Thursday, April 5, 2012

Kentucky Horse Park


The Kentucky Horse Park comprises 1,229 acres and is located just north of Lexington off of Interstate 75. It is owned by the Commonwealth of Kentucky and houses the offices of over 30 national and regional equine organizations. It hosted the World Equestrian Games in 2010 - the first time the games had ever been held in the United States.

Of course, the horse park is all about horses. You'll find everything you want to know about horses from early equine history all the way to racing. Several famous race horses of the past are buried at the park. Various events including the Rolex Kentucky Three Day Event, reining, dressage, jumping, and other competitions are held there throughout the year.

The park offers trail rides, pony rides for the kids, and has a 260 site campground.















One of the attractions at the park is called Parade Of Breeds. During each show, various breeds from around the world are highlighted. The horses and riders are adorned with attire specific to a certain time period for that breed. Each rider shows off the horse while a brief history is given for that particular breed. At the end, visitors can see the horses up close and talk with the riders.









48 comments:

Kathy said...

I'd love to see a show here someday. I've been to the All Arabian Show in Scottsdale before and to watch the horses perform is absolutely astounding.

Carole M. said...

a fantastic post Brian; looks a very upmarket, classy business. Beautiful horses; great shots!

Anonymous said...

Great series Brian! I like the horse that is rolling on the ground.I can almost hear my Mom telling me "It's gonna rain, the horses are running around the pasture and rolling on the ground!"

Coloring Outside the Lines said...

We visited there several years ago- it is such a pretty area for driving tours too. Nice pictures!

Linda said...

What a wonderful taste of the show! I love the way you posted a statue, then a real horse...very clever way to do it! The horse rolling on the ground was a great shot! Also loved the horses with riders - I think that would be a lovely place to spend a day! Beautiful photos, Brian!

Beth in NC said...

I love your shots! And it has always been fun to me to see one of our mules or donkeys take a dust bath like that. :o) You did a great job capturing it.

Coming over from the Rural Thursday hop.

Have a great day!
Beth

Tanya Breese said...

what an awesome horse park! we toured churchill downs a few years ago and really enjoyed it...kentucky sure knows its horses!

Lisa @ Two Bears Farm said...

My parents took me there as a kid - I've always loved horses. I even saw the parade of breeds :-) You got some great pictures.

Eat To Live said...

What a fun day this would be. Great idea to post the pictures the way you did, the statue and the horse. I would never of thought of doing that.

Charade said...

Very interesting post. And it looks like you got the best seat in the house.

Amy Burzese said...

Great as usual! I love the back scratching shot!

MarmePurl said...

Wonderful, wonderful post. I would love to visit that park someday.

Grandma Barb's This and That said...

Great series of shots, Brian. I love the Parade of Breeds. I would love to attend sometime.

EG CameraGirl said...

I enjoyed all these shots. You mixed them in an interesting and fun order.

TexWisGirl said...

beautiful statues as well as live models. love the morgan statue most. the fresians are gorgeous! neat place!

Anonymous said...

Wonderful series of photos, Brian! I visited there once and loved it.

Sallie (FullTime-Life) said...

Beautiful. Our winter neighbors here in Florida who in the summer live in KY and Ohio have told us about this place -- no wonder they love to camp there. Thanks for sharing.

The Southern Peach-Girls said...

wow! I would've LOVED to go! I love horses ALOT! Looks like alot of fun, too! And great pictures!

-Bella Hope!

Anonymous said...

great pics, love the horse with hooves in air

Unknown said...

Love it all, we live in Horse Country in TX!

Leenie said...

Having a state known for horses is much more romantic than one known for potatoes, or cheese. I had an opportunity to travel thru KY and was so impressed by the green beauty and rolling hills. If I were a horse I'd live there. Thanks so much for showing us those four legged beauties.

Betty Manousos said...

what a fantastic park!

love your wonderful and interesting photos of the horses.

i love those adorable creatures.
thanks so much for sharing:)

Nancy said...

Amazing horses. Amazing captures, Brian. Love them all!

Thank you so much for sharing with Rural Thursdays!

Tammy said...

Looks like a great place to visit! I enjoyed all your great photos of the many types of horses!!

Flo said...

wundervolle tiere und eine sehr schöne anlage dort.
bei gutem wetter sicher toll dort.
ich wünsch dir fröhliche ostertage und sende dir einen gruß
flo

Anonymous said...

Love your shots here, but I like best the pinto rolling..

Evelyn S. said...

I'm one of those "girls in love with horses," even though I'm not a girl anymore. They were such a big part of my life until I graduated college and began teaching school. Of course, I'd love to visit Kentucky's horse country some day.

Anonymous said...

Those horses are beautiful! Your pictures are amazing. It would be so nice to see that show.

Elizabeth Edwards said...

hi. there are so many view there that are so great. i started out thinking i love ones in the beginning & then as i continued on ... i found more that i really love more. too tough to pick. all great. (:

Deb said...

those are some beautiful horses Brian...you did a great job...

Deb said...

those are some beautiful horses Brian...you did a great job...

Deb said...

those are some beautiful horses Brian...you did a great job...

barbara l. hale said...

Looks like a fun place to go. All the photos are good but I love the one of the black and white. He Looks pretty relaxed.

Dina said...

Beautiful shots! I've always wanted to get up there.

Nancy said...

I have driven by the horse park several times, but never visited. Now I'm very sorry I didn't. Maybe one day I'll get back there. Lovely shots.

Lisa Sall - Sall's Country Life said...

Wow, sitting here trying to remember the last time I was on top of a horse and wishing the opportunity would come again!! Love the horse pictures, Brian, Giddyup!!!

Gillian Olson said...

Beautiful animals.

theconstantwalker said...

Fantastic to see Brian... many thanks for sharing you lovely images and text.

Jenn Jilks said...

We have many horses around here!
I love the miniature ponies.
Our neighbour has a foal born in Feb., and it's so cute!

Carole said...

That looks like a place I'd love to visit! I was a young teenager when Secretariat raced and watched every race he was in (on tv).

Beautiful shots. The one of the horse taking a roll made me laugh. lol

Anonymous said...

Its a joy to see so many magnificent horses.
Thanks for sharing your beautiful shots, Brain.
cheers

CameraCruise said...

Great post.
Beautiful photos, thanks for sharing.

JOY @ http://joysjotsshots.blogspot.com/ said...

I know this place well. Have taken students there for field trips. Wonderful, informational place. I really enJOYed your picture of the horse "drying off his back" as we used to say when I was a kid.

Connie Smiley said...

Great shots, Brian, but the one of the horse on its back takes the cake!

Faye said...

How lucky we are to live in a state that's home to so many of these beautiful animals. It's hard to pick a favorite, but if I had to it would be the Freesian (I think--with a haircut?)

BTW, was telling you earlier about the snake pit in my backyard that scares the daylights out of me when mowing. Made it through the first mow of the season today without any coming out of the dead tree stump. What a relief!

Kerri Farley said...

Love how you capture the one on his back!! (sometimes you just gotta scratch :)

JOY @ http://joysjotsshots.blogspot.com/ said...

Just in case you didn't know, there is an International Kite Festival in Georgetown this Sat & Sun. I've never been but should be some making for colorful pics? http://www.kitefest.com/

Pamela Gordon said...

It was nice to see these pictures here as we visited here 29 years ago when our kids were just little.
I have some photos of the park taken on my old 35 mm camera. Thanks for the visit. Pamela