Road to Lexington
Nicknamed the "Horse Capital of the World," Lexington, Ky., is a dream destination for horse enthusiasts.
Lured by the area's lush pastures, historic farms and world-renowned thoroughbreds, local women Sam Turberville, Kim Sasse, Marisa Boyer, Jill Collins and Deb Carlino visited Lexington from April 29 to May 2.
Sasse organized the trip to the Rolex Kentucky Three Day Event, having attended the equestrian competition at the Kentucky Horse Park five years ago.
"We had been discussing possibly going to the Kentucky Derby," said Sasse, but they decided against it due to the crowds and chaos it brings. "Going to Rolex allowed us to have more freedom to see the farms and the countryside."
Rolex is held the last weekend of April and is the week before the Kentucky Derby. The dressage competition is on Thursday and Friday, cross-country is on Saturday and show jumping is Sunday.
Lexington is within a day's drive of two-thirds of the population of the United States, according to the Lexington Convention and Visitors Bureau.The ladies left Butler and drove continuously to Lexington, which took a little more than six hours."It didn't seem like six hours because you've got five women in one vehicle," Turberville said. "We talked about anything and everything."The group arrived at the hotel late Thursday night. The next day, they went to see part of the Rolex dressage show."We didn't have tickets to the dressage but we watched them in the practice ring," Turberville said. "It was pouring down rain and we all had our winter parkas on."Dressage involves guiding a horse through a series of complex maneuvers by slight movements of the rider's hands, legs and weight.Despite the chilly weather, they enjoyed looking past the low fences to see riders warming up before they entered the stadium for the competition.The arena was state-of-the art, Turberville added."It was all redone because the World Equestrian Games will be held there in September," she said. "They did a lot of improvements."The group then moved on to WinStar Farm, a well-known American thoroughbred horse breeding and racing farm near Versailles, Ky."These barns are nicer than most people's houses," Turberville said. "It's all mahogany and brick and polished wood. It's just beautiful."The farm takes reservations for guided tours, and visitors can learn how the farm operates in addition to viewing the animals.Even though she's been involved with horses her whole life, Sasse said there was a lot to learn about horse breeding on the farm tours."It's a million-dollar business; down there it's serious stuff," she said. "They ship these horses by air to the southern hemisphere so they can utilize their potential."The farm is home to several famous horses, many whose stud fees run into the tens of thousands."At WinStar, we saw Tiznow, I'm pretty sure he's the only horse to win the Breeder's Cup twice, and we saw Distorted Humor and Colonel John," Turberville said, naming several well-known sires.They also visited Keeneland, a thoroughbred horse racing facility in Lexington.Founded in 1935, Keeneland is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Several scenes from the 2003 movie "Seabiscuit" were filmed there since the facility has changed so little over the decades."Even as crowded as it was, we were able to get down to the rail, close to the stretch," Sasse said.They also got to meet jockey Calvin Borel, who won the Kentucky Derby in 2007, 2009 and 2010."He was there, he was racing a couple of horses," Turberville said. "He was a really nice guy, he was shaking hands with everybody and signing autographs."As they watched five or six races at the track, Turberville learned how to place bets."I think I spent $12 and I lost $12," she said. "But it's quite an adrenaline rush when you pick a horse and you're cheering it on."
On Saturday, they watched the Rolex cross-country event. The dramatic and dangerous event is one of the most popular among spectators, Turberville said."They have these gigantic jumps set up that are over 5 feet high and there are other hazards," she said. "There are hills they have to jump down and over, water hazards, a pond — it's really dangerous, is what it is."Spectators could walk the course and see about 30 jumps over four miles, Collins said."We spent a lot of the day walking from jump to jump," she said. "You could see a competitor at just about every jump you went to."Sasse said she believes the riders are courageous."It takes a lot of stamina, you have to be fearless to do some of that," she said. "A couple times, I'd catch myself holding my breath as I watched it happen."One of the newly developed safety precautions is a vest worn by the riders, Turberville said.If the rider falls from the saddle, the vest inflates and stabilizes his or her neck, she explained.Although the group did not witness this particular fall, the device may have saved a cross-country rider, she said."The horse went over the jump, got its foot caught, tripped and fell on top of the rider," Turberville said. "He said the vest probably saved his life."Next, the women visited Three Chimneys Farm, a thoroughbred breeding facility in Midway, Ky.The farm houses several big-name horses including Smarty Jones, winner of the 2004 Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes, and Dynaformer, sire of 2006 Kentucky Derby winner Barbaro.Dynaformer was not an attractive animal, Turberville said."He's black, short-backed, potbellied, donkey-headed," she recalled with a laugh, adding that his fame stands on his success siring champions. "The manager said he's not bred for his looks, he's bred for his talent and heart."Afterward, the ladies hit the road and explored the rural back roads."It was just endless acres of the prettiest farm country that you'll ever see," Collins said.They stopped for lunch at Wallace Station, a deli and bakery that was featured on the Food Network show "Diners, Drive-ins and Dives.""Their sandwiches are huge, and a lot of them are named after racehorses or jockeys," Turberville said.Just as they finished eating, a thunderstorm rolled in and they headed back to the hotel.
On Sunday, they had tickets for the jumping portion of the event, but first they toured the rest of Kentucky Horse Park.The 1,224-acre park is home to several barns dedicated to different breeds and a number of lifelike horse sculptures, including 1973 Triple Crown winner Secretariat and Man o'War, considered to be one of the greatest thoroughbred racehorses of all time."They even had a barn called the Hall of Champions, where they had some famous ex-racehorses that had been donated to the park for tourists to see," Sasse said. "It's exciting to see some of those legends in their stalls and paddocks."The ladies then took their seats in the stadium's grandstand, which afforded them a panoramic view of the arena.The competitors raced through the course at top speed, Sasse said."The horses had been through the rigors of three days of competing and they still had the endurance to get through," she said. "It was really exciting to watch some of the rounds."The group set off for home after the race. The scenery is so beautiful that Sasse said she didn't mind the return drive."Everywhere you look, you see four-board fences with gorgeous horses, babies and yearlings just running around the fields, and there aren't any buildings in sight," Sasse said. "It's so breathtakingly beautiful there, you can't help but enjoy it."
<B>Capital: </B>Frankfort<B>Population: </B>4,314,113 as of 2009 (with a population of 296,545, Lexington is the state's second-largest city behind Louisville)<B>Area: </B>Located in the south central United States along the west side of the Appalachian Mountains, Kentucky ranks 37th in land size, with 40,409 square miles.<B>Statehood: </B>Originally a part of Virginia, in 1792 it became the 15th state to join the Union.<B>Nickname: </B>Known as the "Bluegrass State" due to the abundance of native bluegrass in many pastures.<B>Official state horse: </B>Thoroughbred<B>Agriculture: </B>Kentucky had 84,000 farms in 2005, according to the Kentucky field office of the National Agricultural Statistics Service. In 2004, Kentucky set a record for farm income with $4.13 billion. Horses were the leading source of farm income.Sources: www.kentuckytourism.com, www.wikipedia.org
