Thinking about taking on a 100 this year? At the 2005 midyear meeting, the AERC Junior Committee put forth a motion to the AERC board to request a Junior national 100 mile award. The motion for the award reads as follows:

The AERC National 100 Mile Award shall add five additional placings to be titled, Junior National 100 Mile Award. The Junior National 100 Mile Award shall have five placings and to be eligible for this award the recipient must have completed at least two one-day 100 mile rides in the ride season. The placings will not be based on a bonus point system but on mileage only— The Juniors shall be ranked in order, according to the total number of one-day 100 mile rides completed in the ride season. As an example, a Junior with five one-day 100 mile rides in the ride season shall have 500 mileage points regardless of their actual placing in the event, a Junior with four one-day 100 mile rides in the ride season shall have 400 mileage points regardless of placing in the event, and so on. *In the case of a tie in mileage (that results in more than five Juniors being eligible for placing in the Junior National Mile Award) all will be recognized.

*Example: First place has 500 miles, second place has 400 miles, third has 300 miles, and six Juniors have 200 miles, then AERC will recognize a tie for fourth place between six Juniors. This award is being implemented for the 2006 ride season. So set up your sponsors and we'll see you at the 100 mile rides this year!

Finding a mentor

Speaking of sponsors, have you had the chance to surf the AERC website (www.aerc.org) and view the page under the heading of Education, sub-heading Mentors? There you will find a page devoted completely to people who are interested in mentoring endurance people. You can even find a separate listing for those who will sponsor juniors. They are listed by state/region so if you're looking at going to a ride out of your area and need to find a sponsor this might help. This page was developed by Karen Chaton, a longtime junior proponent.

Junior news from convention

The 2006 AERC convention in San Antonio was a great success! Hats off to all of the people who put it together. We had another junior panel discussion complete with refreshments. Although we didn't have as many juniors there as we had the previous year, we did have quite a lively discussion on several topics:

-- Randy Eiland of the Southwest Region covered what to look for in a horse for juniors, stressing that finding a cool, calm horse isn't always easy.

-- Gail Williams from the Northwest Region informed the group about a college scholarship that Pacific Northwest Endurance Riders (PNER) offers. Further discussion covered another college scholarship that Upper Midwest Endurance and Competitive Riders Association (UMECRA) offers.

-- AERC International Committee member Mark Dial reported on a new group of people who are looking into creating opportunities for juniors (ages 14-16) and young riders (ages 17-21) to compete here on continent and abroad in the FEI rides specifically set up for riders in these age brackets. He stressed the camaraderie that he's found at various rides that he has attended overseas where it is "just the kids" competing. The Pan American Championships in Argentina in 2005 was one of the rides that he talked about. He pointed out that the day after the 100-mile senior ride there was a junior and young rider ride, where the people who had competed in the Pan American Championships joined in as crews for the kids. More information on this group will be forthcoming in the upcoming months. If you're interested in finding out more about this type of competition, please contact AERC-International.

Plan now to attend the 2007 AERC convention in Sparks, Nevada, February 23 and 24. Another junior panel will be on the agenda with plans for a pizza party and more activities for the younger endurance crowd.