Lexington, KY - Horse Capital of the World

BREEZE THE BLUEGRASS 1/13/12

Wintry weather provides a great opportunity to clean up, mend and polish riding clothing and equipment.  A little saddle soap and some muscle will spiff up the most neglected boot and saddle.  A website called eHow.com has a great little video on the basics of how to clean a saddle.

Check out this cleaning video here  

Winter is also a great time to take in a local horse show.  The Kentucky Hunter Jumper Association (KHJA) is sponsoring it’s first sanctioned horse show of the year on January 14 & 15 at Lakeside Arena, located in Frankfort, KY.  KHJA is the local division of the United States Hunter Jumper Association (USHJA), which happens to be located right here in the Bluegrass at the Kentucky Horse Park.  Both organizations serve all levels of competitive riders, from the beginner and collegiate team rider, all the way up the ranks to the world-class champion athalete.  These organizations serve to promote the Hunter/Jumper sport through various educational clinics and competitive shows.  

Learn more about the Kentucky Hunter Jumper Association here

See the calendar of 2012 KHJA events here

Check out Lakeside Arena here

Learn more about the US Hunter Jumper Association here

And now for something completely different on the other end of the riding spectrum…Professional roughstock rocks!  Bareback, saddle bronc and bull riding come to the Alltech Arena January 27 & 28 for the Alltech Lexington Invitational.

Don’t miss the video about the Roughstock event, as well as cowboy profiles here

As mentioned in previous blogs, indoor polo, courtesy of the Lexington Polo Association, is underway at the Kentucky Horse Park through the end of March, 2012.  While polo is so much fun to watch, it’s a little more complicated than just smacking a small ball with a stick while riding full tilt on the back of a horse.  Come out to the covered arena on play days and check out the action!

Indoor arena polo schedule is here

Before you go watch, learn the polo basics here

THE HORSE, a world-class exhibition at the Kentucky Horse Park, is now open through April 6, 2012.  THE HORSE exhibit is sponsored by the American Museum of Natural History in New York, and is supported by the Field Museum in Chicago, the San Diego Natural History Museum, the Canadian Museum of Civilization in Ottawa, and the Abu Dhabi Authority for Culture and Heritage, United Arab Emirates.  The International Museum of the Horse is a Smithsonian affiliate. 

Details about this exhibit are available here

Looking ahead:  

Tickets are now on sale for the Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event, generally just called The Rolex.  Mark your calendar for April 26 – 29, 2012.  Why does a three-day event take four days, you ask?  The dressage portion of the Event takes two days to work in all of the entrants.  

Tickets to The Rolex are available here

A crash-course in Eventing can be found here

Enjoy your time in the Bluegrass!

-Julie

Thanks for the shout-out for the Professional Roughstock Lexington Invitational 1/27 & 1/28. We are loving Lexington! www.facebook.com/proroughstock
by: Michelle Kane
Monday Jan 30, 2012