First Lady Beshear promotes Horses & Hope at State Fair

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – First Lady Jane Beshear Thursday attended the World’s Championship Horse Show at the Kentucky State Fair. A mobile mammography unit was available on-site through the support of the Horses and Hope program created by Mrs. Beshear and the Kentucky Cancer Program.

The United Professional Horseman’s Association (UPHA) presented Mrs. Beshear with a $10,000 donation to Horses and Hope for such outreach efforts.

“We appreciate UPHA’s generous donation to Horses and Hope toward breast cancer screenings and awareness,” said Mrs. Beshear. “Working together, we hope to reach women in the equine industry who may not have access to this potentially life-saving service.”

The UPHA Pink Ribbon Program has provided support to Horses and Hope for breast cancer education and mammograms for workers in the American Saddlebred industry during the Horse Show. The UPHA is an association of professional horsemen and horsewomen who united in 1968 to improve the horse show industry. UPHA sponsors the Pink Ribbon Program to promote show horses and to raise funds for breast cancer research, awareness and treatment.

During the Horse Show, Horses and Hope sponsored the Ladies Roadster to Bike Class. Mrs. Beshear awarded the trophy and a signature Horses and Hope cooler to the winner of the event. Free gifts were also presented to breast cancer survivors.

The mobile mammography van from the Brown Cancer Center at the University of Louisville has been located in the South Wing of the Kentucky State Fair throughout the week. Bilingual Horses and Hope staff scheduled women ages 40 and over from the horse industry to receive mammograms. Breast cancer information was provided at the Horses and Hope exhibit in the North Wing Equine Exhibit Hall for visitors to the Horse Show and Kentucky State Fair.

Horses and Hope provides breast cancer education, screening and treatment referral to Kentucky’s horse industry workers and their families. Special events are also held in collaboration with equestrian organizations to honor breast cancer survivors and to raise breast cancer awareness.

Since the program was founded in 2008, Horses and Hope has educated more than 1,200 track employees. The program has screened hundreds of equine employees and detected breast cancer in two individuals, both of whom have received treatment.

According to the Kentucky Cancer Registry, breast cancer is the second leading cause of cancer deaths among women in the Commonwealth. Between 2,800 and 3,200 Kentucky women are diagnosed with breast cancer every year.

For more information about Horses and Hope, visit http://www.horsesandhope.org.