Horse welfare issues are being cited as one reason the American Endurance Ride Conference has decided to terminate its affiliation with the U.S. Equestrian Federation effective in December. | Photo: Courtesy FEI/Martin Dokoupil

Equine welfare issues are being cited as one reason the American Endurance Ride Conference (AERC) has decided to terminate its affiliation with the U.S. Equestrian Federation (USEF) effective in December.

Monica Chapman, AERC board president, said another major concern was that AERC members were not receiving due process pursuant to AERC rules if they were suspended for FEI/USEF violations.

Chapman told The Horse that the organization expressed concerns about the welfare of horses used in Fédération Equestre Internationale (FEI) Region 7 endurance events; Region 7 includes Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Libya, Lebanon, Morocco, Oman, Palestine, Qatar, Sudan, the Syrian Arab Republic, Tunisia, the United Arab Emirates, and Yemen. She said the AERC also asked the USEF to make protocol changes,