Lexington, KY—The United States Equestrian Federation (USEF), America’s national governing body for equestrian sport, announced today the appointment of Carr-Hughes Productions as its “Official Television Agency” with duties to oversee and promote their television programming efforts.
“We’re excited to officially bring on Carr-Hughes to lead us in this very important area,” said John Long, CEO of the USEF. “Their track record in gaining TV exposure for emerging sports is impressive. Our partnership with them on last spring’s Rolex Kentucky Three Day Event produced nearly twice the anticipated rating on NBC, and we expect to quickly build on that great start,” he added. “We are writing a new chapter in USEF history as we begin to aggressively market our sport as we never have before. We currently have a comprehensive research initiative underway to clearly define the lifestyle and demographics of our more than 86,000 members, and to guide us in our brand positioning and sponsorship activities. This data will support Bob and his team in their efforts as well.”
Carr-Hughes Productions has a long history working with equestrian sport, as well as other Olympic related sports including luge, speed skating, curling and cycling. The “Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event,” broadcast to a national TV audience on NBC, was the first major network broadcast of an equestrian event outside of the Olympic Games since the 1980’s.
“Americans love their horses and TV has the unique ability to reach a wide and diverse audience that enjoys these beautiful animals,” said Bob Hughes, Executive Producer and co-owner of Carr-Hughes Productions. “We’re excited to be a part of their strategy to build awareness of equestrian sport nationwide.” Partnered with Hughes is Jim Carr, a multiple Sports Emmy winner with numerous other credits from the Tour-De-France to the Olympic Games.
The USEF serves as America’s representative to the International Equestrian Federation (FEI) and is the National Governing Body (NGB) for Equestrian Sport in the United States overseeing 27 different breeds and equestrian disciplines in over 2,800 sanctioned competitions a year. Its goals are to ensure the safety and well-being of horses and riders at all skill levels, and to promote the pursuit of excellence in horsemanship and equestrian sport from the grass roots to the elite level through interest in equestrian competition. Importantly the USEF selects and trains the U.S. National Team for all the FEI discipline competitions including the Olympic Games. The international disciplines include show jumping, eventing, dressage, driving, vaulting, endurance, and reining.
Carr-Hughes Productions has a long and successful history providing major sports and recreation programming to national TV audiences on a wide range of networks including NBC, ESPN, Speed Channel and the Outdoor Life Network. Based in Greenfield Center, NY, near Saratoga Springs, Carr-Hughes maintains its own editing, closed captioning, graphic, voice over and High Definition production facilities.
For more information, please contact Sarah Lane, Public Relations Manager, by phone at (859) 225-6974 or via e-mail at [email protected]. USEF press releases can be seen on www.usef.org.