Of all the equestrian sports out there, none of them are as FUN as mounted games.  The US Mounted Games Association Championship Finale will be held at the park this weekend, October 27-28, sure to delight participants and spectators alike with teams competing in relays named Bang-A-Balloon, Hi Lo, Hula Hoop, Socks and Buckets, Windsor Castle and others. 

The competition is open to adult and youth divisions and is known as a niche equestrian sport that is relatively inexpensive and has a wide variety of classes suited to the skill level of the rider.  Bring out the family to watch the fun, and get caught up in the action!  www.usmga.us

Admission:  Included in Kentucky Horse Park visitor admission, available at the Visitor Information Center

Parking:  Main Visitor Parking Lot

Location:  Rolex Stadium

Times:           Saturday, October 27, 9:00 am to 4:00 pm (approx.)

                       Sunday, October 28, 9:00 am to 4:00 pm (approx.)

On Tuesday, September 11, 2012 at 9 am, the Rocky Mountain Horse Association will be holding their 24th annual International Horse Show at the Kentucky Horse Park, Covered Arena. 

The RMHA’s 24th International Horse Show will run until September 15th and culminate with Grand Championship classes in the Saturday evening performance.  

Admission to this event will be included with park admission.  Several local vendors will be set up around the show ring concourse daily.  Events for the whole family are planned throughout the week. 

Please join us anytime during the week of September 11-15th for family fun and entertainment at the Kentucky Horse Park to celebrate the Rocky Mountain Horse Association’s International Horse Show.  More information available on RMHA website: www.rmhorse.com.

In 1986, the Rocky Mountain Horse Association was founded as a non-profit organization in Kentucky.  The Association is dedicated to the preservation, promotion and breeding of the Rocky Mountain Horse.  Even though the Rocky Mountain Horse as a recognized breed is relatively new, the horses go back more than 70 years to a small farm owned by Sam Tuttle, in Estill County Kentucky.  Mr. Tuttle developed these horses which had a natural single foot (4-beat gait) for riding at the Natural Bridge State Park.  The name “Rocky Mountain Horse” is derived from the fact that Mr. Tuttle’s line of horse is descendant from a stallion originally from the Rocky Mountains.  This stallion bred to Kentucky mares and was the beginnings of the Rocky Mountain Horse.  There are over 19,000 registered Rocky Mountain Horses in the U.S., Canada, Mexico, New Zealand and Australia, and are also found in several countries throughout Europe.  

***This brief history of the Rocky Mountain Horse® is an excerpt from the book “Rocky Mountain Horses”,
courtesy of the author, Bonnie Hodge.  For more information contact Bonnie at www.wildfireenterprises.iceryder.net.

Melissa Eller
Administrative Assistant, Rocky Mountain Horse Association
859-243-0260
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

The second edition of the Alltech National Horse Show in Lexington, KY, is set for October 30 through November 4, 2012. The show will once again be held at the Alltech Arena at the Kentucky Horse Park.
 
In addition to world-class show jumping and the country's best and most competitive hunter divisions, the show will also feature one of the nation's longest running and most coveted national championships, the ASPCA® (The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals®) Maclay National Championship.

Over the years the ASPCA Maclay Finals have been termed the "proving ground of champions" and the ultimate test for America's young riders. And in the case of this classic test of horsemanship skills, that's certainly more fact than hype.
 
During last year's ASPCA Maclay Finals, it was 17-year-old Sarah Milliren of Sapulpa, Okla., who took top honors. "It's so exciting, I'm so happy," beamed Milliren after leading the victory gallop. "For the second round I had moved down, so I knew I had to give it my all. I feel so honored to win this prestigious national championship."
 
"It's the culmination of a long year of competition, it's the final national championship, and with all of the history behind it, it's just a great event to be a part of," said top trainer Missy Clark, who, during the course of her stellar career as one of the nation's very best teachers, has sent nine different ASPCA Maclay National Champions to the ring. "If you look back at the names on the Maclay trophy, you see so many names of riders that have gone on to do great things in their careers. If you can get through the Maclay Finals, you can go on and do anything. If you win that class, you've got the goods; you've got the ingredients to do great things."
 
"Since its beginning in 1933, the ASPCA Maclay has been the most prestigious and coveted award for junior riders, and the ultimate test of horsemanship and partnership between horse and rider," said Valerie Angeli, senior director of equine and special projects for the ASPCA. "To ride in the Maclay is a huge accomplishment on its own, but-to win a Maclay class is truly exceptional, and to win or place in the championship finals elevates a young rider to celebrity rider status."
 
The ASPCA Maclay Horsemanship Trophy contains the names of some of America's great riders. Previous winners include United States Equestrian Team superstar William Steinkraus in 1941 and his teammate and long time Chef D'Equipe of the U.S. team, Frank Chapot in 1948. World Cup Champion and Olympic Gold Medalist Conrad Homfeld won the championship in 1967 and fellow Olympians Leslie Burr Howard (1972), Peter Wylde (1982) and Katharine Burdsall (1975) all got their start with a victory in the ASPCA Maclay Finals. The ASPCA's own Equine Welfare Ambassador, Brianne Goutal took home the coveted title during the 2005 show season, and Hayley Barnhill, also an ASPCA Equine Welfare Ambassador, won the championship in 2010.


Probably, the most impressive name of all on the trophy is that of the legendary George Morris who led the victory gallop at Madison Square Garden in 1952. And this year, for the ASPCA Maclay National Championship, George Morris, along with California's legendary Hap Hansen will be the judges for this prestigious event. "It's an American heritage, a real tradition in our sport," Morris noted last year. "The purpose of this wonderful discipline of equitation is to encourage good horsemanship. Horsemanship is caring for your horse, whether you have a pony or an Olympic jumper."
 
"It is important to remember that in this competition, just like in any other, true champions are not only the best at what they do, their hearts are in the right place and they truly care," said Angeli. "The ASPCA Maclay is, and always has been about, not just mastering the finest skills in hunt seat equitation; it is about compassion, consideration and responsibility to the horses. Now more than ever we ask our ASPCA Maclay riders to put the welfare of their horses first and think about the many thousands of horses in this country who are not lucky enough to be properly loved and cared for," she noted. "After all, the ASPCA's history is about more than 145 years of protecting the horses who have served man so well throughout time."
 
And as Clark points out, the ASPCA Maclay Finals have always been an important stepping stone to future equestrian endeavors and success.
 
"It's a great developmental area for so many of our riders. If you use it as a tool as you move forward in your career, to perfect your riding, to learn about proper position, proper function, that enables you to go on and do so many other things," Clark went on to say. "I think it's an important event in our American system, and if you look back in history at some of the winners, and even the great riders that maybe didn't win, but competed well, you see that verified time and time again."
 
"The Alltech National Horse Show made an all-out effort to make sure that Maclay Sunday was an extraordinary day," said Mason Phelps, the President of the National Horse Show Association of America. "We were very happy with last year's event, but we're even more excited for 2012 as we make the small, but necessary changes to make Sunday even more exciting. Once again, we will be pulling out all of the stops to make sure this event is superb at every level."
 
Phelps also noted, "On Sunday at the Alltech National Horse Show, there is no charge at all for General Admission. So, with that in mind, we encourage everyone to come out the show. We hope, that in lieu of the free admission, that anyone visiting us on Sunday will take some time to stop by the ASPCA booth and find out about this great organization and make a contribution to their worthwhile efforts."
 
"Maclay Day" at the National has always been a pressure packed day of equestrian excellence.
 
"Maclay day is simply intense," Clark affirmed. "You've prepared harder, and in a more concentrated manner than you have for any other championship. Just like when you're preparing for the Super Bowl, you train harder, right?" she asked. "You're pretty much up all night in preparation, and then competition day is a full day of just intense concentration, with plenty of highs and some lows too. With the Maclay, there's really nothing like it. It's a year's worth of work all boiled down to one intense day of competition."
 
This year's highly competitive event, pitting America's top juniors in a head to head battle for horsemanship supremacy, takes place on the final Sunday of the Alltech National Horse Show on November 4th.
 
No matter the winner, that Sunday in November promises to be a very special day, as it has been every year since the inception in 1933.
 
"I have a friend who is in her 80's and has lived an amazingly adventurous and rich life, having traveled all around the world and done just about everything," Angeli said. "But when asked, she will tell you that one of her proudest accomplishments was riding in the Maclay at Madison Square Garden and competing against Jacqueline Bouvier (Kennedy) in the 1940's. The Maclay program is framed on her piano as you walk in the door and it states that "the purpose of the ASPCA Maclay competition is to reward young riders, through a serious of tests, for excellence in horsemanship and thoughtfulness to their mounts."
 
For information on the ASPCA Maclay and the Alltech National Horse Show, please visit the website at:  http://www.alltechnationalhorseshow.com/  
 
In addition to hosting the ASPCA Alfred B. Maclay Finals, the show will feature a complete schedule of 'AA'-rated hunter divisions, a big money Open Jumper division with a major Grand Prix, and as always, the signature event of the National Horse Show, the ASPCA Alfred B. Maclay Finals.
 
Founded in 1883 at the original Madison Square Garden, the National Horse Show is America's oldest indoor horse show, firmly established as a major fixture on the national and international sports and social event calendars. The National Horse Show Association's primary activity is the annual production of the National Horse Show and all ancillary events. Over the years, the National Horse Show has provided financial aid to many worthwhile charities.
 
For more information on the National Horse Show Association of America, Limited, please visit  www.nhs.org. 

Photos (top) Sarah Milliren, winner of the 2011 ASPCA Maclay Championship by Shawn McMillen, and (bottom) Mason Phelps, by Kenneth Kraus.

Prize money will reach $3,000 for the Thoroughbred Horse Show Association's Fall Show on October 6-7 at the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington. Entries are being accepted for the show, TBHS's second event following its successful inaugural Spring Show on April 14 in which more than 100 Thoroughbreds of all ages competed in 39 classes using their registered names with The Jockey Club.

TBHS was founded in 2011 by a group of Central Kentuckians interested in creating opportunities to showcase the talent and competitive spirit of off-the-track Thoroughbreds. Its shows are affiliated with The Jockey Club Thoroughbred Incentive Program (TIP), which encourages the retraining of Thoroughbreds into other disciplines upon the completion of their careers in racing or breeding.

TBHS' Fall Show builds on the success of the Spring Show in April and will be a fundraiser for Boys & Girls Haven in Louisville (boyshaven.org). The nonprofit organization works to teach young people to become productive and healthy members of the community. Its equine program enables young people to work with Thoroughbreds.

“We are really excited about supporting Boys & Girls Haven,” said TBHS Executive Director Jan Roehl. “They have a very successful equine program, and our show will give the kids job training and a chance to work with horses while they help us with the many tasks required to conduct the show."

The Fall Show will offer enhanced prize money, thanks to The Jockey Club Thoroughbred Incentive Program (TIP). Classes include a Hunter Classic and a Jumper Classic, both of which will award $500 to the winner. TBHS also is hosting a $1,000 Dressage Challenge and a $500 Gamblers Choice, and is encouraging people and organizations to become sponsors of these events.

“In the Gamblers Choice class, jumps have a point value based on difficulty and riders have a time limit in which to complete the course,” Roehl said. “Riders choose which jumps to attempt and the order in which to take them. The rider with the highest number of points wins. Spectators will find the class fun to watch.”

Information about the Fall Show, including an entry form, is available on TBHS website, tbhorseshow.com.

For more information, contact executive director Jan Roehl at (859) 559-1409 or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .

PHOTO: Participating in the Thoroughbred Horse Shows Association's “War Horse” in-hand class during the April 14 show at the Kentucky Horse Park were (from left) Red Zipper, a 9-year-old stakes-winning gelding by City Zip who earned $303,935, with Michelle Parish; Prayer Service, a 10-year-old winning gelding by Stephen Got Even who earned $162,961, with Morgan Adams; and Train Robbery, the 25-year-old, Grade 3-winning dam of Breeders' Cup Classic (G1) winner Cat Thief, with Martha Murdock.  Photo (c) Debbie Savage

Horse Park regularly hosts Olympic-caliber athletes

FRANKFORT, Ky. (Aug. 13, 2012) – As the 2012 Olympic Games in London close, Gov. Beshear today recognized the Kentucky Horse Park as an elite international equestrian facility for consistently hosting world-class and Olympic-caliber athletes.   

The Horse Park is also a significant economic contributor to the Commonwealth, with an estimated economic impact of approximately $180 million each year.  

“The Kentucky Horse Park is the only place in our state—and one of the few places in the world—where visitors can see world-class equestrian competitions on a regular basis,” said Gov. Beshear.  “We are not only the Horse Capital of the World, but Kentucky is also one of the premier homes for high-level equestrian sports.  I encourage Kentuckians and visitors to attend one of the many top-rated shows held at the Kentucky Horse Park and witness elite competition firsthand.”

More than 115 athletes who participated in equestrian events in the 2012 Olympics have competed at the Kentucky Horse Park.  Seventeen of those athletes earned a medal in the London Olympics.  

Athletes frequently travel from Australia, France, Great Britain and many other countries to the Lexington facility to contend for top honors in equestrian sports such as dressage, jumping and eventing.  

The Horse Park also hosted the 2010 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games, which marked the first time the elite competition was held outside of Europe.  That event placed Kentucky in the international spotlight and generated more than $200 million in economic impact, and also built on the park’s international reputation as a signature event site.  The new facilities added to the Horse Park for WEG continue to attract competitors and tourists to Kentucky from across the country and around the world.  
    
"We appreciate the continued support from the Governor and First Lady.  We are exceedingly proud of our facility and the competitions that bring in visitors and athletes from around the globe,” said John Nicholson, executive director of the Kentucky Horse Park.  “The Kentucky Horse Park is clearly one of the leading equestrian competition facilities not just in North America, but anywhere in the world.  We expect the tremendous growth of the sport horse industry in Kentucky will accelerate in the years ahead."  

The Kentucky Horse Park is a 1,200 acre competition facility and tourist attraction recognized as the epicenter of equestrian life, sports and business.  Most notably, the park annually hosts the Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event.  The event is ranked at four stars, which is the highest level in international competition.    

The Horse Park hosts a number of other award-winning shows as well.  The Alltech National Horse Show won the National Show Hunter Hall of Fame’s Show of the year. They were also named the top U.S. show by the North American Riders Group. North American Junior and Young Rider Championships and the two weeks of Kentucky Spring Hunter Jumper were named among the top 25 events in North America.

This year, the facility will host 21 grand prix jumper classes as well as seven national or international hunter derbies, with more than $1 million offered in prize money.

The Park will host three upper-level dressage events in 2013, including the U.S. Dressage Finals.  

For more information on the Kentucky Horse Park and its world-class events, please visit http://kyhorsepark.com/.

###

Photo above from Rolex Kentucky, by www.PixBySteve.com.

Lexington, Ky (August 13, 2012) The Alltech National Horse Show announced today that this year's show has added a variety of exhilarating American Saddlebred events to the agenda for the 2012 show, joining the top flight show jumpers and world-class hunters classes already on the schedule.
 
Following a successful debut last year, the second edition of the Alltech National Horse Show in Lexington, Kentucky, is set for October 30 through November 4, 2012. The show will once again be held at the Alltech Arena at the Kentucky Horse Park.
 
The Saddlebred Horse division at the Alltech National Horse Show will feature four sections: Amateur and Open classes for Five and Three Gaited Horses, Fine Harness Horses and Amateur classes for Three Gaited Park Horses.
 
In addition to those Saddlebred classes, in what should be a tremendous crowd pleasing favorite, the dynamic Roadster Horses will compete in one electrifying class for a huge prize money jackpot in the $25,000 Equine Services Roadster Cup sponsored by Walsh Harness and Equine Services LLC.
 
"High stepping and high jumping in Lexington!" said an animated National Horse Show Association President, Mason Phelps, Jr. "We are very excited about the American Saddlebreds returning to the National Horse Show. This is just another giant step forward in recreating the amazing excitement of the days of the National in New York. Part of the magic in those days was the variety of Show Jumping and the Saddlebreds, all in one session at the show," he said.
 
In addition to excellent prize money, many of the legendary and fancy old trophies from the days of the National Horse Show in New York will be up for grabs for the Saddlebreds at this year's Alltech National Horse Show.
 
Misdee Miller, a fourth-generation horsewoman, who drives carriages and is a top Saddlebred competitor, riding out of Hillcroft, her Bourbon County, Kentucky horse farm, has been a major force behind the Saddlebreds returning to the Alltech National Horse Show. "I am thrilled that the American Saddlebreds will once again be part of the grand tradition of the ANHS. It is a show that is special and unique in that it combines top competition in a glamorous setting, and now that it is set to go in the heart of Saddlebred country, it will attract some of best horses and riders in the country who will be in top form for a great audience," she said.
 
James LaHood, coordinator of the Saddlebred competition, comes to the Alltech National Horse Show after previously managing the famed Lexington Junior League Horse Show for twenty-one years and for the past thirty-two years has managed the much celebrated Eastern States Exposition. LaHood is excited about the return of the American Saddlebred to the National. "The Saddlebred horses will go a long way in increasing national recognition with the inclusion of the their classes at the Alltech National Horse Show."
 
Last year's Alltech National Horse Show closed with great excitement, receiving unanimous approval from the horse show community. The Show was a great success with the thousands of attendees, in addition to nearly half a million viewers who watched the events unfold online.
 
More than 560 horses and 350 riders from nine countries, including nine Olympic veterans competed last year.
 
"With bigger prize money, an extra competition day and these exciting new classes," Phelps said, "we are very optimistic about the future."
 
The 2012 Alltech National Horse Show takes center stage on October 30 through November 4, 2012 at the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington, Kentucky. In addition to the top rated hunters and the ASPCA Maclay National Championship, the show features world-class international, open, junior and amateur-owner jumpers competing for the biggest prize money on the United States indoor tour.
 
Founded in 1883 at the original Madison Square Garden, the National Horse Show is America's oldest indoor horse show, firmly established as a major fixture on the national and international sports and social event calendars. The National Horse Show Association's primary activity is the annual production of the National Horse Show and all ancillary events. Over the years, the National Horse Show has provided financial aid to many worthwhile charities.
 
For more information on the National Horse Show Association of America, Limited, please visit  www.nhs.org. 
 

Lexington, KY - More than 500 of the very best ponies in the U.S. are in Lexington, Kentucky right now to compete at the 2012 US Pony Finals. Starting Tuesday they will be ridden into competition at the Kentucky Horse Park by youth riders from around the country.
 
Over the next six days riders will take aim at the US Hunter Pony Championships presented by Sallee Horse Vans in Small, Medium, and Large Regular Hunter and Green Hunter sections and at an overall Regular and Green Hunter championship.  Starting Wednesday and continuing through Friday pony jumpers will go after Team and Individual jumping championships. On Sunday, August 12th the week will end with the awarding of the Equisport Insurance/US Pony Medal Championship.
 
The full 2012 U.S. Pony Finals schedule is available here.
 
Though a National Pony Championship has been held in the U.S. since 1967 the popular and cherished Pony Medal has only been awarded since 1984. Since then the equitation competition that determines the medal winner has been a highlight of the week. Riders qualify by earning a blue ribbon or by earning 30 points in any U.S. Pony Medal Qualifying class. During the championship they will be judged head-to-head over a demanding course of fences.
 
2012 is the 11th year that the National Pony Jumper Championships are being held as part of the US Pony Finals. To qualify rider/pony combinations need to be one of their zone's top four. Zone 7 won last year's team championship and last year's individual winner Julia Curtis is back with her winning mount, The Waterboy.
 
The Hunter Pony competitions are held in three phases in which a pony's conformation, movement under saddle, and jumping ability are judged. The first Hunter Pony classes begin Tuesday in the Walnut Ring at the Kentucky Horse Park.
 
USEF Network will post results and videos from the US Pony Finals daily at http://usefnetwork.com/featured/2012USEFPonyFinals/
 
Find out more about the Pony Finals at www.usef.org. 

Join us for the USEF/AVA National Championships Aug 2-5 at the Kentucky Horse Park!

Vaulting competition will be in the Alltech Arena Thursday through Sunday.  They have more than 350 competitors from 20 states across the country (CA, WA, IO,NM, TX, UT, WI, MI, IL, MN, TN, GA, NJ, VA, CT, NH, CO, NY, NC and OR).

Inexperenced Vaulters range in age from 6 to mid- thirties.  Average age range of vaulters is 12-20.  The youngest inexperienced will compete in the unrecognized classes on our "Festival Day" on Thursday.

They have vaulters at levels in trot and canter.  They compete in different divisions:  Individual, Pas de Deux (2 on the horse) and Team (a group of 6 vaulters, with a maximum of three on the horse at one time.)

Detailed schedule:  http://vaulting.swcp.com/orderofgo/acorn27/NATOOG12.pdf

Summary of classes by day:  http://www.americanvaulting.org/Nationals2012/schedule2012.pdf

Included with park admission!