[Richmond, VA] – Southern States Cooperative has been named as an Official Animal Health and Nutrition Partner for the Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games 2010™. One of 35 global partners in animal health and nutrition, Southern States has united with title sponsor, Alltech, a global leader in animal health and nutrition, in a collaborative effort to promote and achieve the highest level of performance for the competitors of the world’s most prestigious equestrian championships.

The partnership announcement was held at the Kentucky Horse Park, site of the Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games. Southern States is the proud equine feed supplier for the Kentucky Horse Park.

“Southern States is excited and honored to be a part of this world-renowned event,” said Tom Scribner, the cooperative’s president and CEO. “We have a long history of providing high quality feed to horse owners, breeders and trainers in the U.S. and look forward to introducing our Legends line of feeds to the global equine community attending the Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games.”

“Southern States shares Alltech’s commitment to nutritional excellence for animal health and performance,” said Dr. Pearse Lyons, president and founder of Alltech. “We are very proud to name Southern States as a partner for the Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games.”

Founded in 1923, Southern States is a Richmond, Virginia-based farm supply and service cooperative with more than 300,000 farmer-members. One of the nation’s largest agricultural cooperatives, Southern States provides a wide range of farm inputs including fertilizer, seed, livestock feed and pet food, animal health supplies and a host of other supplies for the farm and home. The cooperative serves its members and non-member customers through more than 1,100 retail outlets in the eastern U.S.

The purpose of the Alltech Animal Health and Nutrition Partnership Program is to identify key players who can serve as multipliers of the message of the Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games. This strategic partnership with Alltech includes collaborative sales, marketing, and advertising activities as well as hospitality opportunities in the build-up to the Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games. With Alltech’s recent sponsorship of the Alltech European Championships 2009 to be held August 25-30 at Windsor Castle in the United Kingdom, animal health and nutrition partners have the opportunity to align themselves with two of the most celebrated equestrian competitions in the world.

The Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games, to be held in Lexington, KY, USA from September 25 – October 10, 2010, are the world championships of the eight equestrian disciplines recognized by the Fédération Equestre Internationale (FEI). Held outside of Europe for the first time, the 16-day competition involving 600 riding competitors and 700 horses from more than 60 countries is expected to be attended by as many as 600,000 spectators and viewed on television by an international audience exceeding 460 million people.
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For more about Alltech’s sponsorship and its animal health and nutrition partners, visit www.alltech.com/games.

For more information about Southern States Cooperative, please visit
http://www.southernstates.com.

Press Contacts:

Rich Schneider
Southern States Corporate Marketing and Communications
Southern States Corporate Headquarters
6606 West Broad Street
Richmond, Virginia   23230
United States
Telephone: (804) 281-7726
Mobile: (804) 350-0811
Email: Rich.Schneider@sscoop.com
Web site : www.southernstates.com

Susanna Elliott
Public Relations for the Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games
Alltech Corporate Headquarters
3031 Catnip Hill Pike
Nicholasville, Kentucky
United States
Telephone: (859) 887-5144
Mobile: (859) 473-2696
Email: SuElliott@alltech.com
Web site : www.alltech.com