48/ JULY 2020 THE RIDER Equilume Announces Partnership with World Class International Eventing Riders


Kildare, Ireland – July 16, 2020 – Equilume, the world leader in the research and development of light therapy solutions for the global horse industry, announced two new partnerships with award-winning


our products and that Equilume is playing a part in keeping their horses looking and feeling their best while performing at the highest levels,” said Dr Barbara Murphy, Founder, Equilume.


International


Eventing riders, Phillip Dutton of the United States and Sam Wat- son of Ireland. With these part- nerships, Dutton and Watson have installed the Equilume Sta- ble Light System at their respec- tive home stables and use the Equilume Cashel Light Masks on their horses while traveling to competitions throughout the year. Headquartered in County


Kildare, Ireland, Equilume de- signs and manufactures lighting solutions to harness the benefits of natural daylight for stabled horses and permit continued ex- posure to optimum lighting while horses travel or are at pasture. The Equilume Stable Light pro- vides horses with biologically ef- fective light that maximizes the health, performance and breeding efficiency for stabled horses. The Equilume Cashel Light Mask is an individual headpiece for horses that provides timed, low- level blue light to a single eye throughout the day to ensure op- timum health, performance and coat condition when they are sta- bled, traveling or away at compe- tition.


Three-time Olympic


medallist, Phillip Dutton, was named the number one FEI World Eventing Rider in 2005. He represented his native coun- try, Australia, in three Olympics, winning team gold in Atlanta, and four World Championships before becoming an American citizen in 2006. Riding for the USA, Dutton was a member of the gold medal team and individ-


Sam Watson


an Irish rider, this par tner- s h i p comes at an impor- tant time in


the Equilume-Cashel Light Mask


ual silver medallist at the Pan- American Games in Rio de Janeiro in 2007 and has been on the United States Olympic event- ing team at Beijing, London and Rio, winning individual bronze on imported Irish Sport Horse ‘Mighty Nice’ in Rio in 2016. “I had read about the Equi-


lume light concept and the theory of improving a horse’s trainabil- ity, attitude, and healing improve- ments, so I decided to try one of their Cashel Light Masks. The horse I selected was a very tal- ented but somewhat difficult horse to train on a daily basis. I was told it would take about six weeks of use with the Cashel mask to see the full benefits on the horse,” said Dutton. “After


Phillip Dutton just three weeks, I saw


a remarkable improvement in the horse’s attitude and willingness to enjoy his work. The logic of more light for a stabled horse makes sense to me, and I was able to see the results. I am ex- cited about what benefits this will have for all my horses - so we are in the process of installing the Equilume Stable Lights through- out our barn.” Sam Watson, a member of


the Irish eventing silver medal winning team at the World Equestrian Games in 2018, has represented Ireland three times at the Games and was short-listed for Tokyo 2020. For Watson, whose 2019 number seven world ranking was an all-time high for


NAL Moves National Finals to Capital Challenge Horse Show


West Coast Finals Canceled for This Year


Annville, PA – July 15, 2020 – The North Amer- ican League (NAL) is moving this year’s Na- tional Finals to the Capi- tal Challenge Horse Show, which will be held September 28–October 4, at the Prince George’s Equestrian Center


and the reduced number of exhibitors likely to show in those Finals, the most prudent thing for this year is to cancel the West Coast Finals.” The NAL season runs


in


Upper Marlboro, MD. The NAL is also


canceling its West Coast Finals for this year. In lieu of the Finals, the NAL will present ribbons and awards to the top 10 finish- ers of the west coast’s final standings in each of its five divisions – Adult Jumper Presented by SmartPak, Children’s Jumper Pre- sented by EquiFit, Low Jun- ior/Amateur


Jumper


Presented by HorseFlight, Children’s Hunter and Adult Hunter. “The COVID-19 pan-


demic has had a major im- pact on this year’s horse


show activity,” said Annette Longenecker of Ryegate Show Services which pro- duces the NAL. “Our goal with the Finals is to accom- modate as many of our ex- hibitors as possible and we feel that the Capital Chal- lenge provides the best op- portunity to accomplish that given that the Pennsylvania National Horse Show is moving outside the region for this year. “We also feel that


with the reduced number of qualifying events out west,


from September 1 to Au- gust 31. NAL qualifying classes are open to all competitors, but only current members are awarded points. For this year, riders are able to


count their best 8 shows to- wards the National stand- ings while still showing in as many classes as they like. Annual memberships are only $40 per rider. For more information


regarding the North Ameri- can League series please call (717) 867-5643, email to NAL@Ryegate.com or visit www.ryegate.com. Follow us on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/ NALFinals


pr epa r a - tion of his horses for


the rescheduled Tokyo Olympics next year. “Getting horses in great


condition is often about keeping them in the best conditions. Health, muscle growth, mood, energy, rest and recovery are all areas that I personally feel are negatively impacted on dark and gloomy days. The Equilume team has the science to show that the same is true for horses and that the lighting solutions work to improve these factors,” said Wat- son. “We’ve got our broodmares and performance horses using the Equilume Stable Lights and Light Masks. We want the best for our horses and we don’t want to miss out on a performance


edge. Lighting clearly has an im- portant part to play. Plus, who doesn’t want their day brightened up.”


Equilume, a University


College Dublin spin-out com- pany supported through No- vaUCD, is best known for the global success of their award- winning blue light mask that aids fertility in breeding stock. The company’s continued investment in R&D has led to an expanded product line, including the Equi- lume Stable Light and the Equi- lume Cashel Light Mask, targeted at the national and inter- national Sport Horse market. Equilume also works with


Enterprise Ireland, the Irish State agency that partners with Irish enterprises to help them start, grow, innovate, and win export sales in global markets. Enter- prise Ireland is thrilled to support Equilume as its technologies con- tinue to help horses to remain happy and healthy. “We are delighted that two


such accomplished and respected riders are seeing the benefits of


Equilume join an elite list of equine companies,


including


Horseware Ireland, in their sup- port of both Phillip Dutton and Sam Watson.


About Equilume Equilume is a world leader


in the research and development of light therapy solutions to assist the global equine industry in maximising reproductive effi- ciency and performance. The company was established as a re- sult of pioneering research at UCD by Dr Barbara Murphy, in collaboration with Professor John Sheridan, a UCD optoelectronics engineer, who identified the opti- mum light level required to ad- vance the breeding season in horses, giving rise to the success- ful launch of the innovative Equi- lume Light Mask. For more information on the Equilume Sta- ble Light and the Equilume Cashel Light Mask, please visit www.equilume.com. About Enterprise Ireland Enterprise Ireland is the


Irish State agency that works with Irish enterprises to help them start, grow, innovate, and win export sales in global mar- kets. Enterprise Ireland partners with entrepreneurs, Irish busi- nesses, and the research and in- vestment communities to develop Ireland’s international trade, in- novation, leadership, and com- petitiveness.


For more


information on Enterprise Ire- land, please visit https://enter- prise-ireland.com/en/.


House Committee Votes to Hand BLM $102 Million to Round Up America’s Iconic Wild Horses


WASHINGTON, DC (July 10, 2020)…Today, two of the nation’s leading wild horse protection and hu- mane organizations expressed disap- pointment with the U.S. House Appropriations Committee’s decision this morning to approve Fiscal Year 2021 Interior appropriations legisla- tion giving the Bureau of Land Man- agement (BLM) $102 million for its wild horse and burro program. In a report delivered to Congress in May, the agency said that it intended to use the funding to round up as many as 20,000 wild horses a year from West- ern public lands. In passing the bill unamended,


the committee ignored requests by key members, including U.S. House Natural Resources Chair Rep. Raul Grijalva, Public Lands Subcommittee Chair Deborah Haaland, and Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D-OH) of the Appro- priations Committee, to require the BLM to implement humane fertility control as an alternative to cruel and unsustainable roundups and to pro- hibit surgical sterilization of wild horses and burros. The bill carries over the 27%


budget increase Congress awarded


the BLM wild horse and burro pro- gram last year after the Humane So- ciety of the United States, the ASPCA, and Return to Freedom joined the cattle industry in lobbying for a mass wild horse roundup plan. Although the groups portrayed the plan as a humane fertility control pro- gram that did not include brutal sur- gical sterilization methods, they have not supported efforts by Congress- man Grijalva and others to require the BLM to fund humane, reversible fer- tility control programs or prohibit surgical sterilization. “The House Appropriations


Committee missed an opportunity to say ‘whoa’ to the BLM’s rampant mismanagement and mistreatment of our nation’s wild horses and burros,” said Suzanne Roy, Executive Director of the American Wild Horse Cam- paign. “Committee members just let down the American public and our iconic wild horses and burros by vot- ing to hand over $100 million in tax- payer funds to the BLM to continue its unscientific, unsustainable and in- humane wild horse and burro roundup program.” “It’s time for Congress and the


White House to rein in this costly, swampy spending spree that’s de- stroying our iconic American wild horse and burro populations,” said Marty Irby, a lifelong horseman and executive director at Animal Wellness Action. “House and Senate Leader- ship and President Trump should sad- dle up and demand that our hard-earned tax dollars funding the BLM be used to implement PZP birth control instead of cruel helicopter chases, mass roundups, and the incar- ceration of the horses whose backs our nation was built upon.” The groups said they support


the Committee’s decision to continue the ban on slaughter of wild horses and burros under the jurisdiction of the BLM and U.S. Forest Service, but vowed to continue to fight for reform of the BLM’s woefully mismanaged wild horse roundup program, which the National Academy of Sciences has called “expensive and unproduc- tive for the BLM and the public it serves.”


The bill now heads to the full House for a vote. The Senate version of the bill is still pending.


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