Wednesday, July 28, 2010
We got a very early start this morning, before 9 am and made the beeline to The Kentucky Horse Park north of Lexington. This will be the site of the World Equestrian Championships this fall, first time outside of Europe. We were told you haven’t visited Kentucky until you’ve been to KHP. I can now endorse that sentiment. Forrest and Pat joined us on the early start.
We got there just in time to be second in line for the Trolley ride. The trolley is pulled by 2 Clydesdales, Thunder and Lightening. It is only a short ride, but the guide points out all the various buildings where events are held. Good thing we made the first trolley ride as we just had time to hike over to the Hall of Champions.
One of our team - Clydesdales
Front row seats!
The Hall of Champions is a circular area where several champion horses are introduced and walked around the ring. The four horses we saw were: Fancy Dreamer, Funny Cide, Da Hoss and Cigar. Fancy Dreamer is one of the winningest trotters in history. Funny Cide is a Thoroughbred who won both the Kentucky derby and the Preakness, but not the Belmont Stakes. A beautiful stallion, but he is sterile, too bad for those investors. Da Hoss is another popular Thoroughbred who was a bust on the regular tracks but was nearly unbeatable on turf!. The final thoroughbred we saw was Cigar, a gelding, who won 16 straight races he started. All were beautiful horses who showed their spirit. No, you do not get to pet them, as they are at times unpredictable, maybe why they are winners and champions.
If you can tell them apart yer better than me!
Our next stop was the Breeds Barn for 2 shows. First was the Parade of breeds. Each Breed was shown individually with an explanation of their particulars. These were the Friesian, Arabian, American Morgan Horse, Quarter Horse. The Friesians are large black horse especially popular in dressage. The Morgan is the first American horse breed. Of course the quarter horse derived its fame from the old west. The Arabian is especially known for endurance and can complete a 100-mile cross country race in 10 hours! The next show at the same arena was the mare and foal show. Two miniature mares were shown with their foals.
Our final stop was the International Museum of the Horse. This building was air conditioned so it was a welcome respite from the heat and humidity. The Museum main display traces the horse from pre-historic times to the present around the world. There are many interesting exhibits to view and you could easily spend several hours there. The main display ends with all the trophies from Calumet Farms. This is quite an impressive display and includes the Triple Crown trophies for Citation. The final two exhibits are dedicated to Secretariat and Seattle slew, the last 2 Triple Crown winners. This year there was a special exhibit dedicated to the Arabian horse. This was filled with art and antiquities depicting the Arabian horse in BCE times.
What do you do after lunch? Why go for a candy factory tour at Rebecca Ruth Candies. This is a very small family run operation with 8 employees. What’s the story? Bourbon Ball were invented here. They still make them with bourbon and various liquors. The equipment dates from the 1930’s and looks identical to that in the classic comic bit from I Love Lucy when Lucy and Ethel are trying to box candies.
Rebecca Ruth Candy Factory
Since we were in Frankfort, the State Capital we went to see the Capitol. We only drove around it as it was too late for tours. About 2 blocks from the Capitol is the Rev. Jesse Ziegler House, designed by Frank Lloyd Wright! Not something you’d expect in a city block of otherwise non-descript houses! No tours, it is a private residence. I bet that house brings big bucks!
kentucky State Capitol
Rev. Jesse Ziegler House - Frank Lloyd Wright
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