Press Release
July 19, 2010

Menlo Charity Horse Show Is Seeing Green

Atherton, CA – During a week long horse show event, equestrians typically are not thinking about the clean up involved after hundreds of horses and their riders compete in hunting and jumping competitions. More specifically and gently worded, no one likes to think about the natural waste left behind on the show grounds from the horses. Thankfully, that’s where Graniterock comes in.

For the third consecutive year, the Menlo Charity Horse Show committee members are honored to have Graniterock as a Diamond Sponsor for 2010, celebrating the show’s 40th anniversary. At the core of Graniterock’s foundation, the company prides itself for creating consistent, environmentally responsible solutions that meet both its clients’ needs and community goals.

The Menlo Charity Horse Show benefiting the Vista Center for the Blind & Visually Impaired will be held August 10–15 at the Menlo Circus Club in Atherton, CA. The center is the primary resource in Santa Clara, San Mateo, Santa Cruz and San Benito Counties for those with severe loss of vision, and enables clients to achieve their highest potential through programs that promote independence and improve the quality of life.

During the week’s events, a 1,000 pound horse can generate 0.75 cubic feet of manure each day, translating into more than an astonishing 80 truck loads of manure to be removed from the show grounds. To minimize potential environmental and regulatory problems, proper handling of manure and effective utilization of waste is imperative.

Throughout the week of the horse show, Graniterock will load manure into its trucks and haul it to a mine or quarry that is in the process of reclamation. The manure is then spread over acreage that is to be re-vegetated and seeded with California native plants. Some of the species that are planted are so specific to the area that acorns are hand-harvested and propagated for onsite generation. Cattle are then grazed on the land, and intense organic and green methods take advantage of the dense populations of animals to accelerate the process. The cattle then consume the native plants, pass them through their systems, and cultivate them back into the soil, creating what Graniterock has so fittingly termed, “The Circle of Life”.

For more information about the Menlo Charity Horse Show, please visit their website at www.menlohorseshow.com.

For more information, contact:
Vicki Bentley, 415.806.1407,[email protected]