As I’m nearing the end of my trip I’m checking out some places that I’ve wanted to visit but that were never on the way to somewhere I was going. I have visited the famous racecourse at Churchill Downs in Louisville, KY but never the heart of horse country, which is around Lexington. Today I rectified that omission with a few hours at the Kentucky Horse Park. This is a working horse farm with police horses, draft horses and racing thoroughbreds stabled and trained here. It is also an equestrian event location, the location of the International Museum of the Horse and the final resting place of several famous racehorses.
The skies were cloudless today and, when I arrived around 9:30, most of the horses were already out of their barns and being bathed, trained or gently ridden in the main event arena. There were, however, a few horses in their stables and I spent the first hour outside wandering around the barns, bridleways and monuments and enjoying the sun. I then headed to the museum which turned out to be far more interesting than I had anticipated. Not being a horse lover, I had never really considered the place of the horse and this first class museum, which is associated with the Smithsonian, helped me understand the depth of human connection with horses. The horse has been an integral part of the history and development of humankind, such as wars, transportation, agriculture and sport, that it not unreasonable to argue that things would be different without it
Among the famous horses buried here is Man O’ War which is widely considered one of the greatest racehorses of all time. He was born near Lexington, won 20 of the 21 races he entered (with 20 of the races being prestigious “stakes” events) and broke 10 American course speed records in his career. He was also the grand-sire of Seabiscuit.
Once I left Lexington it was a pleasant 235 mile drive east to Fayetteville, West Virginia. None of the roads were designated as scenic but the last 40 miles followed the Kanawha and New rivers, passing mining sites and through small communities, becoming increasingly scenic.
The Kentucky Horse Park was already active when I arrived this morning.
Some poor souls were still in the barns. This one was waiting his turn to be bathed.
The famous Kentucky bluegrass.
The museum was excellent with huge dioramas such as this.
The Man O’ War memorial and burial site.
Oh so cute!