American Endurance Ride Conference

BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEETING

held via telephone conference call

June 6, 2005

 

President Stagg Newman called the meeting to order at 6:03 pm.  Also on the line for the call:  Vice President Mike Maul, Secretary Jan Jeffers, Treasurer Patti Pizzo, Vonita Bowers, Mike Jaffe, Roberta Harms, Connie Caudill, Jan Stevens, Bob Morris, Terry Woolley Howe, John Parke, Susan Kasemeyer, Duane Barnett, Randy Eiland, Roger Taylor, Barney Fleming, Jerry Fruth, Laura Hayes, Dinah Rojek, Mike Tomlinson, and Executive Director Kathleen A. Henkel.  Absent:  Howard Kent, Stan Eichelberger, Gail Williams, Nick Warhol, and Robert Ribley.

 

It was moved by Bob Morris and seconded by Mike Maul to excuse Howard Kent (traveling), Robert Ribley (traveling), Nick Warhol (traveling) and Gail Williams (family emergency) from this evening’s meeting.  Motion passed.

 

It was moved by Roger Taylor and seconded by Bob Morris to excuse Vonita Bowers and Jan Stevens from the May 2, 2005 meeting.  Motion passed.

 

The Office Membership report as set forth (****) below was discussed, showing an increase from last year of approximately 250 members.  Ride entries were not measured in the same manner in past years however over time this information will prove useful.  Over time President Newman would like additional metrics developed so we will know at a glance the health of the organization.

 

President Newman thanked Bob Morris for his report from the Research Grants Committee and publicizing the information in the magazine for the membership to review. 

 

Mike Maul presented a motion from the Technical Committee regarding member access to the AERC database as follows: 

 

Motion: That approved AERC members be allowed restricted access to the
AERC database subject to the conditions following:

1.  Data access will be only to information that is not private.
Examples of information that would not be available are DOB, membership
directory unlisted phone/address, work phone numbers, office notations,
date of first membership, and family relationship.  All other membership
information is already available to members from the online member's
directory.

2.  Members would have to apply for access to the database and their
access logged online.  Access would be thru a password protected system.

3.  Members would have to provide a statement of what the analysis would
cover and the potential benefit to the AERC membership.

4.  The results of their analysis would have to be reported to the BoD,
any appropriate committee, and published in EN if appropriate.

5.  Appropriate committees would be notified of the proposed study so
that they could ask if the study could include some questions related to
the committee interests.

6.  Users would have to agree not to use the access for any commercial
or private use.  They could not publish in another publication w/o AERC
approval.  They would not share access with any other individuals.

7.  Limited to Dec. 1995 to present so database is reliable and accurate.

8.  Require a disclaimer on results that this does not represent an
official view by AERC.

The Tech Committee would receive proposals from the membership and
submit those that passed initial screening to the BoD for approval.

 

Motion passed. 

 

Jan Jeffers presented a motion for adoption of an AERC Volunteer Service Award.  This award is established to honor an AERC member who has devoted an extraordinary amount of volunteer effort, time and service on behalf of the AERC.  This award may not be given every year.

Nominations are made by members to the Hall of Fame Committee.  The recipient of this award shall be announced at the annual awards banquet.  The recipient shall receive a keepsake plaque of such quality as to underscore the value placed on volunteer efforts by members of the AERC.  The Award shall be presented by either the President or Vice President of the AERC.

 

John Parke made a motion to amend the volunteer service award by adding the following sentence:  The award recipient to receive a lifetime membership in AERC.  Motion to amend seconded by Bob Morris.   Bob Morris called for the question and the amendment to include lifetime membership as part of the award. 

Roll call vote taken with 8 voting Yes in favor of including the lifetime membership and 12 voting No, as follows:  Mike Maul-Yes; Jan Jeffers-Yes; Patti Pizzo-No; Vonita Bowers-No; Mike Jaffe-No; Roberta Harms-No; Connie Caudill-No; Jan Stevens-No; Bob Morris-Yes; Terry Woolley Howe-Yes; John Parke-No; Susan Kasemeyer-No; Duane Barnett-No; Randy Eiland-No; Roger Taylor-Yes; Barney Fleming-No;

Jerry Fruth-Yes; Laura Hayes-Yes; Dinah Rojek-Yes; Mike Tomlinson-No.  Amendment to the motion failed.

 

Bob Morris called for the question and voting for the motion as written followed:  AERC Volunteer Service Award:  This award is established to honor an AERC member(s) who has devoted an extraordinary amount of volunteer effort, time and service on behalf of the AERC.  This award may not be given every year. This award will be available to be presented for the 2006 ride year.


Nominations are made by members to the Hall of Fame Committee.  The recipient of this award shall be announced at the annual awards banquet.  The recipient shall receive a keepsake of such quality as to underscore the value placed on volunteer efforts by members of the AERC.  The Award shall be presented by either the President or Vice President of the AERC. 

 

Motion passed.

 

Sanctioning Committee Chair Vonita Bowers advised she has two rides that need approval of the board.  The committee approves of both rides.  Desert Gold Pioneer ride, 11/25, 26, & 27/05, West Region, with Scott Sansom as the ride manager with a location listed as Fort Ord, CA.  This ride takes place on the same weekend as another pioneer ride, the Silver State Pioneer, in the neighboring Pacific Southwest Region.  Randy called for the question and a roll call vote was requested with 7 voting not to accept sanctioning of this ride and 13 voting for approval of the sanctioning.  Motion passed – ride approved.  Mike Maul-Yes; Jan Jeffers-Yes; Patti Pizzo-Yes; Vonita Bowers-Yes; Mike Jaffe-Yes; Roberta Harms-Yes; Connie Caudill-Yes; Jan Stevens-Yes; Bob Morris-No; Terry Woolley Howe-No; John Parke-No; Susan Kasemeyer-Yes; Duane Barnett-Yes; Randy Eiland-No; Roger Taylor-No; Barney Fleming-No; Jerry Fruth-No; Laura Hayes-Yes; Dinah Rojek-Yes; Mike Tomlinson-Yes.

 

The LBL Express Pioneer ride, first year pioneer, April 6, 7, 8, 2006, SE Region, with Diane Fruth listed as ride manager and location indicated as Cadiz/Golden Pond, KY.  Motion passed for approval of the ride with Jerry Fruth abstaining. 

 

The Western States Trail Foundation ride submitted a sanction request for their ride in the 2006 ride season, 100-mile ride taking place on August 5, 2006, West Region, with qualifications listed as 300 rider competition miles at the time of application, which is an increase of 150 miles from last year’s sanction request.  Motion carried.

 

Patti Pizzo requested all budget requests from committees be submitted by July 1, 2005, with a description of how the money will be utilized.

 

President Newman asked the board to get involved in email discussions regarding the re-examination of Rule 13.

 

Roger Taylor’s BLM report and the Trail Committee proposal voting postponed until the next meeting.

 

Laura Hayes, chair of the Horse Welfare Committee, requested the equine fatality reports regarding the NASTR, Oregon Outback, and Western States 50 rides occurring in the 2004 season, be appended to these minutes.

 

Mike Maul moved and Vonita Bowers seconded to adjourn.

 

Meeting adjourned at 7:27 p.m.

 

Respectfully submitted,

 

Jan Jeffers, Secretary

 

Committee Reports

 

AERC International Report

Submitted by Kathy Brunjes

6/1/05

 

Conference Call meeting of May 30, 2005.

Attendance:    Kathy Brunjes, Chair

                        Mark Dial,Vice-Chair          

Art Priesz, USEF High Performance Chair

                        Tom Johnson, Nat’l Chef d’Equipe

                        Amanda Taylor, Recording Secretary

                        Betty Baker, Treasurer, East

                        Linda Strelnik – Mountain

                        Carol Giles – Pacific North

                        Teresa Cross – Pacific South            

           

Absent:           Stagg Newman, AERC President

                        Mike Tomlinson, AERC Past-President, USEF Tech. Committee

Mary Lutz, USEF Endurance Dir.

Russell Broussard, Past AERC-I Chair

Grace Ramsay, Sue Phillips - Central

Julie Bullock – East

Holly Ulyate - Mountain

                        Michele Roush – Pacific North

                        Tinker Hart – Pacific South

                        Skye Priesz, AERC-I Editor

                        Susan Kasemeyer, AERC Liaison and Educ.Chair

 

Items Discussed:  For informational purposes only – no action by BoD required.

1.   Betty would like to send the sponsorship money previously agreed upon to the Organizing Committee of the NAEC now, rather than wait until a date closer to the event.   Those members present agreed that the funds should be sent now; Betty will request check from the AERC office.

  1. Betty asked the committee if they would consider co-sponsoring the Competitor’s Party at the NAEC; USA-East has been asked by the OC to host this event.  Kathy asked Betty to submit a written request from USA-East for consideration at the next AERC-I meeting (June 27).
  2. 2007 PanAms:  Mary Lutz has been in contact with Myna Cryderman about placing a bid to hold the 2007 PanAms.  Myna has shown interest, and is looking at a different site (from the 1999 Manitoba site).
  3. Skye Priesz has agreed to institute an electronic newsletter for AERC-I members; looking at a July or August start-up date.  One of the first items in the newsletter will be on the flu vaccinations and booster schedules and the 2006 FEI requirements.
  4. Art gave a USEF update:  approximately 74 riders with 120 horses have nominated to date for the 2006 WEG, endurance championships. They are expecting a few nominations still to come in, due to the postal system.  The pre-ride for Aachen is scheduled for the same weekend as Ft. Howes; it looks as if we will field a 3-4 member Team from the U.S. (Val Kanavy, Hal Hall, Alexandra Wintersteen and Marcia Smith).  Ann Stuart will be there as Team Vet, Tom Johnson (Chef d’ Equipe) and Mary Lutz. 
  5. Art will draft a response letter addressing Ed Hauser’s concerns with the FEI Judicial Committee’s ruling on the positive drug tests on the first-to-finish horse at the 2005 WEC.  Art informed the committee that Sheik Hazza has filed a protest, and there should be some ruling and finalization of the issue by the end of June. 
  6.  Betty gave an update on the NAEC trail and stabling; Sue and Betty will be providing information about the course and the schedules in an article for the July issue of EN.  Holly Ulyate is also contributing an article for the July issue of EN on what the various “International” organizations are, and how they are related.
  7. The request made by an AERC member to review omeprazole (gastroguard) has been referred to the AERC Veterinary Committee; it is the AERC-I Committee’s understanding that this individual is now seeking a review of AERC Rule 13.
  8. The AERC-I committee members will wear identifying shirts at upcoming dual-sanctioned rides; it was decided this would be a good way for AERC members to recognize International committee members.  These shirts will also be worn at AERC events (i.e.: Convention).
  9. During the Open Discussion part of the meeting, the committee discussed ways to support our off-continent riders; funding, especially for junior riders wanting to ride in the European Junior Championships is an issue.  Art reported that this issue has come up at the High Performance and Federation level, and the question is how does the grass roots organization support the sport and its riders off continent?  The AERC-I Committee will pursue this discussion at its June meeting.

 

***** Office Membership Report

6/6/05

 

2005 Members YTD  (6/6/05 6218 (3157 singles & 1388 families totaling 3061 members)

 

2004 Members YTD (6/3/04) 5985 (2952 singles & 1376 families totaling 3033 members)

 

 

2005 Ride entries entered in Tomcat YTD (6/6/05) 7354 starters with 6343 finishing

2005 Ride entries entered in Tomcat as of 4/29/05 3873 starters with 3334 finishing

 

           

AERC Veterinary Committee Report

Submitted by Melissa Ribley, Chair

May 19, 2005

 

1)      A current veterinary committee has been formed:

Melissa Ribley, DVM    Chair

Central  – Todd Holbrook, DVM

Southwest  – Barney Fleming, DVM

Mountain  – Dave Nicholson, DVM

West  - Jamie Kerr, DVM

Midwest – Trisha Dowling, DVM

Northwest – Olin Balch, DVM

Pacific Southwest – open

Southeast – Ann Stuart, DVM

Northeast – Nick Kohut, DVM

Appointed:

Jim Bryant, DVM

Thomas Timmons, DVM

Jeannie Waldron, DVM

Gary Carlson, DVM

Wes Elford, DVM – Horse Welfare Committee Liason

Laura Hayes, non-veterinary member

2)      The committee has added to the Veterinary Handbook and the Veterinary portion of the AERC website a checklist to be used by head veterinarians.  This checklist will guide the head veterinarian through their responsibilities and assist in preparation for the ride.

3)      A conference call is scheduled for the end of May to discuss the use of omeprazole during competition and its relation to the current AERC drug rule.

 

Equine Fatality Report

NASTR Ride

Submitted by Dr. Jim Baldwin

On June 12, 2004, Roy Cronnelly's 11yr old arabian mare "Sunday Silver Rose" won the 50 mile division of the NASTR ride and received Best Condition. She appeared fine through the 3:00am check but was found in distress at 7:00am and died at approximately 11:30am on the 13th of June.

For the veterinary committee, I examined the facts in this situation and sent my findings out to the veterinary committee members. I think those that wanted to comment have had sufficient time to do so, consequently, I am going to give my report to the board.

Dr. Cronnelly is an experienced endurance rider with 7485 miles (170 rides with 155 completions) to his credit. The horse, "Sunday" had 18 rides with 17 completions to her credit. Dr. Cronnelly's statements follow:

 Sunday completed 555 miles of competition always in good condition. She then suffered an injury at home during a lighting storm and was a sweeny horse (atrophy of shoulder) with the left shoulder affected. This was in September of 2001. She was laid off for a year and she began to recover. She was examined and found satisfactory to return to conditioning. She was started back conditioning in July of 2002. She did a couple days of the XP summer ride after almost a year of returning to riding. In January of this year she completed the Twenty Mule Team ride but she had a cramp in a leg later that evening. She was found to be behind on fluids, was treated with fluids and recovered well. The conclusion was reached that she tended to go faster on a ride than the speed she conditioned at so the conditioning program was reviewed and we began to condition at a faster pace with the thought that we would start taking her to limited distance rides as part of her conditioning. She comple!
 ted the two LD rides at Land of the Never Sweats and was judged best condition. She then went on to the Wild Wild West Ride and completed all three limited distances and was in beautiful condition at the end of each day.

Sunday completed the NASTR Ride with ease and grace. She was never tired and took good care of herself by eating and drinking well. She finished first (riding time of 7hr and 15minutes), although that was not the intent and she was judged Best Condition by Dr. Susan McCartney. She returned to her trailer and continued to eat and drink well. She looked bright and energetic. She was observed at about 3:00am and looked fine. At about 7:00am the neighbor was pounding on the door of my rig. Sunday was trying to roll and acting colicky. She was taken to Comstock Large Animal Hospital and blood work all looked promising. She continued being painful when the sedation would wear off. IV's were started, she was tubed and had a rectal examination. As surgery was being discussed, she began to seizure and appeared to go into arrest. A post mortum examination revealed a large enterolith that had occluded the colon and she had hemorrhaged into the bowel and mesentery. Her heart appeared no!
 rmal and she had no gastric ulcers. A diagnosis of acute endotoxemia was made.

In visiting with and reviewing the case with Dr. Joe Coli of the Comstock Large Animal Hospital the data from Dr. Cronnelly is the same. The mare was presented between 7:00am and 7:30am showing signs of colic. Her temperature was 99.4, pulse 48, and respiration 40 with normal heart and lung sounds, however, there were no gut sounds in any of the four quadrants. The medical record is quite good and documents very competent work. It has a time line that showed the bowel sounds were never present. At 10:15am the mare started to tremble and at 11:15 she went into a seizure and died.

The post mortum report states, "enterolith lodged in descending colon with petechial hemorrhage on the serosa and pronounced hemorrhage in the mesentery. Another enterolith also found in the left ventral colon. When the descending colon was opened to remove the enterolith the lumen was full of blood and the mucosa was severely hemorrhagic from one foot orally of the enterolith to about eighteen inches aborally. The bowel was dying. Death probably due to acute endotoxemia. Unfortunately, this mare had a time bomb ticking inside of her with these pre-existing enteroliths.

Our sincere condolences to Dr. Cronnelly.
 Dr. Jim Baldwin, Chair, Veterinary Committee

 

Equine Fatality ReportTo: AERC Board of Directors
Oregon Outback Ride
Submitted by Dr. Jim Baldwin

On June 8, 2004 Amy Berggren's arabian mare "Tejada" (4B Cameo Rose) got loose during the night and injured herself where she had to be euthanized.

For the veterinary committee, I examined the facts in this situation and sent my findings to the veterinary committee. I think those that wanted to comment have had sufficient time to do so, consequently, I am going to give my report to the board.

About 3:30 am on the morning of the second day of a multi-day ride this horse broke free and escaped from camp. She was one of three horses brought to the ride by Amy. After she broke her tie and escaped she jumped several fences and got hung up going over one and flipped. On physical examination she had several deep lacerations and a palpable fracture at T4 (behind shoulders). There was no deep pain or withdrawal reflex on either rear limb and no tail tone. She was treated initially with pain medication while a decision was being made as to the best treatment plan given the extremely poor prognosis. Considering her condition the owner elected euthanasia.

Our condolences to Amy.
Sincerely,
Jim Baldwin, Chair, Veterinary Committee

 

Equine Fatality Report

Western States 50
Submitted by Dr. Jim Baldwin, Chair Vet Committee

On July 3, 2004 Tonjia Chandler's 16 yr old, grey arabian "Tenzing" died from a fall from the trail.

For the veterinary committee, I examined the facts in this situation and sent my findings out to the vet committee members. I think those that wanted to comment have had sufficient time to do so, consequently, I am going to give my report to the board.

This ride takes place on the last half of the Tevis trail that lays between Devil's Thumb and Auburn. The horse fell from the trail approximately two miles out from the Deadwood veterinary checkpoint. The horse took a misstep and went over the side. Tonjia was able to get away from the horse and was not injured in the initial fall but in climbing down the mountain looking for the horse she injured her ankle.

The horse was found about four hours after the initial fall and appeared to have been killed instantly. It's fall was stopped by small scrubs with trunks of about four to six inches. The ground around the horse had not been broken up by any struggling or movement which is why it is thought the horse died instantly from the fall. Only a visual post mortum examination was done.

This part of the trail is going down El Dorado Canyon that descends from Deadwood and comes out at Michigan Bluff. The rider lives in Michigan Bluff and has ridden this section of the trail many, many times. She has multiple completions on the Tevis and over 3000 miles of completed competition. The horse had 875 miles of completed competition so this was not an inexperienced team. Even though the rider says there were no others horses that caused her horse to take a misstep, it does illustrate that keeping some space between horses is safer.

Our condolences go out to Tonjia!

Sincerely,
Jim Baldwin, Chair, Veterinary Committee