The American Endurance Ride Conference (AERC), the national governing body for endurance riding, announced on January 15 that, as of December 1, 2019, it will no longer be affiliated with the United States Equestrian Federation (USEF). This decision was voted on by the AERC Board of Directors during a January 14 conference call after months of deliberation.
By keeping the AERC/USEF affiliation through this ride season, scheduled co-sanctioned rides held in 2019 will be unaffected and also allows a transition period before the 2020 ride season begins.
According to AERC president Monica Chapman, the AERC Board of Directors will be working on a plan to facilitate the separation from USEF and have also contacted AERC’s International Committee to find ways to allow those seeking to participate in international competitions to continue to do so.
However, the USEF quickly put out its own statement on January 16 in which they announced that USEF has “initiated proceedings to terminate the recognized affiliate status of AERC as soon as possible.” The USEF stated that delaying the disaffiliation to the end of the year is not in the best interest of the sport on the national and international level.
The press release went on to state that the USEF is uncertain if AERC will continue to adhere to and comply with USEF requirements during this transition period.
The Equiery will continue to follow this story and post updates as they occur.
