I am a firm believer in term limits. I try to practice what I preach. I have served two consecutive terms as president of the board of directors of the AERC. As such, this will be my last article for Endurance News in this capacity. I have thought long and hard about the most appropriate subject matter for this final article. Should it be humorous, retrospective, advocate a contentious matter, or such? What I feel is most important is to honor those who have made all of the accomplishments possible, specifically featuring the three board members who are retiring from the board this year.

I have been particularly blessed to have had a board of directors that, while they are extremely diverse, they all are acting for the good of the AERC as they see it. I would hate to lose any single current board member, but it will be particularly difficult to replace the three that are retiring from the board this year. Each one of them has been an AERC member for over 20 years and has thousands of endurance miles successfully completed. All three are true leaders who have provided uniquely forward-thinking vision to AERC and the sport of endurance.

Maggy Price

Maggy Price was already a legend when I started endurance in the '70s. Not only is Maggy a World Championship silver medalist (Barcelona, 1992), but she has done it riding endurance horses she has personally bred--for many years progeny of Maggy's Ramegwa line have been the mount of choice for many top endurance riders. The list of endurance riders that Maggy has introduced to the sport reads like the "Who's Who" of endurance riding on the East Coast.

She has given of her time and resources to endurance in any way she could. She is always gracious and giving to everyone. Years ago, long before anyone knew who I was, she even let me ride one of her fabulous horses in a 50 (which we finished looking great). Maggy is also a past president of the AERC--her foresighted initiatives (such as every current AERC member get a new member) benefited AERC then, continues to benefit AERC today, and I expect her efforts will continue to benefit AERC for years to come. Maggy is also a past vice president of USET, having personally led the way for endurance to come under USET's umbrella decades ago. Maggy has won more prestigious honors and lifetime achievement awards than anyone I know, and she deserves every one of them.

Dane Frazier, DVM

Dane Frazier, DVM, is an icon in the veterinary field. He has single-handedly brought more new, good veterinarians into the sport of endurance (including raising one of his own) than anyone else I know. Dane is the one we all turn to when we just don't remember how a certain metabolic pathway works or how some other specific intricate medical process occurs--Dane has always been able to get the answer, that is, if he didn't know the answer already.

Dane led the AERC as its president out of some of our darkest times. When the AERC was technically broke and there were employee difficulties at our national office, Dane had the personal fortitude to make the tough decisions.

Most members do not know all Dane has done for AERC. It was his guidance that enabled AERC to emerge from the troubled times so quickly and sustainably. Even today Dane is very active in charting the course of the future of endurance. Among many other current endurance leadership roles, Dane is the only member from North America on the FEI Endurance Technical Committee.

Jim Baldwin, DVM

Jim Baldwin is truly a world-class veterinarian and endurance rider. Not only has he been very active on the AERC Veterinary Committee for more than 20 years, he has ridden over 500 miles each year while in the U.S., and these past many years he has represented the USA throughout the Middle East, Europe, and much of the rest of the world while working as an equine endurance veterinarian.

Jim has always taken his AERC tasks very seriously and given each of them the highest of priorities even if doing so meant hurting his business or not being able to ride as much. For example, two years ago Jim was asked to take a quiescent drug testing program and revitalize it so that members could see that it was effective and worth their hard-earned dues. Jim grabbed the reins of the program and totally turned it around. Even though some may say it was revitalized too much, nobody can dispute that without Jim's "d*** the torpedoes" attitude, the testing program would not be as visible and effective as it is today. We all learned a lot together and Jim was the one holding the torch high, fearlessly lighting everyone's path.

Through the efforts of all . . .

I truly thank each of these three for their lifetimes of effort for the sport of endurance. I trust that they will not let their retirement from the board be an end, but instead let their new-found free time permit each of them to redouble their efforts at being the best ambassadors the sport has ever known.

Even though I have highlighted the efforts and achievements of three board members, we all realize that it is not what the AERC board of directors does that causes the most improvement in the sport of endurance; it is the daily efforts of each individual AERC member. Without the riders, without the ride managers, without the trails, without the horses, there can be no endurance.

So please ride, and I mean really ride, be kind to and supportive of the ride managers and consider managing a ride yourself, become a trails advocate in both words and deeds, and most important of all, go out and give your horse a big hug.

To finish is to win.