For all those that missed the convention in Reno, Nevada, last month, you missed a spectacular learning event. The theme of this year's conventions was "riding with knowledge" and, boy, did we get an education! There was more information given out by some of the top experts in their fields than anyone could ever have imagined.

I am sure the notes that were taken at the seminars will be instrumental to all that were in attendance throughout the year. I hope that we will be able to persuade the speakers to send summaries for EN.

Veterinarians Dane Frazier, Rob Keene and Susan Garlinghouse were up on the latest research findings that could possibly help our horses in our training and feeding programs.

The Education Committee did an excellent job in their "Moving on Up" presentation. For all of us with dreams of going longer distances or participating in multi-day rides, this was the place to be. The members who attended should all be better prepared to get there and I am looking forward to seeing more of you out on those longer rides in the coming year.

If you didn't get enough information in that session then you should have attended the panel of experts that were available for questions in the "Ask the Experts" seminar. In this session we had the chance to find out the training regimens each of these riders follow, as well as having these the top riders in AERC answer endurance-related questions or concerns.

Some of our members signed up for classes with the chair of AERCÔs Research Committee, Olin Balch, DVM, PhD. He led three hands-on interactive labs which looked at the legs and hooves of the horse. These were eye-opening sessions. I know some of participants came away with a different view of how they would manage lameness in their horses as well as educational information concerning ligaments, tendons, bones and hoof structure.

This year we had a physician speaking at one of the sessions. Dr. Rallie McAllister is a rider as well as a fitness and nutrition expert. We don't normally think about ourselves as most of us dwell on our horses but we are half the team out there in a ride and should be aware that our fitness level can help or hinder the horse. Dr. McAllister had a book-signing session after her seminar offering her book "Riding for Life: a Horsewoman's Guide to Health and Fitness."

Another part of the convention each year is the committee meetings. These are where all the committees get a chance to meet face to face and discuss their accomplishments over the past year and their goals or concerns for the next year and beyond.

The board of directors met on both Thursday evening and Sunday morning to conduct the official business of AERC. These meetings were open to all members.

Also on Sunday, Dinah Rojek led a meeting on "training the trainers" -- you will be hearing more about this in the future.

Everyone always makes plenty of time for the trade show. I hope everyone thanked our vendors for coming and for showing and selling us their latest tack, trailers, clothing, artwork and more.

The highlight of the convention is the presentation of the awards. The regional awards on Friday evening was well attended with John Parke giving a great presentation. Following the awards ceremony was the Friday night dance which always gets to be quite lively as the night grows. Saturday is the convention's grand finale with the national awards banquet. Bruce Weary and Patti Stedman did an awesome job with the program that was enjoyed by all that were in attendance.

Planning for next year's convention has already begun. It will be held February 20 and 21 in Louisville, Kentucky, at the Galt House Hotel. This will be an event that you will not want to miss! Maybe we can have an encore from some of the speakers that we had this year.

Be sure to send your ideas in to the office as all requests on topics and speakers will be taken in consideration (see page 39). Make your plans to attend in 2009!