Lexington, KY – Showing the true spirit of teamwork for the equine industry, the Kentucky Equine Education Project, known as “KEEP” throughout the Bluegrass state, has pledged $10,000 to the United States Equestrian Federation Hurricane Katrina Equine Relief Fund.

“We have to do all that we can to help alleviate some of these disastrous effects,” said Jim Navolio, Executive Director of KEEP. “Our mission and the mission of USEF are parallel and we’re happy to support this effort. We knew it was the right thing to do.”

“It’s mind boggling when you consider that we’re months or years away from any semblance of normalcy in that region,” he continued. “We all have to pull together and cooperate at every level.”

“We’re so appreciative of KEEP’s efforts,” said John Long, USEF Chief Executive Officer. “KEEP puts an incredible amount of time and effort into securing Kentucky’s relationship with the horse. To have them walk beside us in this effort to assist horses from Hurricane Katrina shows how true they are to their overall mission—to help the horse and to help horse people. So many people and their animals will benefit from KEEP’s generosity.”

The United States Equestrian Federation established the Hurricane Katrina Equine Relief Fund to assist those agencies working directly with the equine victims and refugees from Hurricane Katrina. The money will be used to support efforts to deliver food, veterinary services, and shelter for horses and ponies in the hurricane stricken areas. For more information, log onto www.usef.org.

The Kentucky Equine Education Project was created to build broad based education and grassroots initiatives to increase awareness of the benefits of Kentucky's horse economy and to promote jobs and economic opportunities for Kentuckians through the Commonwealth's world-class horse industry. For more information on KEEP, log onto www.horseswork.com.
~~~For more information, please contact Sarah Lane, Public Relations Manager at (859) 225-6974 or via e-mail at [email protected]. USEF press releases are available on our web site – www.usef.org.