The AERC did very well in 2007, reaching our highest membership ever at 6,924 and our highest number of ride entries at 23,000. Our membership was up 4.4% and ride entries were up 6.4% compared to 2006. The ride category with the greatest change in entries was multi-day rides which increased by 14.3% over 2006. For the first time, the number of limited distance entries exceeded the number of one-day 50-mile ride entries.

More than 1,000,000 miles were started by our rider/horse teams and 870,000 of those miles were completed. Our youngest rider was 6 years old and our most mature rider was 83. Our youngest member to complete a 100-mile ride was 7 and our most mature was 77.

The oldest horse to complete a 50-mile ride and also start a 100-mile event was 27. The horse and rider team with the most combined years equaled 100.

Seventy-six percent of our riders were female and 24% percent male.

There were 359 juniors competing in rides in 2007. One of our young members, Kirsten Kimbler, was selected as the USEF 2007 Youth Sportsman's Award winner after being nominated by AERC and the Arabian Horse Association. This is a significant achievement for an equestrian from one of the smallest membership disciplines in the USEF.

AERC riders and horses are a very diverse group with 77 years difference in rider age and 67 different breeds or crosses competing in our events in the past season.

For longevity numbers, there were 172 equines in AERC history with 5,000 or more miles in 2006. In the 2007 season 10 more equines were added to that elite list. Twenty of the horses already on the 5,000-plus list were still moving up the list in 2007.

For equines with 3,000 miles or more, 38 additional were on the list for a 2007 total of 735 in AERC history.

For longevity in riders, there were 13 riders passing the 10,000 mile mark in 2007 for a total of 158. There were 40 more riders who passed the 5,000 mile mark in 2007 for a total of 600 in all of AERC's history.

The average ride size is another interesting number, particularly to ride managers. The following table shows the average number of riders per day in the different categories of rides.

Average riders/ride type in 2007: LD 24.0 (increase from 2006: 2.7%)

50 mile rides: 29.0 (increase from 2006: 0.7%)

100-mile rides: 24.0 (increase from 2006: 7.3%

Pioneer rides: 36.1 (increase from 2006: 1.0%)

The 100-mile ride figures are strongly biased by several large rides. If the top five rides are removed, the average 100-mile ride has only 15.9 entries. The total 100-mile entries are up compared to 2006. We have many fewer 100-mile rides than we did 12 years ago but the number of riders is considerably more per ride today.

While the average number of riders per day in multi-day rides isn't increasing much, the number of Pioneer ride days is up over 8% compared to 2006. Multi-day rides are the most rapidly increasing type of ride for AERC.

The limited distance figures are affected by the multi-day growth because a number of Pioneer rides now include limited distance.

AERC is healthy today. Even with fuel prices increasing 30% over a year ago, we still have increases in all ride categories. We have a very diverse group of members and horses. Some of us are racers, some are finishers, and some are just out there to have fun with their friends and their horse. There is room for all kinds of riders and breeds of horses in our sport. Mike