The SMC has commenced its review of the responses received from the Members Survey. The responses were categorized and a count taken of the number of responses allocated to each category. The count and categories are:
The SMC would like to extend a very warm welcome to our new Committee member, Paulene Drew. Paulene is a relative newcomer to endurance who is keen to learn more about our sport and to offer some assistance at the same time. It’s great to have an extra set of hands to share the load. Please join me in thanking Paulene for putting her hand up and make her feel welcome if you meet her at rides.
The SMC would like to advise members that the handover to the new Membership Registrar, Sandra Feil, will be occurring today. Sandra's contact details will be posted on the website as soon as this has occurred. The email address will still be This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
Please help Sandra out during this transition period by ensuring your membership applications are submitted well ahead of any ride you wish to attend. This will allow Sandra plenty of time to process the applications while she still has her training wheels on. Thank you for your consideration.
Thanks to Kerrie Gabb for taking on the Membership Registrar role for the interim period on top of her role as Treasurer.
Please use the following forms to Apply for distance scrolls
The attached forms are to be used to support applications for AERA Horse Distance and Rider Lifetime Distance Scroll awards. Please note that these must be completed and forwarded to Jo Bailey by 30 April 2019 if you wish to have these awards presented at the Tom Quilty 2019.
| Form | Version |
| Rider Lifetime Distance | 2019 |
| Horse Lifetime Distance | 2019 |
The VERA SMC wishes to advise riders, trainers and other interested persons that the swabbing program for 2019 has now been determined. VERA has targeted a number of rides at which swabbing will be completed. At each of these rides a specified number of swabs will be taken.
The method of determining which horses are to be swabbed is defined within Section 5 - Equine Anti-Doping and Controlled Medications Rules under Clause 6.3.2 of these rules.
The number of swabs to be taken is based on the AERA requirement to target 2% of ride entries (based on 2018 figures). During 2018 VERA achieved a swabbing rate of 1.325% of endurance ride entries.
Please make sure you have read Section 5 and understand your responsibilities. Please raise any questions you may have and a response will be posted as soon as possible.
The first Member's Survey has now closed and the VERA SMC will be looking at collating and analysing the data over the next few weeks. The outcomes will be presented to the next meeting of the SMC and an action plan developed to assist the Committee in addressing the most urgent issues that impact on our members.
Thank you to the 26 people who took the time to respond and provide your thoughts on our sport. Your input is very much appreciated.
After an amazing weekend enjoying the hospitality of Kim and Steve Noble up in Lancefield we are proud to announce the top results for the weekend.
Congratulations to all competitors, and thank you for attending, its each and every entry that makes this sport such a great thing.
