Education comes in many forms: from a simple conversation with a fellow equestrian describing your sport to an introductory lecture/demo or an education clinic for prospective endurance riders. In the following article, AERC member (and AERC International chair) Kathy Brunjes describes a demonstration at a local Maine riding club's fund raiser she organized with her husband, Tom Hutchinson. Their 45-minute demonstration shared valuable information about endurance riding and resulted in many interested potential members for AERC. The Education Committee salutes AERC members who take the time to introduce others to endurance. If you are interested in putting on a clinic or a demonstration, contact a member of the Education Committee and we'll help you get started. --AERC Education Committee

In the early part of 2006, my husband and I were asked to participate in the Ellis River Riders' second annual "Equine Demonstration Day and Chili Cook-Off." This local Maine riding club's event is a fund raiser for the local chapter of the American Cancer Society, and Tom had participated the year before.

He gave a brief talk on the differences between competitive trail and endurance riding, and did a demonstration on how to take a horse's pulse. It was low-key and, since his "demonstration" was early in the schedule, there weren't many spectators.

When we received the invitation to come back, we asked for a later time slot in the schedule of events, hoping that more spectators would be present. The date was yet TBA by the organizers of the event, and we promptly forgot about our commitment until August 4, when we received a telephone call informing us that the event would be held on August 19, and we had 45 minutes right before noon, "to help fill time before the chili judging." I graciously said the time slot was perfect, and Tom and I proceeded to plan our demonstration. In the words of a former coach of mine, we wanted a "dynamic event" where spectators could be part of the demonstration.

We decided to use three horses and riders, all with different degrees of experience: a 5-year-old gelding who had just completed his first LD, a seasoned 7-year-old 50-mile gelding and my 16-year-old veteran 100-mile horse. We put a junior rider (Lindsay Bean, who had just completed her first LD) on the veteran 100-miler; I rode the 5-year-old and a club member (Dora Morton, who has done two LDs) rode the 7-year-old.

Tom and I scripted the presentation; he told a short history of each horse and rider, the horses' level of experience paired with the riders, and then explained what a vet check/hold was. He gave background information on pulse times and CRIs.

We had the help of another endurance rider, Vicki Stanislawski, acting as our "vet" and utilized another club member as a vet scribe. Tom distributed blank riders' cards to the audience and showed them how we set up a hold area, with an arrival timer, pulse area and vet examination and trot-out lane, then an area where the horses were taken to eat and rest.

In recognition of last year's sharing of the ring with a dressage rider, the organizers of the event gave us the whole riding ring (the demonstration right before ours this year was done in a round pen). Tom placed buckets of water in the area he designated as the "cooling down" place, just in front of the pulse area, then set out feed pans with different types of feed in a separate area where we could take the horses after the "vetting." We (the riders) could hear him talking to the spectators on his microphone as we rode around the perimeter of the grounds, waiting for our cue to ride into the hold.

The demonstration was a huge success. Following our hold/vet check presentation, our "vet" explained the scores she had given the horses (both metabolic and gait) and the spectators could ask questions about the different areas of the riders' cards.

Tom had set up a table beside the bleachers, with AERC membership forms and extra copies of Endurance News. While we were putting the horses away, Tom continued to field questions about AERC and AERC rides in the area, then we "riders" came back to help answer more questions about what we had just done. Our 45 minutes became 60 minutes, and continued through the chili judging.

We recruited several spectators to work as volunteers at the next area ride (although that will be a CTR, it's a start) and several spectators took AERC membership forms. All the extra copies of Endurance News were taken. We hope there will be a third annual demonstration day; Tom and I are already planning how we can improve on our "dynamic event" and further promote endurance and AERC membership!