NEWS RELEASE
LEXINGTON, Ky. (March 11, 2016) – The Kentucky Horse Park launches its 2016 tourism season this month encouraging families from around Kentucky and across the country to visit the only attraction in the world where “horsing around is encouraged!” The park resumes its normal operational hours of 9 a.m.-5 p.m., daily, from Wednesday, March 16 through Sunday, Nov. 6, giving visitors the opportunity to make memories that will last a lifetime.
THE place to get close to horses, the park is a family-friendly venue that gives visitors the opportunity to get up close and personal with large draft horses, miniature horses, and sizes in between, as well as exotic breeds from around the world and those developed in America.
The park offers interactive exhibits and presentations for a hands-on experience. Activities at the Kids Barn, and presentations at the Hall of Champions and the Breeds Barn, are perfect ways for guests to get close to horses. These daily equine presentations are both educational and entertaining, and with a horse-drawn trolley tour and opportunities for horseback riding and pony rides, guests may have their own equine adventure while visiting the park.
The Kentucky Horse Park hosts numerous national, regional and local horse shows throughout the year. Best known for the Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event held at the end of April, the park is the venue for many other shows and competitions throughout the year, including those for dressage, hunter jumper, reining, driving and rodeo. The park also hosts dog shows, music festivals, fitness activities, sports championships and many community events including the park’s KHP Run Walk Club on Monday nights from 5 – 8 p.m., free to the public, June 6 to Sept. 26.
The International Museum of the Horse, a Smithsonian Affiliate, is the place to learn about the bond between horse and man through time. The museum continues the special exhibit “Equine Treasures of the Bluegrass,” which relates the fascinating relationship between Kentuckians and their beloved horses. The museum also presents the photography exhibit “A Trip to Egypt: Preston Dyer’s Search for New Arabian Blood,” which chronicles the Middle Eastern adventures of Preston Dyer as he sought to acquire new Arabian blood for his employer, William Randolph Hearst and the famous San Simeon Ranch in California, in 1947. Both exhibits will be on display through Nov. 6.
Guests may also enjoy the “Showplace for Saddlebreds,” the American Saddlebred Museum and Gift Shop located at the park. The “Trainers’ Treasures: Gifts from Saddlebred Professionals” exhibit opens at the museum April 1 and will run until Dec. 31. The exhibit will consist of items that have been donated to the museum over the past 50 years by professional horsemen and women from within the Saddlebred industry. Paintings, photographs, sculptures, and tack used by famous Saddlebred trainers and their horses will be included.
For a full listing of daily activities, horse shows and special events, and information on admission and parking prices, please visit www.KyHorsePark.com. Information about the International Museum of the Horse is available at www.imh.org. For information on the Kentucky Horse Park Campground, please visit www.parks.ky.gov.