In my first column as president last month I shared with you my aspirations for AERC and how AERC could better serve its members and realize its charter. Taking inspiration from my past as a teen of the '60s, I have derived the theme of this month's column by a paraphrase of President John F. Kennedy's famous words: "Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country."

AERC is an organization of 6,000 volunteers and an excellent but very small professional staff of four to support our efforts. Therefore, volunteer labor is key to AERC's meeting its objectives related to rides, trails, equine research and education.

Volunteer for . . . rides

The success and even existence of AERC rides are the result of the time, dedication, and energy of the many volunteers at each ride. I urge each AERC member to serve as a volunteer for a least one ride a year. And at every ride where you compete, please be courteous to and thank the volunteers! Without them you would not be participating the ride.

In the rest of the column, let's explore how you as a volunteer can help AERC further its purpose as defined in the bylaws in the areas of trails, education, and research (see sidebar above).

Volunteer for . . . trails

In a recent Trails Post column, Jerry Fruth, chair of the Trails Advocacy Committee, proposed that every AERC rider spend 20 hours a year on the ground working on a trail project. That amounts to one weekend a year. If every rider in AERC did this, we would become the leader in the U.S. for equine trail preservation, giving us great clout with government agencies in our fight to preserve and expand the trails for our use. So I challenge each of you to devote your 20 hours to improving the trails we ride on.

On a personal note, having spent quite a few days this winter with my wife Cheryl marking and clearing new trails for the Biltmore 50 and 100, I can say trail work is both fun and satisfying. And some of it can even be good training for your horse. Cheryl and I like to do trot-and-trim rides where we take along branch clippers and other tools and clear trail where possible from horseback. Training an endurance horse to stand can be a worthwhile challenge!

Volunteer for . . . education

To quote Chaucer, most endurance riders "gladly learn, and gladly teach" -- that is, as a group we are eager to share what we know and to learn from others. While not all of us can be brilliant teachers, we can all informally share our knowledge with others.

I encourage all of you to find ways to further our education goals. For example, Ann Cofield organized and put on a clinic for riders in the Southeast and that material is now available for all on the AERC website. Kim Fuess recently put on a clinic on one-day 100s for riders in the West. [Ed. note: Watch for an article on this 100-mile clinic in the next EN.] At every ride that Joe and Tamra Schoech attend, they conduct a new riders' briefing. These three examples are just a sample of what members are doing around the country to educate others. In my column last month I summarized the many different educational activities in AERC. Ask yourself what your role is in furthering education for the sport of endurance riding.

Volunteer for . . . research

Finally, we need far more research to really understand our endurance horses and our sport. AERC is now sponsoring a limited amount of university research to further that understanding. (See page 14 for an update on AERC-funded research projects.) For example, an AERC-sponsored project at Michigan State University is analyzing why horses are pulled from rides. Please be responsive if you are asked to supply information as good input is critical for insightful output.

While most of us are not research scientists or veterinarians, there are many interesting projects that we can still do as individuals. For example, Kim Fuess researched the concept of negative splits and presented that in EN last year. This gave all riders an excellent tool for planning their rides. Patti Stedman wanted to do her first 100, so she undertook to interview successful 100-mile riders, learn from them, and then share the benefit of what she learned through a series of articles in EN. [See page 18 for this month's installment.]

I personally would love to see somebody do an analysis of conditioning mileage and performance as I have a hypothesis that many riders are doing too many conditioning miles (at least many seem to put far more conditioning miles on their horses for 50s or even 25s than I do for 100s). We know so little and have so much to learn. What question would you like to see answered? Can you devise a way to answer that question and then share your insight with fellow riders?

Our horses and our sport give much to us. We can give back to both by giving our time to education, research, and trail development and preservation. What can you do for AERC?