Reprinted from Endurance News, June 2012, Ride Managers’ Column, monthly publication of the American Endurance Ride Conference, www.aerc.org, 866-271-2372
There are a number of areas that AERC is asking ride managers to focus on this season – one of the biggies is increasing rider membership.
For “newbies” one of the first impressions they get about AERC and whether or not they want to be a member is how we, ride managers, bring them in to the fold of AERC competition.
We all know how critical our role is in making sure new riders have a good first experience so that they stick around and join AERC, and also, as best we can, keep them around. Almost all ride managers hold a New Rider Briefing at their rides to set a tone and provide an opportunity for new riders to get a feel for what the competition day will be like, and a chance to ask questions of an experienced rider or control judge.
At the Ride Managers’ Committee meeting at Convention, this was a big topic of discussion. It was inspiring to meet so many members from all over the country and hear about the creative (and sometimes simple!) things that they are doing to promote new and continuing membership in AERC:
- Recruiting volunteers who are considering trying the sport and ensuring they have a good time, so they will feel confident enough to ride the next time (where we can hook ‘em for sure)
- Grooming new veterinarian members by recruiting students from the local vet school; what an excellent educational opportunity for them to see a lot of horses with a lot of things going on (subtle lamenesses, for example) and we can get them trained to become control judges for the sport
- Novice/Intro/Fun Rides – this one came up repeatedly from all over the country! Some rides have been doing it for a while; many regional organizations or individual rides are trying it for the first time this season.
- Promoting our rides in regional/local magazines, newspapers, and fliers
- Family rides, which Susie Schomburg (MT Region) calls “Pony Rides” – these allow parents with young children and a limited number of horses to switch off in short and long distances with and without their children during multi-day rides
- Reaching out to local trail riding and 4-H and Pony Clubs, both for their volunteer pool, and to expand our rides to new members who already love horses and want to hit the trail
- Jan Stevens of the Mountain Region runs rides which have strictly team-based awards; this means that new riders join up with more experienced riders and work as a team to improve their placing. This means excellent mentorship and a sense of camaraderie, which goes a long way in making potential new members feel a part of the fold.
- Holding and promoting Endurance 101 Clinics in conjunction with, or as a single event separate from, our competitions
- One regional organization, Daniel Boone Distance Riders (DBDR), with riders based primarily in the MW/SE region, is planning to pay the non member ($15) fee for first time riders
- Non-members entering Terry Woolley-Howe’s ride will get a letter with an AERC membership form in the mail, encouraging them to join
- Give “newbies” a taste of what membership includes by giving them an older copy of Endurance News with their registration packet. Please note that Troy Smith at the AERC Office is happy to give you new/old/various Endurance News issues for just this purpose; simply contact her a bit before your ride with an estimate of how many magazines you’d like her to send.
- Some ride managers attending local Tourist Board and Chamber of Commerce meetings
to stay in touch and represent the horse community and make them aware of the distance riding events going on in their community - Similarly, Ride Managers like Helen Koehler (SE region) have engendered a symbiotic relationship with the local forest management group so that other locations WANT to host endurance rides
This was just a start and I fear that I did not write fast enough to capture all of the truly great ideas shared around the table.
Got more ideas? Please share. We have an active email forum for AERC Ride Managers through Yahoo Groups. Look us up, or drop me an email – we’d love to hear what you’re doing in 2012 to drive our membership numbers in the right direction!
Happy trails!