Tampa, FL – March 29, 2004 – Budweiser, the world’s best-selling beer, and its parent company, Anheuser-Busch, Inc., have supported show jumping in the United States for more than 50 years. Its support of the sport today is multi-faceted and varied, and centers on its title sponsorship of the nation’s premier show jumping event, the $200,000 Budweiser American Invitational.

The 2004 Budweiser American Invitational presented by Publix and The Tampa Tribune, the culmination of the 10-week Winter Equestrian Festival, returns to Raymond James Stadium in Tampa on Saturday evening, April 3. The top 30 riders who qualified over the 10 weeks of the Winter Equestrian Festival will compete for show jumping’s biggest honor.

Anheuser-Busch’s involvement with show jumping began in 1951, when former Anheuser-Busch president, the late August A. Busch, Jr., purchased the horse Circus Rose and renamed her Miss Budweiser. Busch then loaned Miss Budweiser to the United States Equestrian Team (USET) for the 1952 Olympic Games in Helsinki, becoming the first person in corporate America to make such a donation.

With Arthur McCashin riding, Miss Budweiser helped the United States win the team bronze medal at Helsinki. For his lifelong commitment to the sport, Busch was inducted into the Show Jumping Hall of Fame in 1988. The Show Jumping Hall of Fame is located at Anheuser-Busch’s Busch Gardens Adventure Park in Tampa.

In 1967, Budweiser sponsored the first Grand Prix show jumping event in the United States, and five years later, helped establish the country’s premier Grand Prix – the Budweiser American Invitational. The “King of Beers” has been a major supporter of the American Grand Prix Association’s Series of Show Jumping since 1979. Also, Budweiser has announced a new sponsorship in 2004, the $60,000 Tri-Budweiser Challenge which will award $60,000 to the horse that wins all three of the following events: the $75,000 Budweiser Grand Prix of Devon, the $100,000 Budweiser Upperville Jumper Classic, and the $50,000 Budweiser Grand Prix of Lake Placid.

Budweiser’s commitment to horses is most visible through the world famous Budweiser Clydesdales. The Clydesdales have been ambassadors of Anheuser-Busch since 1933, when August A. Busch Jr. presented a hitch of the horses to his father to commemorate the repeal of Prohibition. A short time later, the hitch was used to deliver one of the first cases of post-Prohibition Budweiser to U.S. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt at The White House in Washington, DC. Since then, the Clydesdales have become as synonymous with Budweiser and Anheuser-Busch’s rich brewing tradition as Budweiser has become with the American Invitational and the sport of show jumping.

2004 WINTER EQUESTRIAN FESTIVAL SPECTATOR INFORMATION
Show days for the 2004 Winter Equestrian Festival in Tampa, FL, are Wednesday through Saturday, March 30-April 3. Gates open at 8:00am and action continues through late afternoon. The Bob Thomas Equestrian Center is located off Orient Road at the Tampa Fairgrounds. Admission and parking are free. For additional information, visit www.stadiumjumping.com.

AMERICAN INVITATIONAL
For ticket information for the $200,000 Budweiser American Invitational Presented by Publix and The Tampa Tribune, visit www.TicketMaster.com or call (813) 253-2782 or Toll-Free (877) 909-9436. Ticket prices range from $20 to $70 for reserved seating at the Raymond James Stadium. Gates open at 5:00 pm.