The convention seemed to be enjoyed by all who were in attendance. The Grand Sierra Resort had the perfect set-up with everything under one roof.

Walking through the many different sitting and eating areas, I could see and hear different groups of AERC members involved in a variety of discussions. We have such a wide diversity in our membership, and each of us have our own reasons for being involved in this sport. Some ride for the beautiful scenery that can be traversed with the confidence of having the trails well marked; others want to test their horses' fitness, some like the competitiveness of each ride or the mileage adding up from all the rides. The list goes on as there are so many things that draw us into this sport but one thing that is for certain -- we all love our horses and love to ride.

The seminar speakers were some of the best ever. We had two people from the National Park Service who gave very informative talks explaining how we can work within the system to keep our communication open between horse people and the government agencies. Each of us can do our part in making better relations between land managers and equestrians.

The Trails and Land Management Committee gave a review with a slide show of the different trail grants that AERC has funded over the past few years. It is amazing how much funding a seemingly small amount of donations have generated from matching funds and more.

The educational speakers were awesome, teaching us all the latest on colic, tying up and the most recent nutritional breakthroughs.

Members of the Research Committee gave us a recap of the research summit that was held this past summer.

There was more information than a person could soak in at one sitting!

It was good to see everyone who attended the open general session with the board of directors on Saturday. Thanks to everyone who asked questions and gave some suggestions for us to consider.

The regional awards ceremony and the national awards banquet are where we celebrate all the accomplishments of the high point and high mileage recipients. We really appreciate our sponsors in supporting our awards program. Putting faces with the names that we have been reading about in the ride results and articles all year is fun, especially seeing the younger generation.

The grand finale -- the Hall of Fame awards and Pard'ners Award -- is always full of suspense as we hear all the statistics of the person and horse before finally hearing the names. This year honors went to some very deserving recipients. Congratulations Dave Rabe, Tulip, and Robert Ribley and Tari.

The AERC Board of Directors met on Thursday evening and then again on Sunday morning during the convention. This board has a lot of work ahead this coming year. One big item that is being worked out is a membership drive.

The shopping at the convention was some of the finest any endurance rider could ask for. I sure did my share of searching out items that I have been wanting. The vendors provided the largest variety of saddles, tack, feed, riding gear and whatever else you can imagine. I want to thank all the vendors for taking the time to support our convention.

Finally, I want to thank all the members who took the time to attend the convention. I hope you had a great experience.