American
Endurance Ride Conference
held via telephone conference call
September 13, 2005
President Stagg
Newman called the meeting to order at 6:04 p.m. 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, Howard
Kent, Stan Eichelberger, Gail Williams, Bob Morris, Terry Woolley Howe, Susan
Kasemeyer, Duane Barnett, Randy Eiland, Roger Taylor, Nick Warhol, Barney
Fleming, Jerry Fruth, Laura Hayes, Robert Ribley, Dinah Rojek, Mike Tomlinson,
and Executive Director Kathleen A. Henkel.
Absent: John H. Parke.
It was moved by
Roger Taylor and seconded by Robert Ribley to excuse John Parke from this
evening’s meeting (business conflict).
Motion carries.
It was moved by
Laura Hayes and seconded by Jerry Fruth to approve the minutes of the June 6,
2005, conference call meeting as written.
Motion carries.
It was moved by
Roger Taylor and seconded by Jan Stevens to approve the minutes of the June 27,
2005 conference call meeting as written.
Motion carries.
Sanctioning
Committee Chair Vonita
Bowers presented the 2006 Fun in the Sun Pioneer ride for approval from
committee. Jan Stevens is listed as the
ride manager, SE Region, March 3, 4, and 5, 2006, a 25/50 25/50 and 35/55/100 respectively. Motion carries.
Insurance
Committee Chair Roger
Taylor presented the renewal proposal from Equisure, Inc. regarding 2006 ride
season liability insurance. The
committee approves of the proposal and moves the Board accept the proposal from
Equisure for $32,682.20 for the 2006 season, based on 451 ride days, a change
from last year’s 400 ride days. Motion
carries. President Newman thanked both Roger Taylor and John Parke for their
diligence in working on the insurance proposal.
President
Newman advised the remainder of the meeting would focus on the 2006 budget,
with the board voting on individual line item dollar changes.
The International and Finance
Committees were asked by President Newman to look into the manner in
which the International Committee reports their income/expense item relating to
the $8,000 loans available for FEI rides.
The office was
directed by President Newman to consider doing another calendar for AERC in the
future.
The new member
discount was discussed at length.
Randy Eiland
interjected - "Stagg, Stagg, this is
Randy, I'd like to say something and I want it on the record, in the
minutes that I said this that this is not a very good way to do a budget and I,
I just want that on record cause this is too confusing, too many
people talking. This should have been done before midyear so we could
have done a face to face budget. We should have known what we were
doing. And I feel like we are doing everything after the fact and I'm
very disappointed that we are working it this way. I want to make sure that is
on the next minutes that we approve too."
President
Newman advised the budget currently shows a deficit and it is his desire during
the call this evening to make every effort to close the deficit.
Randy Eiland
requested a roll call vote on each line item changed during the call.
Susan Kasemeyer
moved and Stan Eichelberger seconded to remove the new member discount for the
2006 season unless AERC is able to obtain a new sponsor to support the new
member discount, with the date of removal of the discount to be left to the
discretion of the office. Discussion ensued.
Vonita Bowers called for the question.
Motion carries.
Roll call
vote: Mike Maul – No; Jan Jeffers –
Yes; Patti Pizzo – Yes; Vonita Bowers – Yes; Mike Jaffe – No; Roberta Harms –
Yes; Connie Caudill – Yes; Jan Stevens – Yes; Stan Eichelberger – Yes; Gail
Williams – Yes; Bob Morris – Abstain; Terry Woolley Howe – No; Susan Kasemeyer –
Yes; Duane Barnett – No; Randy Eiland – No; Roger Taylor – No; Nick Warhol –
No; Barney Fleming – No; Jerry Fruth – Yes; Laura Hayes – Yes; Robert Ribley –
No; Dinah Rojek – Yes; Mike Tomlinson – No.
12 Yes, 10 No, 1 Abstention.
Motion carries.
The Finance
Committee was requested to send a rolling history of the budget vs. actual to
the board covering approximately 4 years worth of figures.
President
Newman requested the Board members send any expenses regarding reimbursement
for the convention board meetings in March be sent to the office by September
30, 2005, and expenses for the midyear meeting in August be sent to the office
no later than October 31, 2005.
Discussion
continued regarding the budget with President Newman asking the board to express
their feelings regarding the raising of fees to close the budget deficit. Patti Pizzo moved and Stan Eichelberger
seconded to increase the day member fee
effective 12/1/05 from $10 to $15 per rider.
Roll call vote: Mike Maul – Yes;
Patti Pizzo – Yes; Vonita Bowers – Yes; Mike Jaffe – Yes; Roberta Harms – Yes;
Connie Caudill – No; Jan Stevens – Yes; Stan Eichelberger – Yes; Gail Williams
– Yes; Bob Morris – Abstain; Terry Woolley Howe – Yes; Susan Kasemeyer – Yes;
Duane Barnett – Yes; Randy Eiland – No; Roger Taylor – Yes; Nick Warhol – Yes;
Barney Fleming – Yes; Jerry Fruth – Abstain; Laura Hayes – Yes; Robert Ribley –
Yes; Dinah Rojek – Yes. 17 Yes; 2 No; 2
Abstain. Motion carries.
Treasurer Patti
Pizzo moved and Stan Eichelberger seconded to increase the rider fee by $1.00
per rider per ride, effective 12/1/05.
Roll call vote: Mike Maul – Yes;
Patti Pizzo – Yes; Vonita Bowers – No; Mike Jaffe – Yes; Roberta Harms – No;
Connie Caudill – No; Jan Stevens – No; Stan Eichelberger – Yes; Gail Williams –
No; Bob Morris – Abstain; Terry Woolley Howe – Yes; Susan Kasemeyer – Yes;
Duane Barnett – Yes; Randy Eiland – No; Roger Taylor – Abstain; Nick Warhol –
Yes; Barney Fleming – Abstain; Jerry Fruth – Yes; Laura Hayes – Yes; Robert
Ribley – Yes; Dinah Rojek – Yes. 12
Yes; 6 No; 3 Abstain. Motion carries.
Connie Caudill
moved and Randy Eiland seconded to have attendees at all upcoming Trail Master
classes pay one half of their individual fee to participate in the class. President Newman immediately remanded the
motion to the Trails Grants Committee until the October 2005 conference call.
Vonita Bowers
moved and Roger Taylor seconded to cut travel expenses for the attendance of
board members at the convention meeting, with a cap at $500, beginning December
1, 2005, for the 2006 ride season.
Motion carries with Connie Caudill, Barney Fleming, Jan Stevens, and
Gail Williams abstaining.
It was moved by
Stan Eichelberger and properly seconded to adjourn the meeting at 8:24 p.m.
Respectfully
submitted,
Jan Jeffers,
Secretary
Committee
Reports:
Report prepared
by Kathy Brunjes, Chair
9/12/05
Conference Call
meeting of August 29, 2005
Attendance: Kathy Brunjes, Chair
Mark Dial, Vice-Chair
Art Priesz, USEF High
Performance
Mary Lutz, USEF Endurance Director
Betty Baker, Treasurer -
East
Linda Strelnik, Holly
Ulyate - Mountain
Michele Roush - PacNorth
Amanda Taylor, Recording
Secretary
Absent: Tom Johnson, Nat’l Chef d’Equipe
Stagg Newman, AERC
President
Mike Tomlinson, AERC
Past-Pres., USEF Technical Comm.
Grace Ramsay, Sue
Phillips - Central
Julie Bullock – East
Carol Giles, PacNorth
Teresa Cross, Tinker
Hart – PacSouth
Skye Priesz, Editor
Susan Kasemeyer, AERC Liaison and Educ.Comm
Items
Discussed: For informational purposes
only – no action required by AERC BoD.
The Technical Committee is slated to meet on Tuesday, August 30. The AERC-I Committee will meet
electronically to vote on a recommendation to replace Nancy Elliot, DVM on the
USEF Technical Committee and forward this recommendation to the AERC Board for
consideration at their September 12 conference call meeting. Linda Strelnik reported that less than half
of the WEG nominated riders at the Arabian Nights FEI/CEI*** completed their
demonstration ride. All who completed
DID earn their CoC. Colorama on
September 15 (non-FEI) will be the last selection trial before the NAEC. Mary will be updating the points earned by
nominated riders, following the Arabian Nights ride, and this can be found on www.usef.org under the High Performance,
Endurance links.
Mary brought up the vesicular stomatitis notices that have been issued
by the USDA and American Horse Council, and asked Kathy to post this
information to the Zone Reps. Maryland
will be requiring CVI identification permit numbers and a negative serology
test within 10 days of shipping to the NAEC from VS positive states.
Mary reminded all present that information on upcoming FEI rides,
International events (i.e.: 119km CEI** event in Italy, October 28-30) and
posting of updates concerning the 2006 WEG selection process should be obtained
from the USEF website (www.usef.org) under
High Performance, Endurance links.
Betty proposed that the AERC-I Committee help sponsor the Welcome
reception at the NAEC and Kathy will ask for an email vote by the Committee
based on the motion made by Betty and seconded by Mark.
Item Requiring AERC Board Action:
At this time, the following recommendation is made to the AERC Board of
Directors, for their consideration: The AERC-I Committee hereby recommends that Heather Hoyns,
D.V.M. be put forward to the USEF Board of Directors as a replacement for Nancy
Elliott, D.V.M., on the USEF Endurance Technical Committee.
Report prepared
by Bob Morris, Chair
8/27/05
The AERC Research Grants Committee has in place as of
this date four research projects:
1. Why Do Endurance
Horses Fail to Finish: A Pilot Study
2.
Can successful endurance performance be
predicted by physiology?
3.
Are horses responsible for invasive plants in
the eastern United States
4.
Do risks of potassium supplementation depend
on speed?
These projects have established the AERC as an
organization interested in research related to the welfare of the equines
competing in endurance competition and in establishing the conditions
associated with the conduct of this sport.
But what of the future? Where are we headed in the
research field and how will we get there? A few matters associated with such
research should
be established in order to formulate a concept of where
we want to go.
An understanding of these points is essential. The AERC
made its first research grant in 2003. Since that time we have made an
additional three grants. These grants were to investigators who were familiar
with endurance competition and the AERC. We are still having some difficulty in
establishing our credentials outside the immediate endurance community.
Much equine research is associated with commercial
ventures even though being conducted by academic entities. These commercial
ventures expect a fair return on their investment in the form of a product to
sell. The academic entity reaps the publicity attached to a successful product
on the market and in publication of the study in professional journals. We, in
endurance can make no such offer. We, in endurance, require the subject to be
associated with our sport and couched in terms that we, as lay persons, can
readily understand.
The AERC does not have the seemingly endless funding
associated with a commercial project. The AERC Research Grants Committee is
funded by a percentage of the excess cash flow generated each fiscal year. 2005
brought us $24,735 which has been committed to projects. For the future years,
in 2006 we will have $13,050. In 2007, according to the projected balance sheet
for FY 2005 that shows a deficit, we will receive no funds for research. This
serious matter could be some what alleviated by the release of accumulated
excess drug testing funds to the research program as was originally intended.
This would be an infusion of approximately $32,000.
There are always questions, “What do we want to
research”. In the latest poll of our membership, as shown by the answers to the
2005 questionnaire, our membership was interested in:
I believe that we have our directions and our current
programs do comply with some of these indications. These are all practical
applications and our current projects are all on the practical side. These are
not fields graduate students and researchers are fond of exploring. The rewards
are minimal, other than a thesis subject. They are labor intensive and subject
intensive. They require the access to a fairly large field of participants, and
in endurance related research that usually includes not only the animals but
the owner/riders as well.
With that back ground; on to the future of AERC Research.
Recently there has been much discussion regarding the
AERC Rule #13. We know the inter-relationship of the more powerful drugs and
how they affect the competitive endurance equine. We are, however, becoming
more concerned with those substances the layman does not generally associate
with the term “drug”. Those substances perceived as support for the “welfare of
the horse”, joint medications, mood altering substances, digestive tract
ameliorative and the like. Natural derivatives or homeopathic treatments also
fall into this category.
Research in the use and effects of these substances is
virtually limited to non-scientific, anecdotal reports. The controlled research
available is often not directed towards the conditions met in endurance
competition nor in the animal husbandry promoted by endurance competitors.
This leads us to a field of almost virgin research where
our funds could open wide doors currently hidden. There are other fields of
concern as expressed in the list generated by the membership. Very little work
has been done on endurance horses related to lameness. Of course I can expect a
loud disclaimer to that statement but it is a fact. Yes, research in race
horses, show horses and performance horses, but endurance equines are
completely different. We need to find researchers and participants, willing to
take the laboratory into the field, a place where the variables exist. The tread
mill and the arena cannot approximate the field. But who is going to be willing
to commit their horses to such a program? A university cannot afford to field a
string of horses and riders. If such research is to be done, the AERC
membership must be willing to be the participants. It is to be cautioned, the
returns on such a project will be minimal for the rider/owner.
Another very important bit of research I would like to
see expanded is our current program concerning the equine/noxious weed inter-relationship.
Our current program is limited to the Northeastern United States. I would
envision the AERC funding research grants in each of the major geographical
areas where competition takes place. In this manner, we will be ahead of the
governmental agencies and we will be able to demand a place at the table during
trails and trailhead discussions. Not the esoteric research like drugs but just
as important.
For the FY 2006 I would like the AERC Board of
Directors to consider extending the research program “Why Do Endurance Horses
Fail to Finish: A Pilot Study” for an additional year. This program is
acquiring valuable data and a better insight will be available with an
additional year of information.
Research in the field of equine nutrition has received a
fair amount of attention, BUT! The attention has been directed towards the
production of commercial feed stuffs and not necessarily on the affects of the
feed. Yes, we can get all the expert advice on how to get the energy from the
bag into the horse, what supplements are needed and on and on. But, and here
there is no commercial reward, what are these feeds doing to the horse in
competition? What are the regional differences associated with these feeds?
Since these feed substances are not “natural” to the equine, what is the
ultimate result of long term use on the competing animal?
I have not addressed the
subject of additional or alternate funding for research. There are avenues open
for such funding such as endowments, assigned gifts and/or outside grants. To
do so, on a single committee basis, would be detrimental to the over all
programs of the AERC. I do not believe that AERC Committees, that make grants,
should be in competition. Therefore, I leave the acquisition of funds through
these processes to the AERC Board, knowing any such funding obtained will be
fairly distributed
Questions, questions, questions, but very few substantive
answers. And be assured, each answer produced by a research project will, with
out a doubt, formulate additional questions.
To summarize; There are many possible research fields we
need to approach. We are only limited by the practicability of our desired for
knowledge, the willingness of the membership to make some sacrifice and
participate, and financing of the projects.