Pfizer Animal Health and American Horse Publications (AHP) are proud to announce that the Equine Land Conservation Resource (ELCR) has been named the recipient of the 2011 Equine Industry Vision Award. The Equine Industry Vision Award is the first of its kind to showcase innovation across the entire equine market, as well as recognize ingenuity and service. This award was presented to the ELCR’s Immediate Past President Larry Byers and founder Georgiana Hubbard McCabe, representing ELCR’s four original founders, during a ceremony held June 1 at the AHP Ride into History Seminar in Colonial Williamsburg, Va.

The ELCR was selected to receive this honor because of the organization’s dedication to help preserve land for the future of equestrian sports, recreation, and industry. The ELCR is an organization that works to educate horse owners regarding key issues related to land conservation as well as establish partnerships with individuals and organizations that can help represent the conservation community. The ELCR is the only national organization addressing these issues for the equestrian community.

"It’s an honor to recognize the ELCR for their vision and dedication to help preserve and protect U.S. land for the future of equestrian sports," said Kate Russo, marketing manager of cattle and equine parasiticides at Pfizer Animal Health. "The ELCR has made exemplary strides in educating horse owners and organizations on the issues that losing open land can have on the equestrian industry. The work of this organization is imperative to the industry as a whole."

Founded in 1997, the ELCR was initiated by a group of concerned horse people who recognized that the loss of open land is the greatest threat to the future of all equestrian sports, recreation, and industry. What began as a program within the Conservation Fund, a highly respected conservation organization, became what today the industry recognizes as the national organization to preserve land and promote access for all types of equestrian use