The Ride Managers Committee thought it would be great to see a recap of topics that were discussed concerning ride managers during the recent AERC convention. The committee ran an organized, efficient and very informative meeting. We had several good laughs too! Great putting names with faces from all around the country and I encourage everyone to get to Reno next year if it's a possibility for you! We learn a lot from each other during this event.

Here are the highlights of some of the discussions:

1. Veterinary certification. The following motion from the Veterinary Committee was made and accepted by the board. In order to promote the growth of endurance-qualified head veterinarians into the sport of endurance, the Veterinary Committee proposes the following program.

A voluntary Head Veterinarian Certification Program will recognize those veterinarians who have read both the AERC Veterinary Handbook and the AERC Rules and Regulations relevant to veterinary issues. Certification is based on the completion of a written qualification exam, which will be administered as an open-book test with a minimum passing score.

The test will be sent to the Veterinary Committee for scoring and recording. Those veterinarians who pass the exam will be recognized as an AERC Certified Head Veterinarian. The names of newly certified veterinarians will be published in each issue of Endurance News and a complete list will available on the AERC website.

The Veterinary Committee really wants us to try and get as many vets certified as possible during the next year. It is strictly voluntary and we thought it may be easy getting them to take the open-book exam during a ride. Maybe have all your vets take it at the same time; try to make it fun as well as educational. The vets will be getting the exam in the mail but hopefully you will also get one in your ride manager's packet in order to encourage your vets.

2. Online ride results. Mike Maul is going to begin working on a system for inputting ride results online. You'll be able to enter riders and horses by AERC number, saving much typing and/or writing, and the results will be submitted to the office, who can process them quickly this way. This should save on clerical errors.

Mike was receptive to some additional "wish list" items we requested for the program, although we are limited to what the database can handle. You will be able to enter the membership number or horse number and the name will come up automatically. You will be able to save the results online and come back to finish them at a later time. Mike will be working out the details.

3. "Mapping" AERC rides. Mike Maul and Bob Morris have been "mapping" the AERC rides for those rides which have provided GPS coordinates. Google Earth can help you with doing this, and just e-mail the coordinates to Bob or Mike to have them posted with your ride information.

Mike Maul will include a PDF of your ride entry form on the webpage if you send it to him via e-mail. Thank you, Mike and Bob!

4. "The List." Did you know that you can call the office and list any person that has given you a bad check for a ride fee, vet fee, or farrier fee that was owed during your event? If you get one, particularly if it's not resolved quickly, contact Kathleen Henkel at the AERC office, and she'll put the offender on "the list." Similarly, if you've got concerns, you can drop her an e-mail or give her a call to get the list of prior offenders. Failure to pay a previous entry is a just cause for refusing entry.

5. Who's current? Hate looking up AERC numbers, or getting stuck with the $15 non-member fee if someone says they're a member on ride day and they're not? You can go to the AERC webpage and print a list of AERC member numbers by region. This is especially helpful for RMs with rides early in the season (when many members have "forgotten" to renew.) And yes, they can sign up on ride day and pay, and their points/miles will count. (The office includes a few entry forms in your RM packet.)

6. Pre-ride briefing checklist. We'll be working on a fill-in-the-blank RM checklist for use at the pre-ride briefing, to make sure we dot all the I's and cross all the T's. If you have ideas of things to include, don't hesitate to e-mail. We'll be working on that as a committee in the near future. Also, one of the RMs suggested that printing a few extras of your checklist will be great for those dreaded "late arriving" riders who may miss the briefing.

7. Day member info. Please don't forget to collect day member (i.e., AERC non-members who ride at our competitions) information, including addresses, at your rides. The office really needs these for insurance purposes, and for membership recruiting as well.

8. Ride manager consultants. We dis-cussed having experienced ride managers that could be available to the new ride managers for advice or help during their ride or with paperwork. These people would be called ride manager consultants. They would not interfere in the ride in any way, would only be available if requested from a first-time ride manager, and would be able to help in any way they could.

If you're interested in being a ride manager consultant, please let anyone on the Ride Managers Committee know! We will have a list of consultants that the new ride manager could chose from. We'll be working on developing that program, as well, over the next year.

9. Insurance changes for 2006. There are a couple of changes in the 2006 insurance program. You (rather than the additional insured) will receive your requested additional insured certificates (two copies) so you can be sure they are sent/received to the folks requesting them, and so you'll have an extra copy if needed.

Note: After the Insurance Committee met, it was decided that if the AERC office needed to assist a ride manager in getting the additional insureds less than five days before your event, you will be assessed a penalty of $25. The ride manager is responsible for obtaining the additional insured before the event, not at the last moment. This kind of behavior keeps our office staff from doing the work we need from them. Be sure and get your request in early. Every ride is insured regardless but if you need additional insured for other land managers/owner purposes be sure and request them early. The $25 penalty will be waived in cases of emergencies or last-minute unforseen changes. This fine will be collected with your ride fees.

10. Treatment vets at rides. Last but not least, during the Hot Topics session at the convention, there was discussion about RMs having a treatment vet available on site or on call and the availability of fresh (i.e., not expired) fluids for horses that may require speedy treatment. Some riders carry their own fluids; some RMs have fluids available; some treatment vets bring an adequate supply and are on-site at the ride to administer them.

How does your ride handle treatment and, specifically, the availability of fluids?

Thanks, everyone for your help, and for being a ride manager!