announced that as of now (8/29/96) that the protocol is in place, drug testing will commence. Sixteen rides have been chosen at random.

The committee will consider a recommendation concerning pulse rates, in light of a ride that required a pulse recovery of 48.

J. Worthington requested that the veterinary and rules committees consider the instances of ride criteria being changed between the pre-ride riders’ meeting and the finish. C. Hart

suggested that more definitive criteria be set down in the section on finishing criteria. The vet and rules committee will address this problem and report at the annual meeting.

C. Hart moved that a sub-committee of the Education committee be formed to prepare a questionnaire for present members and members who did not re-join

this year. L. Kanavy seconded. Motion carried unanimously. D. Clinton offered to tabulate the results. The chairperson is C. Hart, L. Kanavy and d. Clinton will serve.

Special Events Sanctioning. Barbara McCrary has requested sanctioning for the second

year of the Applegate Lassen ride. C. Hart moved to approve, E. Baxter seconded. Motion carried unanimously.

An application was submitted by B. Patterson for a 5-day ride in the Rocky Mountain National Park to be held August 4 - 8 of 1997. S. Newman moved that the board consider this ride for approval as expeditiously as possible after the steward’s report on the

National Finals ride which will be managed by B. Patterson. L. Golemon seconded

Motion carried with 1 abstention.

Lengthy discussion ensued on the subject of numerous ride infractions. It was pointed out that sanctioning directors are empowered to and should maintain the rules and standards of AERC when sanctioning rides. S. Newman moved that L Golemon compose a strong letter dealing with this subject from the Board to be printed in the Endurance News.

C. Hart seconded. Motion carried unanimously. Lynn will submit the letter to the Board before publishing.

President Bowers reported on actions taken by the Executive Committee since the last

meeting: namely, approving Maggy Price’s trip to the ELDRIC meeting; approving emergency date changes for 2 rides; appointing Emmett Ross as ride steward for the ROC.

T. Huff moved to adjourn at 7:30 p.m.

Louise Riedel, Secretary