GEG Acquires Chronicle of the Horse

Global Equestrian Group (GEG) announced that it has acquired Chronicle of the Horse (COTH) from Mark Bellissimo as a part of the group’s strategy to expand their presence in the U.S. market and to provide a platform to expand interest in horse sport worldwide.

GEG, a global equestrian holding company based out of Denmark, now owns and operates a wide range of companies and brands in the U.S., including Wellington International, ShowGroundsLive, Beerbaum Stables, Helgstrand Dressage US, Gold Coast Feed, and Chronicle of the Horse.

COTH, now celebrating its 85th anniversary, is one of the oldest and the most respected publications in the equestrian industry. It has an extensive social media footprint as well as one of the largest online audiences in the industry with millions of unique visitors to its website annually.

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“We see this as a perfect fit to expand our footprint in the U.S. and also to enter the media scene with a company that has a long history and incredible expertise in horse sport,” said Andreas Helgstrand, CEO of Global Equestrian Group. He continued, “We see a lot of opportunity with Chronicle of the Horse, and we are happy to welcome all the employees to GEG.”

Mark Bellissimo, owner of COTH since 2013, continues a collaboration with GEG. He commented, “COTH has a great operating team led by Beth Rasin and is an important organization within the equestrian landscape both for its content and community. Together with GEG’s powerful vision for equestrian sport globally, I believed it was a perfect fit. GEG has demonstrated they are committed to high levels of investment to improve their offerings across their portfolio. I am convinced they can take COTH to the next level.”

Commercial Director at GEG, Anders Bech, is also looking forward to the change in ownership of COTH. “We see a very large potential in COTH,” he said, “especially on the digital side, where advertisers are more and more interested in digital possibilities. COTH provides an audience reach that is unmatched in the industry. Although Denmark is a small country, the media industry in the country has been very innovative on the digital development, and a lot of these ideas can be implemented in the U.S. to take a great step forward in favor of the readers, advertisers, and other stakeholders.”

Bech added, “We will now work together with the team at COTH to draw up the strategy for the future, and I look very much forward to working together with all team members at COTH.”