The American Endurance Ride Conference provides membership with several award programs to recognize distance riding accomplishments. The AERC awards program can be broken down into four categories: career programs, regional awards, national awards, and breed recognition.
AERC's point system
Before going into the different award programs available to AERC members, it is important to understand the AERC point system. All AERC award programs are awarded by either points accumulated or mileage ridden. Mileage-based awards are simply awards based only on the number of miles ridden, some with horse/rider teams and others with unlimited riders. Mileage-based awards do not take placing into consideration. Examples of mileage-based awards are the AERC National Mileage Award, the AERC Regional Limited Distance Mileage Award, and the Jim Jones Stallion Award.
The point-based awards do take both mileage and placing into consideration. Points are assigned based on how you placed in the competition, both overall and in your weight division, and how many miles were ridden in the competition. AERC uses the following formula to compute points: one point per mile plus bonus points per mile for top ten. The table (page 88 of EN's paper version) shows the points awarded in a 50-mile ride with 11 or more senior starters.
It looks like a pretty simple formula for figuring out how many points you earn per ride. Well, yes and no. There are some exceptions to the above formula. There must be 11 senior division starters in the ride for this point formula to be used. If there are not 11 senior starters, the number of bonus points earned is reduced. One-day 100-mile rides earn 1.5 points for each mile ridden as opposed to distances below 100 miles which earn 1.0 point for each mile ridden.
The AERC rule book has a much more detailed explanation of the AERC point system and also explains junior rider points with an example for easy reference.
Examples of point-based awards for horse and rider teams are the National Pioneer Award, the National 100 Mile Award and the regional weight division awards.
There are two sets of points earned at each competition: weight division points and overall points. Overall points are the points earned competing against all competitors in an event while weight division points only take into consideration those competitors riding in your weight division.
If you look at ride results you will see two numbers separated by a slash. The notation Ò150/50Ó indicates the number of weight division points (150) and the number of overall points earned (50) on the ride. Using this example of a 50-mile ride, this score indicates that there were no bonus points earned in the overall division but this rider placed first in his or her weight division and earned bonus points for weight division awards.
Career programs
AERC has lifetime achievement awards for horse and rider in both the endurance program and limited distance program. These awards are based on mileage only and honor the longevity of the competitor, both horse and rider. Riders and horses are recognized when they reach different milestones in their respective programs. Patches and medallions are awarded. In addition, once equines reach 5,000 miles, they receive an embroidered blanket. Miles continue to accumulate as long as the individual remains a current AERC member. Examples of career programs are the endurance and limited distance equine mileage programs and the rider mileage programs.
Regional awards
The regional award program recognizes the accomplishments of horse/rider teams within a specific AERC region. With respect to the regional point standings, recognition is given in the junior division, senior weight divisions, and overall. Points are used to determine awards in each of these divisions. The senior and junior Regional Mileage Award as well as the Regional Limited Distance Mileage Award only use the number of miles completed in the ride season to determine award winners. A Regional Best Condition Award is available in both the limited distance and endurance divisions based on the number of best condition awards earned.
National awards
Many awards are available at the national level to recognize the different ways we compete in distance riding. Some are based strictly on the mileage ridden during the season and others are based on points earned during the competition year.
Most of us are familiar with the National Mileage Award as this is the horse/rider team that accumulates the most miles in one ride season. We know that the National Pioneer Award honors the team that earns the most points in multi-day events (three to five days). But what is the Perfect Ten Award or the Bill Stuckey Award? How does the Bill Thornburgh Family Award differ from the Bob & Julie Suhr Husband & Wife Team Award? What is the War Mare Award and how does this differ from the Jim Jones Stallion Award? The following is an explanation of some of our national awards:
Perfect Ten Award. The Perfect Ten Award was added to the AERC awards program in 1997 and was created by Joe Long. This award honors the horse which has been competing for 10 years, has earned at least 10,000 AERC miles, 10 top ten finishes, and a minimum of 10 best condition awards.
Jim Jones Stallion Award. This award honors the stallion completing the most endurance (50+) miles (unlimited riders) during one ride season. Ten placings are acknowledged. The AERC stallion award was named for a West Region member who bred, trained and rode a small Arab stallion named Rowel. Jim and Rowel were a competitive team that embodied the endurance spirit.
War Mare Award. The War Mare Award was set up as the counterpart to the Jim Jones Stallion award. The War Mare Award is based on the most points accrued by the same mare/rider team during one ride season; senior riders only.
Bill Stuckey Award. This award was named for a Southwest Region member who made endurance riding a major part of his life. Bill rode actively until his death on the trail in 1982. The Bill Stuckey Award honors the rider 65 years of age or older who has completed the greatest number of miles ridden on any number of horses in one ride season. One placing is acknowledged and that rider is awarded an engraved keepsake plaque and his/her name is engraved onto the perpetual trophy on display in the national office.
Bob & Julie Suhr Husband & Wife Team Award. This award honors the top 10 husband/wife teams with the most overall points accrued on any number of horses. Should a spouse have less mileage, his/her total must be at least one-third of the total miles of the other spouse. Engraved plaques are awarded to the top 10 couples with the highest totals.
Bill Thornburgh Family Award. This award was named in memory of Bill Thornburgh, a Southwest Region member who rode competitively with his two daughters until his untimely death. This award honors the family with the most miles completed. A family is a father and/or mother and one or more dependent children. The miles applied are those in which at least one parent and one child start a distance at an event; for example, a parent could start the 100 and a child the LD at an event offering both. If either is pulled, the miles for the finisher will be counted. Miles for a dependent are included only up until the dependent's 21st birthday. The top 10 families are acknowledged. The first place family receives a keepsake plaque and their names are engraved onto a perpetual trophy on display in the national office.
Breed awards
Breed awards are not directly given by AERC. Breed organizations, such as the American Quarter Horse Association or the Arabian Horse Association, make awards available to AERC members competing in AERC distance events with a specific breed of horse. Contact the individual breed organization to get the qualifications for their specific award.
