Lexington, Ky. – Dec. 20, 2017 – With great pleasure, the Adequan® West Coast Dressage Festival has designated equine welfare organization Brooke USA as the official charity of the six-week CDI and national dressage show circuit in Southern California, kicking off the first weekend in January.
“From the moment we learned about the amazing work of Brooke USA, we became believers and supporters, especially when we look at the wonderful care our show horses receive compared to that of the working horses, donkeys and mules in less fortunate parts of the world,” says Scott Hayes of SH Productions, Festival Director, and member of Brooke USA Board of Directors.
Brooke Global Ambassadors Charlotte Dujardin and Monty Roberts, as well as Brooke USA Ambassador Boyd Martin will be among the presenters at the Festival Masterclasses held each Saturday of the Festival prior to the show’s FEI freestyle classes.
Brooke USA’s mission is to significantly improve the welfare of working horses, donkeys and mules and the people they serve throughout Asia, Africa, the Middle East and Latin America by raising funds for the global equine welfare programs of Brooke, the world’s largest international equine welfare charity.
“Most welfare issues affecting working horses, donkeys and mules – chronic exhaustion, dehydration, malnutrition, crippling lameness and disease – are preventable,” says Emily Marquez-Dulin, executive director of Brooke USA. “We are thrilled to partner with the West Coast Dressage Festival as a step toward ensuring that Brooke’s new strategic goals of achieving global impact and sustainable improvement are met. Brooke is committed to large-scale lasting change by embedding advocacy issues with local, regional and national governments to develop policies that promote the recognition of the role of working horses, donkeys and mules in developing countries and protect their welfare. This way animals receive the help they need, and more owners, service providers and communities have heathy equine work partners to help them earn a better living now and in generations to come.”
Brooke knows that the welfare of a working animal depends on the people that own and use the animal. In recent years, Brooke has also been delivering an increasing amount of community training and support to share better welfare practices.
More than 100 million working horses, donkeys and mules provide invaluable support to daily life for an estimated 600 million people (eight percent of the world’s population) in some of the poorest places in the world, through haulage, transportation and production. Healthy working horses, donkeys and mules help to put food on their tables, and earn money to pay school fees so children can receive an education to build better futures for themselves and their families.
The Adequan® West Coast Dressage Festival show circuit runs from January 3 through February 17 with a Concours de Dressage International (CDI) competition at each of the four shows. Each competition also will include a three-star national show with recognition by U.S. Equestrian Federation, U.S. Dressage Federation, the California Dressage Society and the Oregon Dressage Society.
The schedule is: AWCDF I, Temecula, California, Galway Downs, January 3-7; AWCDF II, Del Mar, California, Del Mar Fairgrounds, January 18-21; AWCDF III, Del Mar, California, Del Mar Fairgrounds, February 1-4; AWCDF IV, Del Mar, California, Del Mar Fairgrounds, February 14-17.
More information on Brooke USA can be found at www.brookeusa.org or by contacting Brooke USA: Cindy Rullman, 859-296-0037 or Cindy.Rullman@BrookeUSA.org. News on the festival can be found at www.westcoastfestival.com.
ABOUT BROOKE USA
Brooke USA’s mission is to significantly improve the welfare of working horses, donkeys and mules and the people they serve throughout Asia, Africa, the Middle East and Latin America by raising funds and responsibly directing them to the areas of greatest need. About five years ago, Brooke USA opened its headquarters in Lexington, Kentucky, at the famous Kentucky Horse Park.
ABOUT SH PRODUCTIONS
SH Productions is an event management company focusing on the world of sport horses. Founder Scott Hayes is a Canadian entrepreneur and event planner with a vast business background in hospitality, marketing, retail and design. He brings to his events an immense love for sports and the entertainment industry, and invest his energy in shedding new light onto the world of event planning.
