Lexington, KY (Monday, July 10, 2006) - The United States Dressage Federation (USDF) today announced that Luitpold Pharmaceuticals, Inc. manufacturer of the joint therapy Adequan (POLYSULFATED GLYCOSAMINOGLYCAN) signed a long term commitment to sponsor the annual USDF National Convention and Symposium and the USDF year-end horse awards. 

The sponsorship, which includes the designation as the "Official Joint Therapy Sponsor" of the USDF, begins in 2006 and runs through 2010.

"For years, USDF members have relied on Adequan i.m. as the joint disease treatment they trust for their horses," says Allyn Mann, Senior Manager of the Animal Health Division AT Luitpold. "They've shown a tremendous amount of confidence in our brand, our product, and our results. They know from experience that we understand the needs of performance horses, and now, as we join the USDF family, the message will be clear- we support the vision of the sport as a whole and the devoted equestrians and horses who continue to move it forward."

Due to the rigors of competition, many performance horses suffer from joint disease. Adequan(R) is designed to help treat the underlying cause of the problem and break the cycle of damage, while reducing pain and inflammation.
          
Stephan Hienzsch, Executive Director of the USDF, adds, "Adequan is a great fit as a sponsor for us and we look forward to working with them to continue to educate our members on equine joint disease."
As part of its mission, the USDF offers a variety of award programs to recognize achievement in dressage and dressage sport horse breeding. Adequan will be sponsoring the prestigious Horse of the Year (HOY) and Sport Horse Breeding Horse of the Year. Both highly coveted awards are national in scope and rank the top twenty horses for each level of dressage.

Adequan is sponsoring over 1700 individual awards in 11 categories that include the Adult Amateur, Junior/Young Rider, Musical Freestyle, Musical Freestyle Challenge, Vintage Cup, Quadrille Team Awards, FEI 5-year-old, FEI 6-year-old, Materiale Horse of the Year, All Breeds, Pas de Deux, and Breeder of the Year Awards.

Horse year-end awards are based on the quality of a horse's performance as demonstrated by scores earned during the competition year from October 1 through September 30. USDF awards are designed to reward horses that consistently earn good scores, regardless of whether they win a class.

The Adequan/USDF National Convention and Symposium is the single largest educational venue for USDF members and includes USDF business and governance activities, an awards banquet, a gala evening honoring lifetime achievement, a trade fair and various social events.

For full prescribing information on Adequan(R), visit www.adequan.com

 

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Founded in 1973, the United States Dressage Federation is a nonprofit membership organization dedicated to education, recognition of achievement, and promotion of dressage. For more information about USDF membership or programs, visit www.usdf.org, email usdressage@usdf.org, or call (859) 971-2277.