COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - The U.S. Olympic Committee today announced equestrian athlete Megan Benjamin and swimmer Brendan Hansen as its August Athletes of the Month. The USOC Team of the Month was awarded to the USA National Baseball Team. Benjamin (Saratoga, Calif.) won the gold medal in women's vaulting at the World Equestrian Games in Aachen, Germany on August 27. She was the first American woman to win the title. The Germans have won 20 of the last 32 World Championships. Benjamin was also...

Heidi White leads the Americans in the dressage phase of eventing at the 2006 WEG in Aachen, Germany. (Bob Langrish) (Aachen, Germany)—A brand new cross-country course awaits the eventers as they begin their first of three phases at the 2006 WEG. But before they can take to the new course (which will be contested in the short format without steeplechase), there are two days of dressage. And if the morning of the first day is any indication, it will be a cold and wet ride. In addition, it...

The United States Equestrian Federation (USEF) will host an open Hackney/Harness forum during the Kentucky State Fair World’s Championship Horse Show. The forum will be held immediately following the American Hackney Horse Society General Membership meeting, which begins at approximately 1:30 p.m. in the Lock/Heather room at the Executive West hotel on Thursday, August 24. The forum is open to any that wish to attend and will be led by USEF Hackney/Harness committee members. This is your chance...

The new U.S. Equestrian Team logo found on Ariat apparel. Lexington, KY – Ariat International, the leading equestrian footwear and apparel manufacturer has created a collection of high-performance athletic gear for our nation’s top equestrian athletes that debuted last weekend at the 2006 Adequan®/USEF Open Reining Championship. Members of the newly-announced U.S. Reining Team sponsored by Adequan® were able to try on the gear and be the first team to do so. Through the newly-signed...

Lexington, KY – Ariat International, the leading equestrian footwear and apparel manufacturer, has created a collection of high-performance athletic gear for our nation’s top equestrian athletes that debuted last weekend at the 2006 Adequan®/USEF Open Reining Championship. Members of the newly-announced U.S. Reining Team sponsored by Adequan® were able to try on the gear and be the first team to do so. Through the newly-signed sponsorship, Ariat became the “Official Apparel Supplier” of United...

Matt Mills and Easy Otie Whiz (Waltenberry) Lexington, KY – It was a night of upsets at the Kentucky Horse Park during the 2006 Adequan®/United States Equestrian Federation® Open Reining Championship, which was also the selection trial for the U.S Reining Team for this summer’s World Equestrian Games in Aachen, Germany. Twenty-seven of the finest reiners our nation has to offer competed in what many believed was one of the most competitive reining competitions ever held. The...

Arnd Bronkhorst (Brentina, the 2005 Farnam®/Platform™ USEF Horse of the Year, now has the Brentina Cup named after her, which will be awarded to the winner of the USEF National Young Adult Dressage Championship this weekend. ) Lexington, KY – The United States Equestrian Federation® (USEF) is pleased to announce the qualifiers for the USEF National Young Adult Dressage Championship, whose winner will be awarded the Brentina Cup (formerly the Passage Cup). The inaugural 2006 Brentina Cup will be...

When the United States Equestrian Federation (USEF) announced its 2005 champions, the list included Hilltop Farm's elite Hanoverian stallion Contucci as the 2005 USEF Leading Sire Dressage Breeding. Contucci's accumulated points of 766 were more than double the #2 ranked sire, who accumulated 331 points. The title of USEF Leading Owner Dressage Breeding was also awarded to Hilltop Farm, likely due to many of Contucci's offspring successes. Since 2004, Contucci has been represented in the USEF...

Lexington, KY – Ariat International, the leading equestrian footwear and apparel manufacturer, has created a collection of high-performance athletic gear for our nation’s top equestrian athletes that will debut in mid-summer. Through the newly-signed sponsorship, Ariat becomes the “Official Apparel Supplier” of the United States Equestrian Federation (USEF). As part of the category-exclusive sponsorship, Ariat has created an assortment of signature USEF garments to debut with the U.S. Team at...

Central Garden & Pet Company (NASDAQ: CENT) announced that it has agreed to acquire the stock of Farnam Companies, Inc., for approximately $287 million, plus $4 million for the purchase of related real property. Based in Phoenix, AZ, Farnam is a leading manufacturer and marketer of innovative health care products primarily for horses, household pets and livestock sold through over-the-counter and veterinary channels. In addition to the internationally recognized Farnam umbrella brand, Farnam’s...