I first wrote about new members and AERC in my July 2006 column as vice-president. I think the topic was important to AERC then and still do. In the following, I'll review our progress over the past two years and mention again what we can do as members to help grow the number of riders in our sport.

AERC gains about a thousand new members every year. These are riders who have decided to try our sport because they've read about it or seen our webpage and it seems like an interesting thing to try.

With a membership level of about 6,900 in 2007, this would seem like a phenomenal growth rate for AERC. What has happened in the past is that within three years, only about 40% of these new members are still with AERC. Statistics this year appear to show that we are retaining more of these new members than in the past.

This high loss rate could be due to a number of reasons. It could be that our sport isn't what new members thought it would be once they tried it. More often, though, it has to do with how they get started in their first year.

As a part of the Membership Committee, I've polled those who did not renew in past years. The most common reasons I received included:

-- Difficulty getting started. "I could never find a way to get started." "No one to condition with, no one to ask questions of, no one to do my first ride with."

-- Unfriendly. "The people at the rides I went to were not friendly." "People are very competitive and look down on newcomers."

-- Attitudes towards limited distance. "Limited distance vs. endurance attitudes since most newcomers start with LD."

-- Finances. "Endurance is too expensive for my budget."

In order to remedy some of these attitudes, AERC has provided a mentors list online -- with a mentor liaison for each region, a new members resource page, new rider meetings at some rides, more introductory rides, and additional educational materials.

In the past two years, members of the Membership Committee have contacted new members who have not done a ride in the first six months of the season and encouraged them to participate or at least volunteer at a ride to have a feeling of involvement. Participation seems to be one key to retaining our new members. This process is fairly time-intensive, though, as personal phone calls work much better than e-mail or paper mail.

Once a new member gets to a ride, it depends a lot on how you -- as a rider or ride manager -- make this a positive experience. At your next ride, look for new riders. Ask if they have questions or could use help. Be friendly. Offer to ride with them if you can.

Our goal is to grow AERC membership with people who enjoy the many aspects of endurance, whether it's LD, 50- or 100-mile rides, multi-days, or FEI. Conventional business practice is that it's always better to keep a customer you have than to get a new one. While AERC doesn't spend a lot of money on advertising, the Media Committee will continue to promote AERC in other equine publications.

Let's all work to welcome our new members and keep them with us for many years. Personal contact is very important in getting our new members started and you are the best way to provide this.

If you would like to help in the process of contacting new members, contact Membership Committee Chair Dawn Carrie. Dawn's contact information is listed in the committee section of every EN.