Kentucky Horse Park
Tuesday - 8 October 2002: Somewhere in West Virginia
- We spent a very pleasant morning at the
Kentucky Horse Park. Neither of us knows a thing about horses, but we do
have a nephew who is a horse - Doc - so we thought we would go see what all
this fuss is about. I did not take many photos, as I was video-taping
everything for Doc's "Mom", Gina. The KHP is huge - over 1,200 acres now -
and houses 247 horses (today). It is a tourist attraction, education center,
breeding center, horse-hotel, rodeo grounds, competition ring, museum...
well, it seems to be a one-stop center for all things equine. Of course, it
is beautiful - manicured grounds, flowers, elegant (if that word can be used
to describe) horse barns, miles of white fencing and gorgeous horses
EVERYWHERE. Because we had stayed at the campground our parking ($2) was
free and we each had $5 off our admission! A $12 savings and our campsite
was only $22. Such a deal!
Rocky Mountain Horse after performing in the Parade of Breeds Show at The
Kentucky Horse Park
DT and I went to the Parade of Breeds Show.
There is a large outdoor ring in the center of a U-shaped stable, where the
horses are brought out one-by-one. An announcer talks about the breed while
the horse and rider (or a handler with the horse on a lead) prance about the
ring. Today, they showed the most popular - the Quarter Horse - and then a
rarer Percheron Draft Horse and even a mule! I thought the Rocky Mountain
horse was the most beautiful - a truly flowing mane and the Rocky Mountain
horse has a very elegant, prancing and smooth gait. The KHP is a State
Park, and it is heavily "sponsored". Everything is "brought to you by"...
Quarterhorse after the Parade of Breeds Show at the Kentucky Horse Park
Today, the KHP was housing the
Percheron Draft Horse Hitch - a team of horses that tour the country,
somewhat like the Budweiser Clydesdales - owned by the
Priefert Ranch Equipment Company. I'm guessing the Priefert family is
not lacking for much. You could be so lucky to be a Draft Horse in this
hitch! The hitch was spending the night here on their way to a show. They
travel in two semi trucks. One houses the six horses and the other carries
their carriage and harnesses. Of course, the trucks are perfectly clean, new
and decoratively painted with the Priefert logo. One of the horses in this
hitch is 18 hands - over 6 feet - tall at his back and we saw him having a
shower! No kidding, they have a shower stall at the KHP. When we were
walking by the shower, I looked in to see this GIANT horse and decided that
he MUST be standing on something - there is no way a horse could be that
big. I looked into the stall and saw he was standing flat on the floor. He
was a beast - a beautiful, velvety-black, beast! I am sure we will
never see a larger horse in our lives. The handlers told us they were gentle
as puppies. When DT tried to take the photo of a Percheron (he was "next in
line" for the shower), the huge horse cuddled in with his handler, like he
was camera shy! Just adorable!
Retired horses at the Kentucky Horse Park
We watched a farrier make horse shoes. We met
mustangs from the BLM program. We compared our stride to that of Man O'War.
(His was 28 feet. Mine was over 2 feet.) We visited the International Horse
Museum. We visited a horse cemetery! We thought we would be in and out of
the KHP in one hour and we spent over three. If you are even near Lexington,
I suggest you stop by - the Kentucky Horse Park is wonderful, and the only
park of its kind in the world.
Man O'War statue at The Kentucky Horse Park
We checked out lights and turn signals again in the parking
lot before we hit the Interstate and found our brake lights were OUT again!
On a whim, we changed the fuse. The fuse looked completely FINE, but when we
changed it, the brake lights worked. Luckily, we have a good supply of 15
amp fuses on board. We had a long day of driving, but all on the Interstate.
We both just loved Kentucky - everything was so pretty and green (no
irrigation) and there is so much history here. I learned there are two
colors for barns in Kentucky. Black for tobacco-drying barns. The black
paint draws in the heat and dries-out the tobacco leaves. White barns are
for animals. Now you know.
We crossed into West Virginia and drove all afternoon through the state.
There isn't much here, and only a handful of campgrounds. We did see the
State Capitol Building in Charleston - the capital city has 53,000
residents! At 5 p.m., we started looking for campgrounds and didn't find one
until we were nearly in Maryland! We did drive into Stonewall
Jackson State Park, only to find the 34-site campground full. We
continued on I-79 and thought we would have to go all the way to Morgantown
to camp, but saw a little sign on the side of the freeway at 7 pm and took
the exit. We had to go down a narrow country road, turn right down an alley
behind a dairy distribution center and then down a steep lane to a 15-site
campground! Not sure of the town name, or if we are even IN a town. From the
dairy building above the campground, we could see "big rigs" in the
campground, so we knew it was safe to go down. We parked at the "office" (a
shed) only to find it unstaffed, with a note telling us to find a site and
settle-up in the morning. A good-old-boy came out of his motorhome and said
he would help us back-into a site. I guess it never crossed his mind that we
have been getting into campsites for years without his help, and he did
mumble something about interrupting his cocktail hour, but we just let him
lead the way. He guided DT into a narrow site, then ran off back to his
cocktail - after waving his hand to the southern sky, motioning where we
should point our satellite. The few people also camped here came out to see
the strangers from OR-A-GONE.
RV Park: We paid our $16, but have no idea the name of this
place in Winfield, WV. Exit 138 off I-79. Best of luck.
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