| FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Feb. 9th, 2008 ATLANTA, GA Concerned and motivated horse owners from all over Georgia met at the State Capitol on Tuesday, Feb. 5th for the 4th Annual Equine Day meeting and luncheon. "After four years of hard work both legislators and horse owners came to this year's meeting with an open mind and a spirit of unification for the betterment of the horse industry as a whole," said Sue Vetsch, Equine Day organizer. Speakers from both the USFS and the DNR assured meeting goers that despite challenges with funding, trail riders will continue to enjoy GA wilderness. Representatives from the Georgia International Horse Park and Loundes County's new equestrian center currently under construction validated the long tauted enormous impact horses and horse owners have on the state's economy. "This year we were so grateful to see horse owners and legislators embrace the need for more marketing and promotion of our industry, I think the horse owners that attended are aware of the power they have as consumers, now more than ever,¡± Vetsch explained. ¡°In the past it hasn¡¯t been as clear to horse owners or law makers how this industry feeds so many others. Each year at Equine Day we bring in speakers and business owners that help us to illustrate that point. This year, one of our sponsors Suncoast Bedding, made a huge impact by telling luncheon attendees how they sell millions of dollars of shavings almost exclusively for barn use. Suncoast operates one plant in GA and their second will open in the spring. The tax revenue alone from this company was enough to make our legislators sit up and pay attention.¡± Many other large scale equine related businesses call Georgia home. Merial, an International pharmaceutical company headquarters in Duluth, GA , Morris Communications a media conglomerate in Augusta owns 100¡¯s of mainstream newspapers but also is the corporate owner of Western Horseman, Barrel Horse News and HorseCity.com among many others. Georgia is home to two of the nicest horse facilities in the country the GA Horse Park built for the Olympics in 1996 and the GA International Fairgrounds in Perry. Georgia has more than twice the number of horses as the neighboring state of Alabama, just as many as the state of Virginia and is a major thoroughfare for show and racing industries and enthusiasts traveling northing from Kentucky and beyond. ¡°Our goal is to not be the stop-over, it¡¯s to be the ultimate destination,¡± Vetsch explained. Part of the way to achieve this goal begins with the new GA Equine license plate. The license plate will fund the GECC (Georgia Equine Commodity Commission ), who¡¯s main function is to market, promote and research the equine industry in GA. ¡°As more and more people realize how vital horses are to Georgia¡¯s economy, you¡¯ll see a revolution in thinking and see horses elevated to a higher status among the state¡¯s economy.¡± |