AERC NATIONAL AWARDS

This year’s American Endurance Ride Conference (AERC) Convention was held March 8-9 at the Grand Sierra Resort in Reno, Nevada. Endurance riders from all over the country enjoyed the shopping, presentations, lectures and good company the weekend had to offer. Regional and national awards were also presented, paying tribute to the incredible human-equine partnerships that had been forged throughout the 2018 season.

The AERC president Monica Chapman, who began this new role in December 2018, had a few words to say about the convention and AERC’s focus moving into 2019. “With this position I am looking forward to helping AERC progress, continuing to provide endurance as a sport in the United States and promoting our trails and horse welfare,” she says. “We really want to focus on our strategic plan for this year and get it fully implemented. Last year we had a lot of ride cancellations due to flooding, wildfires and other naturerelated happenings, so we hope to have a better year on that side of things as well.

“We had a great convention this year, it was very positive. We had some hot topics presented, and a great national awards dinner to honor some of our best riders and horses. AERC is all about the longevity of horses. We award those enduring pairs, and we want to promote lifelong partnerships with our equine friends. The convention was very positive about AERC being a big family.

“We also had a great National Championship last year in September, at the Biltmore Estate in North Carolina [Editor’s note: see AHW’s coverage in the January 2019 issue, page 156]. It was well attended and everyone had a great time. We are very excited for our 2019 National Championships, which will be held in Ridgecrest, California. The 50-mile National Championship is on October 31, and the 100-mile National Championship on November 2, at the Desert Empire Fairgrounds.”

The National Awards banquet wrapped up the convention, awarding and honoring the top riders and horses in the sport of endurance. Congratulations are in order to all of the recognized winners throughout the regions. The following stories highlight some of the National Award recipients.

PARD’NERS AWARD

Rider and horse perform together as a mutually bonded team. Rider and horse engender a spirit of friendship, enthusiasm and championship that makes those around them glad to have attended the ride. However competitive they may