The major highlights of AERC's annual convention include the awards ceremonies. All regional award recipients are honored at a Friday ceremony, and the convention culminates in the national awards banquet on Saturday evening. The banquet is a chance for hundreds of AERC members to honor and celebrate national award winners, the owners of horses achieving the 5,000-mile mark (and each subsequent 1,000 miles after that), and breed award winners. The evening ends with the presentation of the Pard'ners Award and Hall of Fame awards.

All equines achieving mileage plateaus of 1,000 miles or more are noted on signs which are posted during the trade show and awards ceremonies.

A new category of awards will be presented at the 2006 convention -- the limited distance regional mileage championship, which honors the top seven senior and three junior LD rides in each region (with a minimum of 150 miles on one equine).

To find out about all annual AERC awards, visit www.aerc.org/Membership_Awards_Description.asp, or phone the office.

Whether you will be picking up an award, cheering for a friend, curious to find out who wins the Pard'ners award for 2005, or just resting your feet after an exhausting day at the trade show, the convention is the place to be in February of 2006. See you in San Antonio!