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Kent Thompson is involved in everything from marketing to manufacturing here at Excel Equine® . He formulates new premium feed blends, answers customers’ questions about their horses’ feed issues, oversees production at our mill in Louisville, Ky., arranges shipments of feeds to our customers at thoroughbred racetracks in the Southeast and travels to Florida, Louisiana and other states to work with new distributors as Excel Equine’s distribution network expands.
An animal nutritionist with a Ph. D in animal science, Kent is the force behind Excel Equine‘s expanding line of premium feed blends. Because of his expertise in animal nutrition, which requires a knowledge of chemistry, physics, biology, mathematics, animal behavior, economics and food processing, Excel Equine has become known for equine feeds that are nutritionally sound, formulated to meet the varying nutritional needs of horses of different ages and breeds, and appealing to the horses that eat them.
Kent has had a lifelong interest in horses and animal nutrition. He grew up on a farm in upstate New York, where he worked with and showed draft horses, before he headed to Cornell University to earn his bachelor’s degree in animal science.
Kent had always loved Thoroughbred racing, and so he moved to Kentucky, racing’s heartland, to do his graduate work at the University of Kentucky, where he earned his master’s degree and his doctorate, both in animal science. After a two-year post-doc appointment in the UK Department of Veterinary Science, Kent taught on faculty for that department for six years. From there, he developed new feeds for horses at Purina Mills, taught at Midway College and was an equine nutritionist for Buckeye Nutrition in Ohio. Kent then saw an opportunity to be in business for himself, and with a partner, bought Tapp’s Feed, an animal feed mill based in Shelbyville, Ky. In 2014, Tapp’s merged with Producer Feeds of Louisville to create Excel Equine .
When he’s not at work, Kent is on his farm in Shelby County, where he has his own horses. Of course, they eat Excel Equine premium feed blends.
Co-owner David Williams has been in the animal feed business since 1979, when he opened Burkmann Feeds in Danville, Ky., an animal feed maker that has since expanded into other parts of Kentucky and Tennessee.
Agriculture and science have always been central to David’s life. As a youth, growing up in Shepherdsville, Ky., he raised and showed livestock and was active in in 4H and Future Farmers of America. David’s focus on agriculture continued at the University of Kentucky, where he earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in animal science and at Iowa State University, where he earned his Ph.D. in animal nutrition.
After work as an instructor at Iowa State, as a cooperative extension agent for the University of Kentucky and as a nutritionist for a feed manufacturer, David opened Burkmann Feeds.
David’s successes as a scientist and a businessman have made him a sought-out leader and expert, both here at Excel Equine and in his community. Here at Excel Equine, David confers on development of our feed blends as well as on our marketing and production.
He is a leader in Kentucky agriculture, active in the Kentucky Beef Cattle Association, the Kentucky Feed and Grain Association and the Kentucky Cattlemen’s Foundation.
In his adopted hometown of Danville, where he lives on a horse farm, David has been involved in everything from his church and the chamber of commerce to 4-H and a community land trust. He raises thoroughbreds and, of course, he feeds them the Excel Equine feed blends that he and co-owner and fellow scientist Kent Thompson develop.
Office – (800) 295-2836 or (502) 587-6606
Mobile – (502) 655-0169
Email – llosson@excelequinefeeds.com
Liz is a graduate of Wilmington College of Ohio, majored in Agricultural Business. She grew up in the Kalamazoo, Michigan area, actively involved with the American Ranch Horse Association (ARHA) and the Appaloosa Horse Club (ApHC). Liz started riding and showing at 6 years old with the local 4-H program and the Michigan Interscholastic Horsemanship Association. After college, Liz worked with a Michigan cooperative and trained with Purina Mills in feed and nutrition. She now resides in southern Indiana with her husband, horses, cows, and dogs.
Jenelle Klingaman, originally from the state of Wisconsin, completed her undergraduate studies at Montana State University in Bozeman, MT in Animal Science with an emphasis on Livestock Management. Jenelle then finished her Masters program in Equine Physiology at Middle Tennessee State University in Murphreesboro, Tennessee where she assisted the Collegiate Stock Horse Team and the Intercollegiate Horse Shows Association and riding program. While at MTSU, Jenelle’s research focused on equine exercise physiology and nutrition completing the thesis portion of her degree. She serves as an Equine Sales Specialist and Nutritionist with Excel Equine. She is serving Kentucky, Tennessee and Ohio horse owners and feed stores. Jenelle and her husband live on their farm in Bloomfield, Kentucky and she is active in the barrel horse industry.
Customer service is a very important part of Excel Equine and Gail is a great part of our customer service team. She has been at Excel Equine since its beginning and was a loyal customer for many years prior to that. Gail spends her day in the office generating orders, answering customer questions and keeping everything and everybody organized. She is the friendly voice on the phone that everyone wants to meet in person.
“Gail is a wonderful asset to Excel Equine and does a great job of making sure that our customer needs are being met. Customers love working with her and she loves helping customers with whatever they need” – Owner Kent Thompson
Maurice Korthaus is the wizard behind getting feed where it needs to go! He manages the logistics of Excel Equine all while loading outbound trucks and unloading inbound ingredient trucks as they come. Maurice answers calls and emails daily to assure that we can get feed to our customers whether they are in Ohio or Florida. Residing in Smithfield, KY, Maurice, wife, Faye and their family raise short horn cattle.
165 North Clay Street
Louisville, Kentucky 40202
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