Located in every ride manager's packet that is mailed to each ride manager from the national office are AERC membership forms. When a person is registering for your ride and you notice that they are not AERC members--and have to pay an extra $10 to be a day memberŃyou should try to encourage them to sign up for AERC membership that day. They will not need to pay the nonmember fee of $10 if they decide to join AERC on the day of the ride.

As a ride manager, you should make the forms readily available. Be sure to explain the benefits of joining AERC at the ride site. Just a few benefits are:

1. AERC will keep records of miles and points for you and your horses.

2. AERC will award mileage medallions for your horse and mileage patches for you, beginning with your first 250 miles.

3. If you enter more than five rides in a season, your AERC membership would have been paid for in day member fees.

4. New AERC members (and those who havenŐt had membership since 1999) pay the discounted membership fee of $48.75, thanks to sponsorship by Sundowner Trailers. 5. Members receive Endurance News each month and can access members-only sections of the AERC website.

6. You will receive a yearbook from AERC; this has all the ride results listed from the previous year with ride times and horse and rider names. It also has many great articles about riders and horses that have excelled in endurance.

We need to remember that AERC provides all of us with valuable information, anything from vetting to ride calendars in every issue of Endurance News which is sent out monthly. Ride managers can to set out some of their back issues of Endurance News to help persuade riders to become members.

Ride managers can make it very easy for riders to join at the rides. Be sure to make all the nonmembers aware they can take care of their membership and dues at your next ride. Support the sport and organization that you love.