Ariat
 | |
| Private | |
| Industry | Sportswear |
| Founded | 1992 |
| Founder | Beth Cross, Pam Parker |
| Headquarters | Union City, California, United States |
Area served | Worldwide |
| Products |
Riding boots Cowboy boots |
| Website | www.ariat.com |
Ariat International® is a premium performance footwear, apparel and accessories brand for equestrian sports and other outdoor activities, located in Union City, California. Ariat was founded by Beth Cross and Pam Parker in 1992. They saw an opportunity to revolutionize footwear for english and western riders by developing riding boots with advanced athletic shoe technology and construction to improve performance, fit and comfort both in the saddle and on the ground. The first Ariat boots shipped in 1993 to rave reviews with athletes. Performance riding apparel launched in 2004. Today, Ariat offers a full assortment of english and western riding boots and apparel, work boots and work wear, and fashion footwear for active outdoor lifestyles. With retail outlets in 42 countries, Ariat is the largest brand of riding footwear and apparel in the world.
Sponsorship
Ariat promotes its products through sponsorship agreements with the world’s top riders, teams, and global events.
English
Ariat is the official equestrian footwear and apparel supplier to the FEI (Federation Equestrian International)-- the global governing body for equestrian sports including the Olympics. Ariat is the official footwear supplier of the United States Equestrian Federation (USEF), and a sponsor of the Winter Equestrian Festival, Central Park Horse Show, Tryon Park Equestrian Center, and Washington International Horse Shows. Ariat also has long term partnerships with elite show jumpers Beezie Madden,[1] and Meredith Michaels-Beerbaum,[2] hunter riders John French[3] and Hope Glynn, and 3-day eventing riders William Fox Pitt, Mary King, and Boyd Martin.[4]
Western
Ariat is the official footwear sponsor of Professional Bull Riding (the PBR),[5] the fastest growing sport on US television. Televised on CBS and CBS Sports in 26 markets, PBR is available to 60 MM households in the US. It is also a strong sport in Brazil,[6] and is launching in China in 2016. Ariat is the official footwear, and apparel supplier of World Series of Team Roping (WSTR),[7] the largest adult community of roping athletes, and the official footwear sponsor of National High School Rodeo Association (NHSRA).[8] Ariat has many elite rodeo athlete endorsements: 23-time world champion Trevor Brazile, 4-time world champion Kaycee Field,[9] 5-time world champion Luke Branquinho, 14-time world champion Jackie Hobbs-Crawford, 2-time world champion Taos Muncy, 2-time world champion Chad Masters, world champion Stran Smith, and $5 million reiner Shawn Flarida are all members of Team Ariat. Ariat also sponsors 16 PBR athletes including; 2015 Rookie of the Year Kaique Pacheco, fan favorite and Amazing Race star Cord McCoy, top-ranked Joao Ricardo Vieira and 2 time world champion Chris Shivers.
The Longest Ride
Ariat was prominently featured in the 2015 movie The Longest Ride, a Nicholas Sparks film about a PBR athlete who is making his way back in bull riding after a life threatening injury.[10] For this movie, Ariat partnered with 20th Century Fox and PBR to portray the lead, Scott Eastwood, as an authentic Ariat-sponsored bull rider. The film was distributed worldwide by 20th Century Fox and lead to a significant increase in brand awareness for Ariat.
The private equity firms LNK Partners and Brentwood Associates invested in Ariat in 2006.[11] In 2012, the company was acquired by management and the Fisher family.[12]