Is your son or daughter ready to ride unsponsored? AERC rules allow juniors to do so, as long as certain criteria are met. The switchover is pretty easy. First, the rider must be at least 14 years of age and have ridden at least 500 AERC-sanctioned miles. Once that criteria is met, the parent or guardian needs to write a letter to the AERC office requesting permission to ride unsponsored.

The unsponsored junior will choose a weight division. The AERC office will then send a letter granting permission to ride unsponsored and will assign the requested senior weight division. The letter grants permission to ride unsponsored for one season only, and must be renewed annually. Please note: The unsponsored junior must provide a copy of the letter from AERC for each ride he or she enters.

Some common questions:

Should I contact the ride manager? The main thing that one needs to remember is that it is the responsibility of the rider and/or parent to contact each ride manager prior to the ride to see if the RM will allow them to ride unsponsored. Even if you have permission from AERC to ride unsponsored, ride managers have the right to refuse you entry as an unsponsored junior-age rider.

What about my points if I'm refused entry unless I ride sponsored? Since AERC only allows you to ride in one division, you will still remain in your specific weight division (feather, light, middle, or heavy), but you will need to be sponsored by an adult as stated in AERC rule 10.4.

Should I switch? Certainly this is a subject that comes up all the time. On one hand it sure is nice to have an adult with you, not only for companionship, but just in case something goes wrong. Also remember that the junior division of AERC isn't all that big, so you'll be competing against a smaller number of riders for various forms of recognition.

On the other hand, as a mother (and sponsor) of junior-age daughters who rode alone all the time on our ranch -- from conditioning horses to moving cows -- I know that my daughters had enough miles and ability to handle most situations and felt that they could ride alone at a ride.

It is a personal family decision when deciding whether to move your child up to the senior division. Weighing factors of riding ability, maturity of rider, dependability of the equine mount, and difficulty of the ride are all things that need to be taken into account. It isn't something to be taken lightly.

Listed below are the rules pertaining to unsponsored juniors:

10.3 An AERC member 14 years or older who has completed 500 miles or more in the AERC rider mileage program may ride un-sponsored, but will compete in the senior division.

10.3.1 Such un-sponsored young rider must have on file in the AERC office a letter by parent or guardian which consents to and requests un-sponsored status.

10.3.2 The AERC office will then provide a letter for this un-sponsored young rider verifying 500 miles in AERC rider mileage program, which letter must be presented to ride management at check-in or earlier.

10.3.3 Management may choose not to honor the "un-sponsored young rider" concept and require all persons under 16 years of age to have sponsors. 10.4 The sponsor must be a competent adult (21 years or older) and must be duly entered as a competitor in the event and sponsorship must be documented on the Junior entry form complete with sponsor signature, at the time sponsorship begins.