3000 signatures in under three months? In a state as full of horses and horse-lovers as Colorado, it proved to be no trouble at all for the Colorado Horse Development Authority, who collected them in support of the special license plate honoring the most important player in Colorado’s $1.6 billion horse industry. Now the plate program moves on to the Division of Motor Vehicles for final design, and into the legislative phase, during which lawmakers will decide the fate of the special plates.

CHDA Executive Director Brian Kitchen thanks all the petitions signers for boosting the drive to “put more horsepower” on Colorado vehicles in the form of plates exhibiting a lively horse, and sporting the words, “Support the Horse.”

“Horses have a direct economic impact of $956 million every year in Colorado, bring in annual tax revenues of $21 million, and provide work for almost 12,000 direct employees,” says Kitchen. The horse is a branding icon for Colorado tourism, which it should be—Colorado is home to more than 256,000 equines. Kitchen adds, “Isn’t it time we recognized the value of the horse to Colorado?”

For more information about the Colorado horse industry, visit www.chda.org or call Brian Kitchen at (303) 292-4981.