26-875: The Mustang Champions Classic , or simply the Mustang Classic , held at the Kentucky Horse Park , is an eventing competition that showcases the American Mustang . It is being held annually in September by the Mustang Champions organization, in conjunction with the U.S. Bureau of Land Management . It is a sister event to the Mustang Challenge held in Las Vegas during the summer, and both are intended to complement
52-408: A 4,000-square-foot club lounge seating up to 80 patrons. The arena floor is below street level; the arena concourse, with 50,000 square feet of space, overlooks the arena floor and contains six concession stands. There are also two box offices at the arena. The Kentucky Horse Park hosts diverse educational events and competitions. Past examples include: Also, in 2015 the park became the new home of
78-510: A list of all 30+ organizations in one place, with contacts, see the Kentucky Horse Park website. Rolex Stadium is the primary outdoor event venue in the complex. The stadium seats 7,338 in its main grandstand but can accommodate up to 37,338 total capacity when bleachers seating up to 30,000 are used, primarily for larger outdoor horse shows, concerts , and other sporting events. Its show ring measures 306 feet by 406 feet, with
104-562: A rotating historical collection focused on a particular theme. Past themes include A Gift from the Desert (Arabia), Imperial China, and All the Queen's Horses (Britain). Beginning with the 1979 arrival of Forego , one of the leading handicap horses of the 1970s, the Kentucky Horse Park has been home to some of the world's greatest competition horses, including John Henry , Horse of the Decade for
130-403: Is Kentucky Horse Park's 5,520-seat indoor arena, expandable to 8,500 for concerts. The arena floor and championship ring measures 135 feet by 300 feet; in addition in indoor horse shows, Alltech Arena can also be used for indoor football , ice hockey , basketball , circuses , boxing , wrestling , concerts, and other special events. The arena contains nine luxury suites, 222 VIP box seats and
156-528: Is a working horse farm, international equestrian competition venue, and an educational theme park opened in 1978 in Lexington, Kentucky . It is located off Kentucky State Highway 1973 (Iron Works Pike) and Interstate 75 , at Exit 120, in northern Fayette County in the United States. The equestrian facility is a 1,224-acre (495 ha) park dedicated to "man's relationship with the horse." Open to
182-486: Is also a life-size statue of the 1973 U.S. Triple Crown winner Secretariat with jockey Ron Turcotte aboard being led by groom Eddie Sweat , sculpted by Jim Reno . From harness racing , there is a statue of Bret Hanover . The Kentucky Horse Park also contains the National Horse Center, headquarters for more than 30 national, regional and state equine organizations and associations including: For
208-741: The Extreme Mustang Makeover events. Competition includes dressage, show jumping, and arena cross country, as well as working equitation. The top 10 competitors compete in the finals for prize money. Event rules are based on those provided by the United States Equestrian Federation , the United States Eventing Association , the USA Working Equitation organization. The event was created "to showcase
234-500: The Ichthus Music Festival , a major Christian music festival originally held in nearby Wilmore until its temporary demise following its 2012 edition. For a constantly up-to-date list of all park events, see the Kentucky Horse Park website. On December 6, 2005, it was announced that Lexington and the Kentucky Horse Park would host the 2010 FEI World Equestrian Games in September and October. The 2010 games marked
260-691: The United States Department of the Interior . Its purpose was to manage the herds of feral horses and donkeys roaming lands in the Western US. This involves controlling the sizes of the herds so that they do not tax the natural resources too much and endanger themselves or other animals. Ideally the BLM tries to have the mustangs and burros that it removes from the wild adopted by individuals or organizations. This has become more challenging as
286-507: The 1980s and the top money-winning Thoroughbred gelding in racing history. With the exception of a few months in 1986, John Henry lived at the park from 1985 until his death in 2007, alongside other racing greats such as Forego and his fellow 1970s champion Bold Forbes , and more recent residents Cigar , voted Horse of the Decade for the 1990s, and Da Hoss , the first horse to win Breeders' Cup races in non-consecutive years. In late 2008,
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#1732772755992312-400: The Kentucky Horse Park their home, as well as 5-gaited American Saddlebred geldings CH Gypsy Supreme, CH Imperator and CH Sky Watch (all deceased). A number of horse sculptures stand in the Kentucky Horse Park, including a Man o' War statue on a pedestal near the entrance, over the horse's grave, which was moved here from Faraway Farm during the establishment of the park in the 1970s. There
338-649: The Mustang Classic in 2024. The 2024 event was covered by the EQUUS television network in a livestream featuring journalist Diana de Rosa. The event was also covered by the Equestrian+ network and EventingNation.com via livestream. Practical Horseman magazine, the chief sponsor, provided detailed written coverage. A number of other print sources covered the event including Horse Illustrated and Dressage Today. Kentucky Horse Park Kentucky Horse Park
364-497: The champions Alysheba and Funny Cide became residents, but Alysheba died at the park in March 2009. 1994 Kentucky Derby winner, Go For Gin, became a resident of the barn in 2011, while Cigar died at the park in 2014. Besides Thoroughbred horses, Standardbred pacing greats such as Staying Together and Western Dreamer , Cam Fella (deceased) and Rambling Willie (deceased), and Standardbred trotting champion Mr. Muscleman have made
390-560: The finals. The following were the leaders for each of the classes: After the freestyle finals competition, the winners were: Elisa Wallace for her part was previously a top-10 finisher at the Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event in 2016, as well as an alternate for the U.S. Olympic Team . Chris Phillips and Samantha Rock were notable for having finished in the top 5 for both the Mustang Challenge and
416-456: The first time the games were held outside of Europe ; additionally, the eight Olympic -level world championships had never been held together in a single location within Europe. As part of the games, several improvements to the park were slated: On February 1, 2007, Governor Ernie Fletcher announced that he would seek an additional $ 38.3 million in improvements to the park in preparation for
442-606: The flooring made of sand and fiber; however, artificial turf has been brought into the stadium for soccer and football games on occasion, among other events. It is the largest outdoor concert venue in Central Kentucky with a capacity of up to nearly 52,000. There are six concession stands at the stadium and six restrooms, meaning that concession and restroom facilities may be limited for events that require larger capacity; however Rolex Stadium features an 18-by-33-foot Daktronics ProStar LED videoscreen. Alltech Arena
468-411: The games and other major horse events. In his address to the 2007 General Assembly the governor suggested: The new indoor stadium and additional exhibition space, costing $ 28 million, would be financed with 20-year bonds. The roadway improvements, at $ 10.3 million within the park, would come from the state highway fund . The resort hotel would be constructed and financed without state funds. Although
494-403: The grand champion. The presenting sponsor of the event was Practical Horseman magazine. The top 10 heading into the finals were: Contestants were given the option of doing the cross-country test or the working equitation test. Because of scoring irregularities, the scores were republished more than once before being finalized. Also, Huber's withdrawal from the competition brought Phillips into
520-415: The park is owned by the state government, it is administered separately from the state park system . Kentucky Horse Park Arboretum Practical Horseman Practical Horseman is an American equestrian magazine that focuses on English-style riding, most notably hunter / jumpers as well as dressage and eventing . The magazine was founded in 1973 with the name The Pennsylvania Horse . It
546-604: The public, the park has a twice daily Horses of the World Show, showcasing both common and rare horses from around the globe. The horses are ridden in authentic costume. Each year the park is host to a number of special events and horse shows. Additionally, the park contains the International Museum of the Horse, a Smithsonian Affiliate, which has a permanent collection of horse history and memorabilia, along with
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#1732772755992572-587: The skill and adaptability of the American mustang and the talented trainers that work with them in the English discipline". The competition is open to competitors who have adopted or purchased Mustangs that were originally part of the BLM adoption programs and have previously competed in appropriate equestrian competitions. The Wild Horse and Burro Program was created in 1971 by the Bureau of Land Management, part of
598-415: The wild. During the event, the trainers competed for prizes to demonstrate how domesticated their horses were and how ready for real-world use. The wildly successful event has since been held annually and similar events are now held across the country to promote interest in mustangs. To further advance the cause and promote acceptance of mustangs in the equestrian community, the Mustang Champions organization
624-623: The years have passed. In 2001, the non-profit Mustang Heritage Foundation was established aiming to help the BLM find homes for mustangs and burros collected from the wild and to minimize the number of time these animals have to remain in holding facilities. The organization has facilitated the adoption of thousands of animals. In 2007, the MHF held its first Extreme Mustang Makeover event in Fort Worth . The Foundation arranged for 100 horse trainers to spend 100 days training 100 mustangs fresh from
650-475: Was formerly published by Cowles Magazines and part of Cowles Enthusiast Titles. In 1998 Primedia bought the company and also, the magazine. The magazine was published by the Equine Network, a subsidiary of Source Interlink , until 2010 when it was acquired by Active Interest Media . In 2021, Active Interest Media sold its Equine Network properties to Growth Catalyst Partners . Practical Horseman
676-602: Was founded. The organization established twin competitions for mustang trainers: the Mustang Challenge in Las Vegas featuring Western skills tournaments, and the Mustang Classic in Lexington featuring English eventing . The inaugural events were held in 2024. The 2024 edition was inaugural event for the Mustang Classic. Sixty-one competitors registered to take part in the event, which took place September 13–15. It featured US$ 125,000 in cash and prizes, with $ 50,000 going to
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