Horse & Pony to return

by MediaWeek, Media Week 27-Jun-05, 15:30

Emap Active and the Bourne Publishing Group have signed a licensing deal to resurrect Horse & Pony magazine, after a four-year absence from newsstands.

The title was axed in 2001 after losing sales from a peak of 61,000 copies in the early 1990s.

BPG will re-launch the magazine in September 2005 after securing a deal with Emap Active to to produce the title under licence.

The group currently produces the Your Dog and Your Cat titles and has grown steadily since it launched in 1989.

The new Horse & Pony title will be fronted once again by former-editor Sarah Whittington.

BPG publishing director Alison Walder said: “We are delighted with this collaboration and thrilled to be re-launching a brand as well-known and well-loved as Horse & Pony.

“Horse & Pony will fill a clear gap in the market for a youth equine title.”

Emap Active will continue to produce its Your Horse magazine, which has a circulation of 56,000 and a successful annual event in Warwickshire.

By Kevin May