TOUR AMERICA 2019: KENTUCKY, THE BLUEGRASS STATE

Home Is Where We Park It:  Whispering Hills RV Park, Georgetown, KY

June 26, 2019

Temperature 91 degrees

Kentucky Horse Park

The nights lately have been fantastic.  The temperatures have been in the mid 60’s with no humidity.  A perfect night for a perfect night’s sleep.

Today was another sightseeing day.  But first there was the matter of breakfast.  On the way to our destination imagine what we found?  A Waffle House!  This was just too good to pass up so it became our first stop of the morning.

Breakfast finished we were on our way.  Within minutes we where at the

One parked we began to make our way to the Visitor Center but before we even got there we discovered some very interesting plaques and statues.

Well, I looked and looked, I went round and round but never did find all the items on the list. I thought the clothes Iron would be easy but no luck.  I did find the spade.

The Visitor Center.

We moved from here to the Trolley Tour, but not just any Trolley.  A ten minute ride and we were familiar with the layout of the Park.

After our ride we went to the first exhibition of the morning at the

The first champion that was displayed was

Next was a pacing triple crown winner.

And finally we had

The next exhibition was perhaps my favorite and it was at the Breeds Barn.  The barn is a treasure trove of equines in all sizes, shapes and colors. This horseshoe-shaped facility houses 24 horses, each representing one of the world’s different breeds. Twice daily, once in the morning and then in the afternoon, there is the Parade of Breeds, an entertaining and educational presentation complete with music, costumes, and performances appropriate to each breed.

This was today’s schedule.  We were here for the morning show.

The first horse on display was the

Next on display was the

Next to come into the ring was

 

Now for one of the more colorful displays

Next in the ring was one of the work horses

Now for the last horse to come into the ring and probably my all time favorite.  What a horse, what a rider and what a fascinating display of horsemanship.

And who said I’m afraid of a horse?  Look, I’m even touching one!

And another one!

Time to move to the third and final exhibition of the morning.  We go to the Big Barn which is utilized to house the Park’s draft horses , as well as various horses from the other equine departments on the park. Also on view are a number of different carriages.

For all our Elvis fans everywhere.

In person!

The exhibition we came to visit was

On display today was

Here he is

 

Today’s demonstration was on how to properly harness him.  The complete harness we were told weights in the neighborhood of 75 pounds.

Yes, I even got up close and personal with him too!

Carriages on display in the Big Barn

Exhibitions finished we walked around the grounds for a bit and discovered

Then this statue

Finally, we headed to the

There is absolutely no way I can share with you all that is here.  We were absolutely amazed when we discovered that we spent close to three hours here and had not seen all the displays and exhibitions.  Let me, however, give you an overview of what is here.

Trophies of classes that have been retired.  They have been loaned to the Park to be put on display.

This is one that just amazes me – in particular in regards to who put it all together.

Moving on into another section of the museum

OK, I hope I have given you some idea of what is here.  There is so much more I haven’t included.  Suffice to say, the museum is enormous and there is display, after display, after display.  I was on information and picture overload by the time I got to the end.  And I know I missed some exhibits!  If you love horses, even if you don’t this is a fantastic place to visit.  Put it on your bucket list if you haven’t been here yet.

It was lunch time by now and there was a restaurant on site

Time for a quick bite before heading home

That was our day on The Road of Retirement.  It was jammed packed from morning to afternoon and we enjoyed every minute of it.  We can now cross another one off our bucket list.  One more to go in this area, the real reason we came here.  Perhaps tomorrow, if not definitely the day after.  Time now to get some shut eye.

Thanks for joining us again, we always enjoy your company.  Catch you tomorrow.

These are the voyages of  Graybeard and it’s occupants, four paws and two humans.  Our continuing mission: to explore as many new states as possible, to seek out new acquaintances and make new friends, to boldly go where we have not been before

See you on down the road!