Qualifications for the National Championships

[Michael Maul <mmaul@flash.net>]

In reference to:
Please review the following information.  Of the
top 20 placers on the 50 at Nationals, only half would
have been at the race under the new rule change
(Instead of 124 riders you would have had 62!).
*******************
This isn't the whole story.  While the qualifications were 
increased in some areas - they were relaxed in other areas.

The minutes read
1,  Rider must be a current AERC member in good standing
2.   Horse must be entered in the AERC Horse Mileage program
3.  Horse and Rider team must have at least 500 lifetime 
endurance miles.
You have the choice in the next 3:
A.  Horse and Rider must place in the top five in their 
division in two 50
mile AERC endurance rides between the dates of August 24, 
2001 to August 23,
2002
B. The horse and rider teams winning first place in their 
weight division in
the previous year's 50 mile AERC NC.
HIGH MILEAGE EXCEPTION:
C.  Any horse & Rider team that  has 1,000 endurance 
lifetime miles


Note the last item.  This opens up the NC to a reasonably 
large group that would not have been automatically qualified 
at the last NC.  It's not clear what the number of entries
would have been with this qroup entered.

The rules as applied last year allowed a rider and horse 
with 150 lifetime endurance miles and 50 LD miles to become
a National Champion.

Mike