AAAAEndurance Riding is one of the fastest growing equine sports. In 1977, there were only 100 endurance rides held in North America. By 1993, American Endurance Ride Conference sanctioned 600 rides across the United States.

AAAAEndurance appeals to both competitive equestrians and people who enjoy the outdoors and riding trails in new areas. The American Endurance Ride Conference was founded in 1972 as the North American educational, sanctioning and recording keeping body for endurance riders and their horses.An endurance ride can best be described as a cross-country competition of fifty or more miles. It is controlled by equine veterinarians who monitor the horses before, during and after the event. Several times during a ride, there will be veterinary checks. Pulse recovery is one very important factor used to determine the condition of the horses. The ride veterinarians will set and announce the pulse criterion and other criteria before the start of the ride. The horses are also monitored for lameness and appropriate physiology. DRUGS OF ANY KIND ARE PROHIBITED. Veterinarians will remove horses from competition if they find they are not in optimum condition to continue. The first horse to cross the finish line, that has met the completion criteria, is considered the over-all winner.

AAAAThe course for an endurance ride varies with topography of the area. Some are on flat or gentle rolling land; others mountainous with steep ascents or descents. Footing can vary from the shoulder of a paved road to grass, sand, gravel, dirt, slab rock or old woods trails. When laying out the course, the ride manager attempts to avoid obvious hazards such as deep bogs and sheer cliffs, but the endurance horse is expected to take in stride most natural obstacles.

AAAATemperature, climate, footing and terrain will determine the speed at which the horses will travel. A tough hilly trail is actually less destructive than a flat open road that encourages too fast a pace. Increasingly popular have been the multi-day rides, which are often held on historic trails. These rides are usually 50 to 60 miles a day in length and may be conducted over a period of four to six days. These are often point to point with ride camp moving each night. A rider may enter and complete each day as if it were a separate event. It is a personal challenge to ride your mount for fifty, one hundred miles or more and to finish with a sound, willing horse. Hence the AERC motto: "TO FINISH IS TO WIN"