Hoofcare and Lameness Magazine -- Mustad ("The Hoofcare People") Fund Permanent Farrier Facility At University Equine Research Center

17 December 2002

For more information, contact
Fran Jurga: 978 281 3222
or email fran@hoofcare.com

Hoofcare and Lameness Journal Will Enjoy 15 Minutes of Hilarious Fame on BBC Media Satire TV Show

LONDON-British television viewers are going to get a kick out of Hoofcare and Lameness Journal on Friday, December 20. The BBC's irreverent news/quiz show "Have I Got News for You!" will use news stories from the specialized equine hoof journal to stump celebrity contestants.

Hoofcare and Lameness publisher Fran Jurga has been working with comedy writers at the BBC in London to review witty and-yes!-even provocative host-generated questions based on news items from recent issues of the journal, which will be the subject of the final segment of the program.

BBC researchers review countless obscure news media sources, looking for content that will both stymie the guests and lend itself to clever one-liners and improvisational outbursts.

Once the production company's comedy writers digested a few issues of Hoofcare and Lameness, the chuckles began in earnest and the American publication was prepped for the pre-Christmas broadcast.

"Have I Got News For You!" is Britain's most popular game show, although the popularity of the show is attributable more to satirical humor about current events than it is to who wins or loses. Friday night's audience is expected to be around 6.5 million households in England, Scotland, and Wales, with an additional 3.5 million tuning in for a re-broadcast on Saturday. The show is currently celebrating its 12th year on the air.

Covers, photos, and headlines from Hoofcare and Lameness have been converted into on-camera visuals to be used as "funny fuel" by hosts Paul Merton and Ian Hislop. Merton is a longtime member of London's The Comedy Store, the improvisation company that launched the career of Saturday Night Live's Mike Myers, star of the Austin Powers films.

"My publication's fifteen minutes of fame are coming at the hand of some of Britain's most ruthless wits," Fran Jurga admits. "I thought I had heard every one-liner there is about hooves and horseshoes and horse anatomy...until now! This broadcast will take horse hoof humor either to new heights...or depths."

Hoofcare and Lameness is an in-depth publication about hoof-related lameness problems in horses, and is read by farriers, veterinarians, therapists, and students worldwide. More information about the journal is available at www.hoofcare.com

NOTE TO OUR FRIENDS IN THE INDUSTRY--Thanks, to all of you, for supporting Hoofcare and Lameness with your advertising and subscriptions and for making it possible for us to survive in these tough times...and still be able to have some fun like this! --Fran