Many complaints in the past, present and most likely the future, surrounding national and international management of the individual equestrian disciplines revolve around people feeling they have no control in making rules, directing finances and generally having a voice in decision-making.

Our own destiny

In the arena of international equestrian sports there are so many organizations abbreviated by a group of capital letters that you might feel you need a cheat sheet to know just who is getting your membership dues. To further muddy the waters, there has been a hot and sometimes dirty fight over which national organization is truly responsible for what aspects of our sport's management.

Of course, we are referring to the contest for National Federation designation between the USET and USA-Eq, formerly AHSA. (Pull out those cheat sheets!) We'll spare the laundry list of political personality conflicts, legal sparring and multiple deadline after deadline. Just suffice to say it hasn't been a pretty or simple story to follow up to this point. Be that as it may, our job now continues to be staying involved so that we can have influence over our own destiny.

Feeling out of touch? Who is really to blame here? Is it the organizations, jumbled and misguided as they sometimes may appear, whom are faced with the charge of keeping up with the rest of the world . . . ready or not? Or is it the members who pay their fees, grudgingly, because it's just another hoop to jump through to get qualified to achieve a goal, and then remain uninvolved or uneducated about their own organizations?

As paying members, you not only have a right but also a responsibility to stay abreast of what is important to you. This is truly as fundamental as the founding of our country's government. Do we really have stones to throw at elected officials for policies we don't like if we never exercised our right to speak up? So what is the point?

Endurance ties with USEF

International endurance will soon be affected by a fairly recent changing of the guard in the NF debate. USA-Eq and the USET finally came to an ÒagreementÓ on who will run the international end of equestrian sports. A new organization has been formed. The new National Governing Body/ National Federation for the United States is called the United States Equestrian Federation or USEF.

Endurance is fortunate enough to have a few loud voices involved in the new National Governing Body. Ms. Valerie Kanavy was elected as an active athlete to serve on the USEF board of directors and is also on the executive board. Mr. Art Priesz is Vice President of Endurance to the new federation (each of the seven disciplines has a vice president), chairs the International High Performance Committee for endurance and also serves on the board. Mr. Tony Benedetti co-chairs the National Endurance Committee with Ms. Kanavy. AERC President Mike Tomlinson, DVM, also holds a spot on the USEF board of directors. Together they speak for our discipline. But how do they and the members of their committees and boards know what we want?

Communication Well-informed individuals willing to discuss information with others and then become involved on a community level are who make the wants, needs and concerns of the general population heard. This is the American way. This is the democratic process. We have the power to make changes in many, many aspects of our lives and certainly in this sport of ours, by speaking up constructively.

In a democratic process, do changes always come about when and how we envision them? Ask any American soldier involved with our foreign policy in Kosovo, Iraq or elsewhere and I'm sure you know what they'll say. Change comes slowly and not always easily. Communication and compromise are the tools we use around the world, within our sport and in our own homes to achieve harmony and progress.

Your opportunity knocks. At the upcoming AERC convention you have the chance to renew your membership dues for AERC general membership and also for AERC International. When you sign your check, think about what you can contribute besides money. Your support and involvement and new ideas are equally important. If it seems to you like there are just a few big fish swimming in a little pond and making all the decisions, it's because there are only a few fish willing to commit themselves to the work at hand.

Attend some meetings, listen to what issues are being addressed, get informed with honest information, form an opinion and get involved. It's not only your responsibility; it's what makes you an American . . . especially an American endurance rider!

2004 FEI rides in the U.S.A.

These are the FEI rides that have been approved for 2004 so far.

- CEI***/** Asheville, NC, May 8, 2004

- CEI*** Ashland, MT, June 13, 2004

- CEI** Gladstone, NJ, June 19, 2004

- CEI*** Oreana, ID, Aug. 28, 2004 (pending approval)

- CEI*** New Prospect, WI, Sept. 18, 2004

- CEI*** Oreana, ID, Oct. 30, 2004

Questions? Please contact Lynn McCoy, director of NGB/FEI services, U.S. Equestrian Federation, Inc., 859-225-2020, lmccoy@usef.org.

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