Kentucky Horse Park
Encyclopedia
Kentucky Horse Park is a working horse farm and an educational theme park opened in 1978 in Lexington, Kentucky
. It is located off Kentucky State Highway 1973 (Iron Works Pike) and Interstate 75
in northern Fayette County
in the United States
. The equestrian
facility is a 1224 acres (5 km²) park dedicated to "man's relationship with the horse." Open to the public, the Park has a twice daily Parade of Breeds, showcasing both common and rare horses from across the globe. The horses are ridden in authentic costume. Each year the park is host to a number of special events and horse shows.
Beginning with the 1979 arrival of Forego
, one of the leading handicap horses of the 1970s, the Kentucky Horse Park has been a retirement home for some of the world's greatest competition horses. The status of the park as a retirement center was further established with the 1985 arrival of John Henry
, Horse of the Decade for the 1980s and the top money-winning thoroughbred
gelding in racing history. With the exception of a few months in 1986, John Henry lived at the park until his death in 2007, alongside other racing greats such as Forego and his fellow 1970s champion Bold Forbes
, and current residents Cigar
, voted Horse of the Decade for the 1990s, and Da Hoss
, the first of only two thoroughbreds to win Breeders' Cup
races in non-consecutive years. In late 2008, the champions Alysheba
and Funny Cide
became residents, but Alysheba died at the park in March 2009.
Besides thoroughbred horses, standardbred greats such as Western Dreamer, Cam Fella
and Rambling Willie
have made the Kentucky Horse Park their home, as well as 5-gaited Saddlebred gelding CH Gypsy Supreme and late champions CH Imperator and CH Sky Watch.
statue on a pedestal near the entrance. There is also a life-size statue of the 1973 U.S. Triple Crown
winner Secretariat
with jockey Ron Turcotte
aboard being led by groom Eddie Sweat
. From harness racing
, there is a statue of Bret Hanover
. http://www.imh.org/museum/gallery.php
In 2009, the Kentucky Horse Park hosted the North American Junior Young Rider Championships, a prestigious event for talented horseback riders ages 14–21.
{| class="wikitable"
In addition to many competitions and educational events throughout the year, including the Rolex Three Day Event
, and Pony Club Championships, the Kentucky Horse Park hosts many diverse events. Kentucky Horse Park also is hosting USEF Pony Finals, the pony hunter/jumper national championships, in 2008, 2009,2010 and 2011.
{| width="100%" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" class="wikitable"
|-
! Name !! Date !! Description
|-
| width="25%" | Bluegrass Classic Dog Show
| width="25%" | August 31 – 4
| width="50%" | An American Kennel Classic sanctioned show.
|-
| Kentucky Fall Classic Saddlebred Show
| October 4 – 7
| This is an American Saddlebred, Hackney, and Roadster horse show.
|-
| "Southern Lights Stroll"
| November 24, 2010
| This is a fundraiser for local food banks and the Kentucky Horse Park Foundation, where participants can walk (3 miles) or participate in a 5K run past displays used in "Southern Lights".
|-
| "Southern Lights"
| November 26 – December 31, 2010
|Every year Southern Lights opens the Friday before Thanksgiving through December 31, the Kentucky Horse Park features a three-mile (5 km) drive-through animated and stationary light displays.
|-
|Rolex Kentucky Three Day Event
|April 23 – April 27
|This is where olympic level Riders compete in 5 days. On the first day there is a horse inspection. On the second in third day there is dressage. on the fourth day is cross-country. And wrapping up the competition on the fifth day is show jumping.
|}
in September and October. The 2010 games will mark the first time the games have been held outside of Europe
. The games will include eight Olympic
-level world championships that have never been held together in a single location outside of Europe, and is expected to attract an estimated 500,000 visitors and $100 million into the state's economy.
As part of the games, several improvements are slated.
On February 1, 2007, Governor Ernie Fletcher
announced that he will seek an additional $38.3 million in improvements to the park in preparation for the games and other major horse events. Included in his address to the 2007 General Assembly will include,
Construction on the segments of the expanded park, in preparation for the equestrian games, could start in April. A contract for the resort hotel could be awarded in the spring.
. The resort hotel would be constructed and financed without state funds.
Lexington, Kentucky
Lexington is the second-largest city in Kentucky and the 63rd largest in the US. Known as the "Thoroughbred City" and the "Horse Capital of the World", it is located in the heart of Kentucky's Bluegrass region...
. It is located off Kentucky State Highway 1973 (Iron Works Pike) and Interstate 75
Interstate 75
Interstate 75 is a major north–south Interstate Highway in the Great Lakes and Southeastern regions of the United States. It travels from State Road 826 and State Road 924 in Hialeah, Florida to Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, at the Ontario, Canada, border...
in northern Fayette County
Fayette County, Kentucky
Fayette County is a county located in the U.S. state of Kentucky. The population was 295,083 in the 2010 Census. Its territory, population and government are coextensive with the city of Lexington, which also serves as county seat....
in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. The equestrian
Equestrianism
Equestrianism more often known as riding, horseback riding or horse riding refers to the skill of riding, driving, or vaulting with horses...
facility is a 1224 acres (5 km²) park dedicated to "man's relationship with the horse." Open to the public, the Park has a twice daily Parade of Breeds, showcasing both common and rare horses from across the globe. The horses are ridden in authentic costume. Each year the park is host to a number of special events and horse shows.
Beginning with the 1979 arrival of Forego
Forego
Forego was an American Thoroughbred racehorse that won eight Eclipse Awards including Horse of the Year, Champion Handicap Horse and Champion Sprinter....
, one of the leading handicap horses of the 1970s, the Kentucky Horse Park has been a retirement home for some of the world's greatest competition horses. The status of the park as a retirement center was further established with the 1985 arrival of John Henry
John Henry (horse)
John Henry was an American Thoroughbred race horse who had 39 wins, with $6,591,860 in earnings. He was twice voted the Eclipse Award for Horse of the Year in 1981 and 1984, with his 1981 selection is the only one whereby the victor received all votes cast for that award. John Henry was also...
, Horse of the Decade for the 1980s and the top money-winning thoroughbred
Thoroughbred
The Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in horse racing. Although the word thoroughbred is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed...
gelding in racing history. With the exception of a few months in 1986, John Henry lived at the park until his death in 2007, alongside other racing greats such as Forego and his fellow 1970s champion Bold Forbes
Bold Forbes
Bold Forbes was a champion thoroughbred racehorse, winner of the 1976 Kentucky Derby and Belmont Stakes.-Beginnings:...
, and current residents Cigar
Cigar (horse)
Cigar , is a retired American Thoroughbred racehorse, who in 1995 and 1996 became the first American racehorse racing against top-class competition to win 16 consecutive races since the Triple Crown winner, Citation did so in 1948 and 1950...
, voted Horse of the Decade for the 1990s, and Da Hoss
Da Hoss
Da Hoss by Gone West out of Jolly Saint is a bay Thoroughbred gelding best known for twice winning the Breeders' Cup Mile. He was bred in Kentucky by Fares Farms and originally owned by Prestonwood Farm as well as Wallstreet Racing Stables.Bought for only $6,000 as a yearling at the Keeneland...
, the first of only two thoroughbreds to win Breeders' Cup
Breeders' Cup
The Breeders' Cup World Championships is an annual series of Thoroughbred horse races, most but not all Grade I, operated by Breeders' Cup Limited, a company formed in 1982. From its inception in 1984 through 2006, it was a single-day event; starting in 2007, it expanded to two days. The location...
races in non-consecutive years. In late 2008, the champions Alysheba
Alysheba
Alysheba was an American Thoroughbred race horse who won two legs of the Triple Crown in 1987. A successful sire, he produced 11 stakes winners....
and Funny Cide
Funny Cide
Funny Cide is a Thoroughbred race horse who won the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness Stakes in 2003. He is the first New York-bred horse to win the Kentucky Derby and the first gelding to win since Clyde Van Dusen in 1929.-Bloodlines:...
became residents, but Alysheba died at the park in March 2009.
Besides thoroughbred horses, standardbred greats such as Western Dreamer, Cam Fella
Cam Fella
Cam Fella was a bay pacing horse by Most Happy Fella out of Nan Cam by Bret Hanover. He was trained and driven originally by Doug Arthur and later by Pat Crowe. His best time for the mile was 1:53.1...
and Rambling Willie
Rambling Willie
Rambling Willie was a harness racing horse, more specifically a bay pacing gelding sired by Rambling Fury and out of Meadow Belle by Meadow Gold. He was trained and driven by Bob Farrington....
have made the Kentucky Horse Park their home, as well as 5-gaited Saddlebred gelding CH Gypsy Supreme and late champions CH Imperator and CH Sky Watch.
Park sculptures
A number of horse sculptures stand in the Kentucky Horse Park, including a Man o' WarMan O' War
Man O' War, man o' war or manowar may refer to:* Man-of-war, a warship* Man of war for uses with this spelling - Places :...
statue on a pedestal near the entrance. There is also a life-size statue of the 1973 U.S. Triple Crown
United States Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing
In the United States, the "Triple Crown" is usually the Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing, a series of three Thoroughbred horse races for three-year-old horses run in May and early June of each year consisting of the Kentucky Derby, Preakness Stakes, and Belmont Stakes.While Daily Racing Form...
winner Secretariat
Secretariat (horse)
Secretariat was an American Thoroughbred racehorse, that in 1973 became the first U.S. Triple Crown champion in 25 years, setting new race records in two of the three events in the Series—the Kentucky Derby , and the Belmont Stakes —records that still stand today.Secretariat was sired by Bold...
with jockey Ron Turcotte
Ron Turcotte
Ron Joseph Morel Turcotte, CM is a Hall of Fame thoroughbred race horse jockey best known as the rider of Secretariat, winner of the U.S. Triple Crown in 1973....
aboard being led by groom Eddie Sweat
Eddie Sweat
Edward "Eddie" Sweat was an American groom in Thoroughbred horse racing who was the subject of the 2006 book by Lawrence Scanlan titled The Horse God Built: Secretariat, His Groom, Their Legacy.-Career:...
. From harness racing
Harness racing
Harness racing is a form of horse racing in which the horses race at a specific gait . They usually pull a two-wheeled cart called a sulky, although racing under saddle is also conducted in Europe.-Breeds:...
, there is a statue of Bret Hanover
Bret Hanover
Bret Hanover was an outstanding American Standardbred racehorse. He was also one of only nine pacers to win harness racing's Triple Crown of Harness Racing for Pacers and achieved a fine career total of 62 wins from 68 starts...
. http://www.imh.org/museum/gallery.php
In 2009, the Kentucky Horse Park hosted the North American Junior Young Rider Championships, a prestigious event for talented horseback riders ages 14–21.
National Horse Center
The Kentucky Horse Park also contains the National Horse Center, headquarters for several organizations including:- American Association of Equine Practitioners
- American Farrier's Association
- American Hackney Horse Society
- American Hanoverian Society
- American Saddlebred Horse Association
- Carriage Association of America
- Kentucky Horse Racing Authority
- Equestrian Events, Inc.
- United States Hunter/Jumper AssociationUnited States Hunter/Jumper AssociationThe United States Hunter/Jumper Association, or USHJA, is the governing body for hunt seat and show jumping in the United States. The mission statement of the USHJA is to "unify and represent the interests of all levels of participants in order to promote and enhance the hunter and jumper...
- United States Dressage FederationUnited States Dressage FederationThe United States Dressage Federation, or the USDF, is the national membership federation for the equestrian sport of dressage. Running under the USEF, the Federation is committed to education, recognition of achievement and promotion of dressage in the United States.Founded in 1973, the USDF now...
- United States Equestrian FederationUnited States Equestrian FederationThe United States Equestrian Federation is the national governing body for most equestrian sports in the United States. It began on January 20, 1917 as the Association of American Horse Shows, later changed in 1933 to the American Horse Shows Association...
- United States Pony Clubs, Inc.
{| class="wikitable"
In addition to many competitions and educational events throughout the year, including the Rolex Three Day Event
Rolex Kentucky Three Day
The Rolex Kentucky Three Day Event is an eventing competition held at the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington, Kentucky. The Rolex Kentucky is a CCI**** eventing competition, and the only four-star show in the Western Hemisphere. Four stars is the highest level of competition, the same level of...
, and Pony Club Championships, the Kentucky Horse Park hosts many diverse events. Kentucky Horse Park also is hosting USEF Pony Finals, the pony hunter/jumper national championships, in 2008, 2009,2010 and 2011.
{| width="100%" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" class="wikitable"
|-
! Name !! Date !! Description
|-
| width="25%" | Bluegrass Classic Dog Show
| width="25%" | August 31 – 4
| width="50%" | An American Kennel Classic sanctioned show.
|-
| Kentucky Fall Classic Saddlebred Show
| October 4 – 7
| This is an American Saddlebred, Hackney, and Roadster horse show.
|-
| "Southern Lights Stroll"
| November 24, 2010
| This is a fundraiser for local food banks and the Kentucky Horse Park Foundation, where participants can walk (3 miles) or participate in a 5K run past displays used in "Southern Lights".
|-
| "Southern Lights"
| November 26 – December 31, 2010
|Every year Southern Lights opens the Friday before Thanksgiving through December 31, the Kentucky Horse Park features a three-mile (5 km) drive-through animated and stationary light displays.
|-
|Rolex Kentucky Three Day Event
|April 23 – April 27
|This is where olympic level Riders compete in 5 days. On the first day there is a horse inspection. On the second in third day there is dressage. on the fourth day is cross-country. And wrapping up the competition on the fifth day is show jumping.
|}
2010 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games
On December 6, 2005, it was announced the Lexington and Kentucky Horse Park will host the 2010 FEI World Equestrian Games2010 FEI World Equestrian Games
The 2010 FEI World Equestrian Games were held at the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington, Kentucky from September 25 to October 10, 2010. This was the sixth edition of the games, which are held every four years and run by the International Federation for Equestrian Sports...
in September and October. The 2010 games will mark the first time the games have been held outside of Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
. The games will include eight Olympic
Olympic Games
The Olympic Games is a major international event featuring summer and winter sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The Olympic Games have come to be regarded as the world’s foremost sports competition where more than 200 nations participate...
-level world championships that have never been held together in a single location outside of Europe, and is expected to attract an estimated 500,000 visitors and $100 million into the state's economy.
As part of the games, several improvements are slated.
- A new $36 million indoor arena that was approved in 2006 by the legislature.
- Enhancements to the arena's sound system.
- A resort hotel that would be constructed near the park. Bids from private developers have been received and are currently under review.
On February 1, 2007, Governor Ernie Fletcher
Ernie Fletcher
Ernest Lee "Ernie" Fletcher is a Republican politician from the U.S. state of Kentucky. In 1999, he was elected to the first of three consecutive terms in the United States House of Representatives; he resigned in 2003 after being elected the 60th governor of Kentucky and served in that office...
announced that he will seek an additional $38.3 million in improvements to the park in preparation for the games and other major horse events. Included in his address to the 2007 General Assembly will include,
- $24 million for a new outdoor stadium that would feature 10,075 permanent seats but could be expanded to 30,325 temporarily for major events.
- $4 million for an additional 21000 sq ft (1,951 m²). of exhibition space for vendors.
- $10.3 million for roadway improvements inside the park that would give the facility a second entrance via the campground. A wide loop road would be constructed so that events could be held on both sides of the horse park.
Construction on the segments of the expanded park, in preparation for the equestrian games, could start in April. A contract for the resort hotel could be awarded in the spring.
Funding
The new indoor stadium and additional exhibition space, costing $28 million, would be financed with 20-year bonds. The roadway improvements, at $10.3 million within the park would come from the state highway fundKentucky Transportation Cabinet
The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet is Kentucky's state-funded agency charged with building and maintaining U.S...
. The resort hotel would be constructed and financed without state funds.