Filed under: The Buffington Southern Experience, Things To Do/Places To See | Tags: Champion Horses, Horse, Kentucky Derby, Kentucky Horse Park
Lily was in love…
with all of the beautiful horses at the Kentucky Horse Park. What a great time we had visiting this amazing place on Saturday. Known as “the heart of the horse capital of the world,” this park is truly a must see. We of course saw lots of horses… big horses, little horses, horses from around the world, white horses, black horses, and the most exciting of all… the Hall Of Champion horses.
First on our schedule was a show called Horses of the World, where we learned about 5 horses from different parts of the world. Each horse pranced around while the announcer educated the audience on the horse’s origin. After the show, there was a “meet and greet” with each horse. Lily particularly loved this opportunity.
After that we took a horse-drawn trolley ride around the horse park and learned even more about the history of the park. Meet Andy and Ty, our “drivers!”
We then had some fun in the Kids Barn, which was filled with all sorts of fun interactive and educational exhbits to enjoy. Lily brushed one of the miniature horses, and Rydan learned how many “hands” he is. (Horses are measured in hands. Who knew?)
The last highlight of our trip was probably the most exciting. We had the opportunity to meet four horses in the Hall Of Champions. It was really intriguing to listen to each horse’s story and watch some footage of their winning races. Each one was so unique, and you couldn’t help but smile and applaud these horses as they each came out to meet the crowd. We sat in the front row, so it was quite a treat to be that close to these champions and look them in the eye as they stopped to pose in front of us. Lily couldn’t stop squealing and pointing at them. For those of you who follow horse racing (Tori Miller), you can click on the horse photos below (all except Go For Gin) for more information on their accomplishments, earnings and history.
GO FOR GIN
1994 Kentucky Derby Winner
DA HOSS
Only horse to win two Breeder's Cup Races in non-consecutive years.
FUNNY CIDE
2003 Kentucky Derby Winner
CIGAR
16 consecutive wins & all-time leading money winner at retirement ($9,999,815!)
We also saw the memorials of Alysheba and John Henry, two special horses in the Memorial Walk Of Champions. Even if you’re not a big horse fan, click on these two photos and read their stories. Their journeys and accomplishments are so fascinating and really touch your heart. For example, would you guess that after being born in Kentucky, Alysheba spent his first eight years of life in Saudi Arabia, and was then gifted back to Kentucky by King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia?
ALYSHEBA
1987 Kentucky Derby Winner
JOHN HENRY
Only horse to win Horse Of The Year more than once, but in non-consecutive years.
And here are just a few more fun photos from our visit.
Filed under: The Buffington Southern Experience, Things To Do/Places To See | Tags: Kentucky, Kentucky Children's Garden, Lexington
We had beauuuu-ti-ful weather in Lexington this past weekend. In fact, we barely saw Rydan on Saturday because he was outside playing with neighborhood friends from morning until dark. He even missed lunch, which, if you Rydan… missing an opportunity to eat is extremely out of character. We were happy to see him making more friends, though, and he seemed to be having the time of his life as always.
Lily has been fighting a cold for a few days, but even she was eager to get outside and enjoy the sunshine. She went on a few walks with Mommy and then had a great time watching the big kids while running up and down the sidewalk.
Yesterday’s weather was even warmer, so we paid a visit to The Kentucky Children’s Garden. Even though things weren’t quite in bloom yet, we still had a lot of fun exploring. Rydan and Lily each had an obvious favorite part of the Garden. Rydan enjoyed lounging by the small pond, which offered the opportunity to pretend fish. As always, we found him chatting away and making friends within minutes.
Lily just couldn’t get enough of the life-size painted horse near the entrance. No matter where we went, her eyes always traveled back to the horse, and she continually made a bee line for it whenever we got too far away. Ryan couldn’t have been offered a new job in a better state. Our daughter is so in love with horses.
Here are a few highlights of our day at the Garden…
Filed under: Things To Do/Places To See | Tags: Christmas, Family Activity, Gingerbread House, Winter
It’s our first gingerbread house in Lexington! Once again, Santa left a ”candy house,” as Rydan calls them, underneath our tree on Christmas morning. This is one of the first things we do together as a family at the beginning of every year. It’s a fun project after the Christmas chaos has passed, and it doesn’t require any batteries!
Lily's favorite part was sticking her finger into the icing, and then into Daddy's mouth.
Okay, so it may not be the best-looking one we’ve ever made, thanks to our little Miss Lily, but we laughed more making this one than any others we’ve done in the past.
