EQUITANA, known as the “Equestrian Sports World Fair” opened its doors for the 23rd time in Essen, Germany on March 18, 2017 for a nine-day run to an eager crowd of equine enthusiasts seeking to discover new products, see equine stars, learn new skills, watch amazing shows and participate in one of the largest equine-focused events in the world.
“Our US sales and marketing team travelled to Germany to experience the show and meet the vendors first hand. We were absolutely amazed at the response from the international community wanting to come to the United States to establish new connections and open new channels of distribution for their products”, said Robert Keegan, General Manager of EQU Expo, event organizer for EQUITANA USA.
Manufacturers and retailers from Germany and all across the globe expressed their excitement and interest in travelling to North America to participate in EQUITANA USA events throughout 2017 and 2018, many pleased to see the trade show and family festival programs in development.
In addition to receiving interest directly from many international companies, EQU Expo has established relationships with several key international sales agents to facilitate bringing even more vendors from around the world to EQUITANA USA. Companies from Germany, France, The Netherlands, Luxembourg, Belgium, Great Britain, Brazil, Spain, Portugal and other countries will be participating in eextensive international pavilions at the US events.
Internationally-sourced products range from barns and farm equipment to therapeutic products, clothing, tack, riding gear, and a whole host of equine-related products in between are now looking to EQUITANA USA to provide access inroads to the expansive US marketplace, home to over nine million horses.
“We couldn’t be more optimistic about the future of EQUITANA in the USA”, said Robert Keegan. “The American market is continuously searching for new product innovations and we believe EQUITANA USA can now offer an extraordinary mix of tried and true domestic excellence along with fresh ideas from the international equine arena. Together with some of the top talent from across the globe we are confident EQUITANA USA is slated to become the standard of excellence in equine events in the United States.”
“EQUITANA has made it a priority over the years to invest in the quality of the program and show attracting professional riders and international visitors from all across Europe and beyond”, said Hans-Joachim Erbel, managing director of organizer Reed Exhibitions. “This is an event which sells out year after year as demand for booth space remains very positive. It is a unique event that strives to bring together the entire equine community, all for the love of the horse. The United States presents a perfect opportunity to offer the same quality program to one of the largest equine markets in the world”, added Erbel.
Every other year beginning in 1972 EQUITANA has dazzled horse lovers and attracted interest in its all-discipline, all-breed event among riders of all ages and levels. This year’s presentation was no exception with 208,000 visitors and a sold-out group of 750 vendors from 30 different nations.
No fewer than five Olympic gold medalists helped create the program for this year’s EQUITANA: Ingrid Klimke was joined by her teammate Frank Ostholt, show jumper Ludger Beerbaum and, from the dressage community, Nicole Uphoff-Selke, German national coach Monica Theodorescu and Isabell Werth. Also featured were highly regarded authorities in horsemanship like Pat Parelli and Linda Tellington Jones along with world-class shows like “Passpartoute” featuring stars like Santi Serra, Alizée Froment and The Amazing Lorenzo.
“Particularly impressive this year was the readiness of many visitors to make investments and purchases. EQUITANA brings together everything the world of international equestrianism and horse care has to offer right now”, says EQUITANA Director Christina Uetz.
For more information on EQUITANA USA events please visit www.EQUITANAUSA.com, email EQU Expo at [email protected], or call us at 630-453-5529. Please contact EQU Expo for high-resolution photograph requests. And be sure to join us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/equitanausa.