Our 4-H group, mostly pre-teen & teen horse CRAZY girls, will very soon be visiting Lexington, KY. What should they not miss? Any insider secrets? Thanks!
Horse crazy girls to visit lexington, KY
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I suppose you know about the Kentucky Horse Park.
http://www.kyhorsepark.com/
Debbie
Definietly do the KHP! That is perfectly geared to girls their age, and they can spend an entire day there doing the trail ride, museums, etc. There are lots of opportunities to pet and touch the horses, too. Be sure to bring a picnic lunch as there is only one restaurant on site, and it is kind of expensive and not good...
If the girls are into Thoroughbred racing, they might enjoy a visit to a Thoroughbred stallion farm. You can schedule the visits on your own, but it is easier to use a broker. I've had good luck with The Lexington Connection. They can take you to Keeneland to see morning works, then to a couple of farms to see the stallions. The only thing you'll need to know is that they will NOT get to pet/play with these horses, but it will be a memorable trip!
If you have time to drive to Louisville, they can visit the Kentucky Derby Museum. Driving time is about an hour and a half.
You'll also need to take them to the track, they will be running somewhere. Keeneland or Churchill would be great + you can get real close to the horses, particularly during the week. You might sheck & see if Calumet or some of the (big) horse farms give tours, etc. For your group, I bet they would.
It's been 30 years, so I'm going by poor memory, but here goes:
I believe most of the major horse farms give tours, which was the highlight of my visit. You have to call ahead for a reservation.
My mother took me to Claiborne Farm, which as I recall is only about a 30 minute drive from Lexington (the farm is in Paris).
At the time, Secretariat was in retirement there, and we got to see him. I wasn't into horses very much at the time, but my mother told me to remember the moment because that was probably the greatest "athlete" I would ever see in person.
The farm left a great impression on me, and now I love horses (although I didn't before the trip). After all these years, I even remember the name of the General Farm Manager who was nice enough to humor a kid ignorant about horses - John Sosby. He even gave me a poster of the Triple Crown winners as a souvenir, which I still have.
I can only guess that kids who already have a love of horses would doubly enjoy such a visit.
There are also many famous horses buried there, and you can see their graves. Gallant Fox, Nasrullah, Bold Ruler, Riva Ridge, and since my visit, Secretariat.