Dr. Matthew Mackay-Smith -- an AERC past president and Hall of Fame honoree, the medical editor of Equus and the only person to win the Old Dominion and Tevis in the same year -- gave a most provocative talk on the future of endurance riding in the U.S. at the Old Dominion awards breakfast this June.

Matthew intentionally raised controversial ideas to stimulate our thinking. He made the point that many sports start as "activities" among a group of trusted friends who share common values and common understanding. These activities then evolve to structured sports competitions with elaborate rules as more people, more money, and more countries become involved. Consider your typical Olympic sport today and then trace the sport back to its origins. He put forth that modern endurance riding may be on a similar path. The Tevis started as an activity among Wendell Robie and his friends to see if modern horses and riders were "tough enough" to go from Lake Tahoe to Auburn 100 miles over the backbone of the Sierras in one day. Now the sport has grown to competition in close to a hundred countries worldwide. There is now a world championship with extensive rules and structure.

Yet for many of us the essence of the sport is still the simple competition of the horse and rider versus the trail and the satisfaction reflected in the phrase "to finish is to win." Furthermore, AERC has an underlying spirit typical of the "American West" of minimal rules and maximum personal freedom and responsibility.

So how can we in AERC preserve the essence of the sport and protect the welfare of the horse, while realistically dealing with the fact that our sport has grown in many dimensions? As president of AERC I particularly see the pressure caused by increased amounts of money and complexity that have come into the sport. Since in reality we are an organization of many thousands of individuals do we need more structure and rules, or can we act as if we are a small group of trusted friends with common value?

Perhaps we can keep it "small." Here is my hypothesis: As an alternative to more structure and rules, AERC should strive to create common values and trust through grass roots education and mentoring. In fact I recently have observed many encouraging examples of grass roots education.

The Old Dominion this year had a 25 mile ride on Friday before the 50, 75, and 100 on Saturday. Tamra Schoech offered a new riders' clinic at three different times before the 25. Very experienced endurance riders who had completed the OD 100 -- easily identified by their large funky straw hats -- were available as mentors to anybody who had questions. After the awards dinner I gave my "4Ps" talk on the keys to completing longer rides. Then on Sunday Matthew gave the provocative talk described above.

At the Pine Tree 30-50-100 in Maine, which had unusually hot and humid conditions this year, stewards were circulating among the riders during the hold period and showing how to check progressive recoveries. They also gave tips on how to cool in humid conditions such as sponging horses thoroughly before leaving the checkpoint. Not surprisingly, due to the heat, the completion rate was low as many horses did not recover to the required pulse rate.

After the awards dinner for the 30s and 50s, an impromptu clinic on cooling was held. Sue Greenall, who won the BC and was second in the 50, shared her tips and observations on how she managed her horse in the heat. Most interesting was her observation that her horse, Tiger, was working at a pulse rate of 110 at an easy trot. By contrast, when Tiger was walking in the heat, the pulse would rise to 130. The air movement and increased circulation created by the trot provided far more cooling than just walking. Equally notable was the example set by Sue of a most successful competitor immediately sharing her knowledge with others rather than keeping her "secrets" to herself -- the essence of mentoring.

I am also pleased to say that the AERC Education Committee is developing proposals that will further our grass roots education through more clinics, more mentoring, and more material online and in EN. Stay tuned for more information.

To preserve and promote the essence of our sport of endurance riding I challenge each of us to become involved in the education of us all by gladly learning and gladly sharing our knowledge.

Revisiting Rule 13: the 'drug rule'

The board of directors agreed on our June conference call to revisit the AERC Rule 13, the “drug rule” or, more accurately, the substance abuse rule.

The first paragraph of our current rule states:

13. The integrity of endurance competition requires that the equine is not influenced by any drug, medication or veterinary treatment. Endurance equines must compete entirely on their natural ability. AERC prohibits from competition equines who contain evidence of the administration of abnormal substances or of normal substances in abnormal amounts (exogenously administered compounds even if normally found endogenously). The reasons for revisiting Rule 13 are multiple, including:

Multiple and conflicting interpretations of what Rule 13 means including among members of the AERC Vet Committee and the board of directors.

Advances in technology that can detect the presence of very minute amounts of drugs administered many weeks earlier whose effects has long since worn off.

Advice from the Legal Committee that Rule 13 as written does not have the clarity we need.

A list of exceptions to Rule 13 that raise further questions as to what our drug policy really is and what is in the best interest of the horse. The proper rule should strive to achieve three key purposes:

Protect the welfare of the horse.

Provide clear guidance to the membership.

Protect the fairness of the sport by enabling the effective enforcement of violations of the Rule 13, particularly willful violations.

We have asked the chairs of the Welfare of the Horse, the Veterinary, the Drug Testing and the Legal committees to lead our reexamination. Members of AERC are welcome to provide their thoughts and input. Given the importance of Rule 13 to AERC and the complexity of the topic, we will conduct a thorough, thoughtful, and deliberative process.