It was our first time to the Kentucky Horse Park and I almost had to come home without Becky. 😁 She fell in love with this amazing place and didn’t want to leave, lol! 🐎 🐴
The trip was part of our 75th Birthday present to Lynne (Becky’s Mom, mom-in-law😁). She has a lifelong affinity for all things equestrian. She is also a passionate cyclist. In recent years, she hasn’t been able to do either because of a degenerative arthritis in her knee and ankle. Both of these factors caused pain that prevented her from enjoying both of her passions.
Lynne underwent a full knee replacement and is doing amazing. As soon as she told us she wanted to try and ride horses again, we jumped on the opportunity to book the trip. It took a while but we finally forced her to lock in a date and that was that!
First task, find a place to stay
You can enjoy all the attractions at Horse Park in a single day. We decided we would schedule a weekend so that we were not rushed and could enjoy our time together as a family.
There are several options for staying close to the park. Hotels, bed and breakfast ranches, specialized hotels with working farms and VRBo/Air BnB to name a few. We opted for VRBO after finding an amazing rustic loft that sits above a working stable. It was perfect to deliver the full experience of Kentucky equestrian culture. We booked it!
The Loft at Pinebrook Horse Farm
The Loft could not have been more perfect. Lynne fell in love immediately as she stepped into the perfectly decorated living space. It was rustic but contemporary. Hard wood floors, English country charm and 65in flatscreen precisely recessed in a floor to ceiling boxed column of dark-stained recovered barn wood. It has modern appliances that are subtle and seem to fit perfectly with the compliment of old country decor.
It was perfect!
There are actually two condos on the property that are attached to the stables I I addition to the main house the is occupied by the host. There was a family with two young girls staying in the other condo. We met their father as we carried in out luggage. Son after, we saw the two girls streak by who were exploring the stables. First impression, they seemed like a nice family enjoying a stay that offered down time for Mom and Dad, still having something to keep the girls excited and entertained.
After hauling everything into the condo, Becky and I explored the horse farm. As we neared the entrance to the main stables, we were greeted by Melody making sounds to get your attention and let you know to come say hi! Melody is a near white beautify horse owned by the host family who lives at the farm. She also make the perfect greeter to visitors! In an adjacent wing of the stables are the Peace Pony’s. They are four miniature horses! Sherrif, Puzzle, Apollo and Domino are not short on personality and seem to be aiming to take Melody’s job as greeter, lol. They were great!.
The Rest of the farm was beautiful. The grass was manicured in the areas you could walk. There were sitting areas with benches and landscape. Fencing surrounded several horse fields and the entire scene looked straight out of a painting. We liked the farm so much, we decided to book a third night!
Our day at the park
During our visit, everything was perfect!! The weather, shows, horse interactions, trail ride, museums and staff made it an amazing experience for all of us. If you love horses or maybe just animals, you have to put this place on your list!
We had two goals for the day. Visit the attractions and schedule a trail ride offered at the park.
Pleasant surprise… your admission into the park is good for two days! – that wasn’t written anywhere on the website or mentioned in any of the articles we read.
We had planned to follow our visit to the park with a down day. With a two day admission, we decided to visit the attractions on day one and then come back the next day for the trail ride.
Every place you look is photo worthy. So… of course we grabbed our phones and started snapping pics 😁. Our first stop was at the Breed Barn. I was not aware there are so many breeds of horses. To me, there has always been horses of different sizes. In the breed barn we saw the following:
- Mustang
- American Painted
- American Saddlebred
- Gypsy Vanner
- Haflinger
- Arabian
- Friesian
- Norwegian Fjord
- more…
They all had something that made them special!
Stop number two was the Big Barn. This is where the draft horse stables are. This is also where Becky met Connor, a 9 ft tall Belgian giant who couldn’t take his eyes off her, lol. All the larger horses had stables in this barn. You could walk up and pet most of them. They were gentle giants. I was enamored at the size of these horses. They stood there looking down at you fully aware of they superior strength and majestic stature. Even so, they knew the symbiosis between the park and them. They were more than happy to work for their accommodations.
We then headed up the hill for the Parade of Champions. This is meet and greet with champion race horses who have retired to the park or vacationing for a time. These horses were amazing animals!
We met Muscle Man, Marion Marauder and Western Dreamer. These horses were all accomplished winners in their racing category. Even as elders, they looked like young Thoroughbred Stalions! – Amazing animals!
The Parade of Champions was in a smaller, more personal arena where a trainer briefly talked about each one of the horse’s storied past. There were flat screens throughout the arena that played some clips for their races to give you a feel for the excitement during those times. During the presentation, the horses were walked around the small arena stage to bring them within a few feet of where you were sitting so you could experience their stunning presense.
After the show, we walked through the stables where the champions are cared for and stopped to take pics with Muscle Man. He was a character and, like many of the other horses, was so calm in the presence of so many people. On the other side of the stables, the park was allowing park guests to meet Western Dreamer up close. He was obviously used to having his photo taken and would continually pose on queue. These animals seemed happy to still be getting attention and admiration since their racing careers had come to an end.
At the end of the day, we headed back to the car and set our sites on a local Smokehouse BBQ called Red State Bar-B-Que. This place was a small local dive in the front corner of an old motel. You wouldn’t know it from the long line inside that never dropped below 15 people waiting to order. We were so hungry from walking the park. That made it taste even better! On our way out we got some Peach Bread Pudding to take back to the Loft.
Finally, the we went on a trail ride
On our second day at the park, we scheduled the trail ride. Lynne was nervous to test her knee and ankle horse back riding. Unsure of how the harness and saddle would fit and the unpredictable movements of the horse would twist or tweak her legs. Those fears disappeared immediately once she mounted her horse. The trip was so worth it when we saw her face! You could tell she was elated, excited, motivated and content in that moment!
The ride was almost an hour and winded through the fenced-in horse fields surrounding the park. It was only my second time on a horse and I was happy my horse knew what to do because I felt like I had little control on where we went. Apollo was an experienced transit horse who had worked at the park for years. He was hilarious as he would continually look left and right, simply enjoying the walk on a sunny afternoon and taking in the moment.
This trip was a surprise in many ways. Most vacations are pack full of activities and excitement, leaving you contently on empty by end. This one was balanced and I actually felt recharged by the end.
If you haven’t already, book a weekend in Lexington and go to the park. You won’t regret it!!
