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Denver CO – Today is a day of celebration in the horse industry: the launching of our very own marketing initiative to increase and protect horse activities in the United States.

Named Horselife, this marketing initiative is centered on the horse, and all the ways one might enjoy horses, including riding, racing, or keeping for pleasure. The former Horse Industry Alliance found that one-third of Americans wanted to have regular horse experiences. Our goal is to invite them to do just that, and guide them along the way to safe and happy experiences so they’ll keep coming back for more.

The first goal is a three-stage deployment of a website, the first stage of which went live today. This website offers our funding partners the opportunity to reach these newcomers, but more importantly, provides a lot of basic and welcoming information to these newbies. Stage two of the site will triple its size, and is due to launch by the end of June. Stage three will add some final touches to the site, and a percentage of the ongoing budget is assigned to keeping the site fresh and interesting. During stage three we will also begin marketing the site to the general (non-horseperson) public through pay-per-clicks, banner advertising and public relations.

Once stage three of the website deploys, we will focus on deploying a full-scale public relations effort, targeting publications such as Fitness magazine, Parenting, and the like. Once a point of diminishing returns is reached with public relations, we will add paid advertising to the mix.

Please take a moment to review horselife.com and send feedback and ideas. Plenty more is planned… you can find the full site map at horselife.org if you’d like to see what’s coming next.

For more information on Horselife, visit the intra-industry status site horselife.org or contact Holly Davis, WETA consultant, at 303-513-7343 or email holly@horseflycreative.com.

Many thanks to…

Legacy Investors who are funding partners in this effort: AQHA, Rocky Mountain Clothing, Weaver Leather, Roper Apparel & Footwear, Devon Aire, Bowtie/Horse Illustrated, SmartPak Equine, W&E Today/Cowboys & Indians, Kerrits, Circle Y Saddles, US Eventing Association, Dover Saddlery, Hobby Horse Clothing Company, Wellpride Omega-3 for Horses, SSG Gloves, Horse Media Group, MD Barns, Rod’s Western Wear and Horseware Ireland.

Thanks also to the photographers who donated the use of their photographs to bring this site to life: Carol Walker of Living Images (www.livingimagescjw.com), Barbara Young (www.barbyoungphotography.com), Steve Thornton (www.stevethornton.com) and Colleen Pace of the American Association of Riding Schools (www.ucanride.com). Finally, many thanks to the team at Vanguard Communications (www.vanguardcommunications.net) for their patience in working with a project that’s funded by an association. This brings special challenges to an agency, and their perseverance is appreciated.

About the Western-English Trade Association
The Western-English Trade Association unites our industry for growth, bringing together not just manufacturers, retailers and sales reps, but also breed and sport associations, publications, trade shows, advertising agencies, and other companies working in the equine and western lifestyle industries. Benefits include health and other insurance discounts, continuing-education tracks for both retail management and customer service, plus shipping discounts and other trade-association advantages, and extraordinary networking and co-operative business opportunities. In addition to member benefits, WETA offers five signature programs:
1. Horselife, the marketing initiative to grow the equine industry through inviting newcomers.
2. Get Yourself West, the marketing initiative to grow the western lifestyle industry.
3. The annual Leadership Forum is the association’s much-anticipated annual retreat with powerful speakers who inspire and educate; this year it will be held in Scottsdale, Arizona.
4. Online continuing-education program for member retailers by noted retailing expert Tom Shay.
5. The All-Industry Marketing Awards (AIM Awards), which recognize the best advertising, marketing, public relations and publishing efforts in the equine and western lifestyle industries.
For more information or to join WETA, please visit www.wetaonline.com or call 303-295-2001. 4/14/07