Kentucky Horse Park

On Monday we packed up and moved to the campground at the Kentucky Horse Park just north of Lexington, KY. It's a convenient spot with plenty of room, but not exactly cheap at $18 a night to boondock. Because we're old, we got a 10% discount but we are just parked in a field with no amenities (like a trash can.) Tom spoke to somebody about that and they said they would pick up our trash if we set it out, but they couldn't provide a trash can. We got a kick out of that logic.

On Tuesday we checked out the activities at the very elegant Kentucky Horse Park. Remember horses are king here.


First we attended the Hall of Champions Show where they showed off some of the resident celebrities. If you were a racing fan in the mid 90s, you might remember this stallion named Cigar.


He amassed some pretty impressive stats, earning just short of $10 million. (You might have to click on this to read it.)

Strangely enough, when he was retired and put out to stud, it was discovered that he is sterile. I bet that was a huge financial blow to his owners.

I don't know what I did to deserve it, but this guy stuck out his tongue just when I took his picture. Maybe he was tired of posing. (And before you say it, this is NOT Cigar, so it's not because I just told the world that he's sterile.)


We saw two different shows in this arena. As is traditional, they began with displaying the colors. It's quite a sight to see our flag flying proudly from atop a beautiful horse. This one is an American Paint.


This gorgeous horse and rider demonstrated the art of dressage. I'm ashamed to say I don't remember what breed this one was. I should have taken notes.


I also don't know what breed this jumper was, but, really, he could have just walked over that jump!


I think this is an American Saddlebred horse. As you can see, even with this skidding stop, the reins are loose. The rider gives all commands with leg pressure.


This gymnast is working with a stationary horse while she recovers from a lumbar injury. I can't imagine doing these moves on a moving horse.


Even I know this is a Clydesdale. I guess you never ride a Clydesdale since this is the only one that was led in. Thunder here and his teammate Lightning usually pull the tour wagon, but they're having a break while the roads are being repaired.


This was my very favorite - a Morgan. Although Morgans are not huge horses, they are known for their power, stamina, and versatility. I thought he was beautiful.


I had to have my picture taken with him.

I really enjoyed our day at the horse park even though I'm not a big fan of horses. They also had an impressive museum. My only disappointment was the lack of mares with foals. The museum volunteer explained they are not a breeding farm, but then why do they have them on the brochure? (I didn't ask him - he's a volunteer, after all.)

Oh, and I must go back to our go kart adventure and retract my statement that nobody got a picture of Ron. Donna snapped this of him just as he took off. Obviously he didn't mess around with getting the feel of the car, but just floored it right from the start.