Traveling to another state or even to Canada may be easier than you think. Rachel Boyce, DVM, has written a statement explaining the procedures that Illinois now requires. Please take the time to read it. If you are going to be traveling out of state with your equine, ask your veterinarian to check each state you will be traveling through for the current requirements. They may be different from last year! Knowing what is expected makes traveling much more of a pleasure. -Connie Caudill, Ride Managers Committee Chair

At an endurance ride this fall, several different people told me that they no longer attend Illinois distance riding events due to the entry permit requirement. Although riders will make their own choices, I wanted to be sure that everyone understood the regulations.

First, the rules. Below is information taken directly off the Illinois Department of Agriculture website: All equines entering Illinois for any reason other than slaughter must be accompanied by a negative test for EIA conducted within a year if the animal is more than one year of age, certificate of veterinary inspection issued by an accredited veterinarian within 30 days of entry, and an entry permit number issued by the Illinois Department of Agriculture.

Entry permits numbers are available by calling the Illinois Department of Agriculture, 217/782-4944 and are issued 24 hours a day, seven days a week. There is no charge for obtaining an entry permit from the Illinois Department of Agriculture.

The following information will be required for the entry permit number:

-- Name and mailing address of owner of the animal

-- Date of the EIA test

-- Location where the animal is going.

The entry permit number is good for 30 days (the life of the health certificate). The Illinois Department of Agriculture prefers that the veterinarian issuing the health certificate call to obtain an entry permit number, however owners can also call themselves. The health certificate is not considered complete and legal without an entry permit number on it, so your veterinarian should be willing to make the phone call without charging extra.

I realize that any additional time and paperwork involved in getting to rides is a bother, but it is a reality of modern life. Accurately tracking the movement of livestock is a critical part of protecting our country and our animals from foreign animal diseases and bioterrorism. If we ignore the risk and foreign diseases or terrorism affect our animals, we could lose the privilege of traveling and competing with our horses entirely.

Remember all the equestrian events cancelled during the foot-and-mouth disease outbreak in the U.K. a few years ago? The best way to track livestock movement is yet to be determined. Proposed methods include entry permits, micro-chipping of livestock (NAIS), and interstate travel passports. Hopefully, there will eventually be one set of federal regulations regarding livestock movement to make our lives easier. Until then, riders need to be aware of the rules for each state to which they commonly travel.

As an Illinois rider and veterinarian, I can attest to the beautiful trails, well-managed events and friendly riders that our state has to offer. However, there are not enough riders in Illinois to support rides by ourselves, so if out-of-state riders boycott all these rides, they will disappear. Are you willing to allow endurance events to be lost just to save a couple of minutes' time and bother?