More then 100,000 people attended the 4 days of the 2008 Rolex Kentucky Three Day Event. This of course is a great sign for the Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games Kentucky 2010 which will be 8 disciplines over 16 days. With the expectation that the economy will be back on the upswing by the 2010 Games it all suggests that the Games have the possibility of being more successful then most people are expecting. I still believe the success of the Games is going to be more then just economic, I believe these Games will forge a bond between the people of Kentucky and people from all over the world that will influence the future of Kentucky for Generations to come.
For the first time since its conception in 1990, the FEI World Equestrian Games will be held at the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington, Kentucky.Not only will this be the first time this international event will be held in Kentucky, but also for the first time in the United States, or even in North America.Never before have games been held outside of Europe, making 2010 the first time that the World Equestrian Games will be held inside this hemisphere.
Do I have your attention now?
Lexington, Kentucky will be hosting the world championships for eight very different equestrian sports.Three of these disciplines, eventing, show jumping, and dressage, are recognized as Olympic sports.Also included will be endurance riding, driving, reining, and vaulting.And, for the first time, para-equestrian (riders with disabilities) championships will be held.
While the average person may not know exactly what is involved in these competitions, at the very least everyone needs to know that equestrian sports are the *only* Olympic sport where men and woman compete together and are judged equally.In this sport, there are competitors spanning from teenagers to retirees and grandparents in their fifties and sixties.
Now, would you like to know more?
In a little over two years, the world will literally be on Lexington’s doorstep.Well, not the entire world, but the international equestrian community will be here.The 2006 World Equestrian Games in Aachen, Germany boasted of having 773 athletes and 852 horses from 61 different countries. And they competed with over 570,000 spectators watching.That’s more than a half-a-million people!
Sooner than you realize, Lexington will be filled with top-notch international trainers, riders, and their world-class horse counterparts.And, coming along for the ride (pun intended) will be many hundreds of thousands of people from all over the world!
And you are not excited yet!?You should be!
This is an incredible achievement for our small city which proudly claims the title of “Horse Capitol of the World.”And in 2010, we will be given the chance to prove, once and for all, that as Lexingtonians, as Kentuckians, and Americans, we truly are world-class.
Re-Posted with permission.
Jessica, thanks for the use of your wonderful article.
Charlie Pearl had a good article in the Frankfort State Journal last week talking about how Frankfort was gearing up for the Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games. He pointed out that Joe Jeffries, executive director of the Frankfort/Franklin County Tourist Commission said, “I am not sure Kentucky fully realizes yet that the world is coming here,” and “We are all going to look really or we’re going to blow it, and Frankfort is not going to blow it.” These are of course key statements that I couldn’t agree with more, and another statement that he made was that this was a regional effort and that Lexington couldn’t shoulder the effort on its own.
Now of course I have been saying this for more then 2 years but of course I don’t yet have the stage from which to get that message out the way politicians and those in City Governments and Tourism do, mine is still a grass roots effort. So when I see someone getting the importance of the Games and putting it out there for everyone to read I am going to let everyone know.
Now of course everyone at the World Games Foundation gets it and they are beating the drums to get the word out but many people in the state do not feel a connection to the Foundation the way they do with their City governments and organizations. So I keep working to get the word out to people to talk to their elected leaders and City/County management to see let them know how important this is.
The World Games Foundation has activated the Volunteer Recruitment website. I was able to register the first day it was up, not sure the reason, but was able to register today. I signed up as a General Volunteer for now, but you have the ability to pick the specific discipline(s) you would like to work with. They do ask for your background in each of the disciplines in order to judge your suitability for those positions. The link to the registration site is provide below and as always I recommend volunteering out at the Horse Park now prior to the Games. I will have further updates on my own volunteering and the needs of our organization.
Happy New Year to everyone. 2007 was a good year for us and 2008 is going to be a GREAT year. With less then a 1000 days to go until the start of the Games the excitement continues to build. We are working on some initiatives to continue to educate the public about the importance of their input and efforts in making these Games successful.
The 1000 day countdown has begun to the 2010 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games. A pair of clocks were started today in downtown Lexington that will countdown to September 25, 2010, the start of the equestrian championships. One of the clocks can be seen from eastbound Vine Street, the other from westbound Main Street.
So with a 1000 days to go now the pace starts to pick up and with a new Governor and the 60 day regular legislative session to begin everyone is getting busy.
Its been two(2) years since the announcement that Lexington, Kentucky would be hosting the 2010 World Equestrian Games. A lot has happened in that two(2) span and with only some thirty-three(33) months to go there is still much to be accomplished. However to borrow a football metaphor, you have to establish the run before you can start passing the ball effectively. That is to say that all the parties involved in one form or another have to work out the fundamentals of what is needed before they could successfully start working towards the goal of a highly successful event the size of the World Equestrian Games. With that said I think it is safe to say that for the most part the run has been established and the ball is being moved down the field.
One of the key accomplishments for the World Games 2010 Foundation so far was having Alltech step up as the title sponsor early on as this provides the business leadership for this kind of event. This leadership helps to get other major corporate interest involved which is necessary in bringing in the capital and logistical investment needed. Now in the last two(2) months the Rood and Riddle Equine Hospital has also stepped up as a major sponsor and you can expect to continue to see these kind of business leaders come on board as sponsors.
Another key area that the Foundation has succeeded in would be in filling the major personnel needs for the Games. Ultimately this may be the most important thing in the success of the Games is having GREAT people lead the way and for an event of this size and complexity you need quite a few.
Many other organizations and businesses including our own have also made great strides over the last two(2) years in coming up to speed to see that these Games are a Great Success for the people of the Commonwealth of Kentucky.
In this next year I expect that things will really start to come together and everyone who hasn’t been talking about the Games will start to see the vision that many of us have for these Games start to become reality and they to will become excited and believers in what we Kentuckians can accomplish.
In a news conference today Lexington Mayor Jim Newberry discussed plans to improve streets and sidewalks in preparation for the 2010 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games. Mayor Newberry said this was something that needed to be done and the World Equestrian Games provided the motivation to see that it was done.
Plans are to be completed by next summer and the next step is to find the ways to pay for these improvements both from State and Federal Funds as well as public-private partnerships.
We have reached the T minus 3 years mark so things are really starting to pick up now and the Excitement is building. I was lucky enough to get to attend Media Day for the Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games™ Kentucky 2010 at the Kentucky Horse Park on September 13th. This was a great experience and all modes of media were represented from traditional print and television to those of us strictly in the online media formats. The weather couldn’t have been better and the Horse Park personnel did a wonderful job of showing off all the Horse Park had to offer while making the day go very effortlessly. I am sure all of us that were claiming this was a working event to our bosses and colleagues fill just a little guilty about just how much fun we had.
I will admit, this was the first time I had the opportunity to hear John Nicholson in person and I will have to say it was a treat in the sense that his enthusiasm for the Games is palatable. Of course I would of been disappointed if it hadn’t been as so much of the success of the Games rides on his shoulders. Of course it has always been my belief that those people who get involved in the Games will very quickly develop a pride and sense of well being that comes from being involved in something that you quickly realize is bigger then yourself and will make an ever lasting impact on the Commonwealth of Kentucky. So let the Excitement Build.
The Lexington Fayette Urban County Government put out a request for initiatives to be considered for the Lexington Legacy Project. We only had a couple of days after Mayor Newberry announced it to put together an idea but we did get it in by the deadline of September 11. We would of liked more time to better format it but sometimes its just better to get the ideas out there, even if our ideas are not used in whole we hope that they will help to formulate the final plan.
The announcement was made today that Jim Host was resigning as chairman of the 2010 World Games Foundation, Inc and that Tandy Patrick was named as his interim replacement. Ms. Patrick’s involvement in landing the games for Kentucky was significant and she would seem to be a fine choice in my opinion to go forward as board chairman for the Foundation, though there are many considerations that go into deciding that position. Business First of Louisville had a lengthy article on her and her involvement in the bid process for the Games back in January, 2006.
With the failure of the State House to act on the spending deal that would have provided the additional funding for the Horse Park the Governor acted this week to at least keep the ball moving down the field to guarantee the success of the games. He authorized Commerce Secretary George Ward to re-appropriate $900,000 in funds that had been set aside for a statewide campground improvement project.
These funds will allow at least the design work to continue for the proposed new stadium needed for the Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games in 2010. It is hoped that the design phase can be wrapped up by March of 2008 when bids will be sought for the construction of the stadium.
The Governor still may call a special session to re-address both the state pension short fall and the funding funding for the Horse Park that he requested in his State of the Commonwealth Address.
Well yesterday it looked like the efforts of a lot of people were going to pay off and the additional funding for the Kentucky Horse Park was going to be approved with the Senate voting 37-0 to approve it. However the House and Senate deadlocked last night over some details and ran out of time to get a House vote. Now we will have to wait until March 26 when they return for the final 2 days of the session to see if they can get it passed though the last 2 days are generally reserved for things the Governor vetoes but there looks to be enough interest for this to make it back to the floor for a vote.
It looks likely now that the Governor will call a Special Session of the Legislature to address the shortfall in the some of the State’s Retirement Plans. Mentioned as a secondary item would be the additional requested funding for the Kentucky Horse Park needed for the Kentucky World Equestrian Games in 2010.
In my mind it was doubtful that the Governor would of had much luck calling a Special Session for the Horse Park funding alone and probably less luck getting the funding passed if he had called a Special Session for that sole purpose. With the Senate driving the call for a Special Session to handle the Retirement issue it maybe possible that some back room deals will done that will allow a vote on the Horse Park funding. Of course some people will call that bad politics, I am afraid though, that is just politics.
If a Special Session is called we will be asking everyone to call their Legislators to support the Horse Park funding request as this is too important to let politics get in the way.
Erik A. Carlson and Susan Baniak of Business Lexington have written an outstanding article on the current situation in regards to the needed funds for the Horse Park. This article goes into great depths on a number of aspects and is appropriately titled, “Frankfort Holds the reins“. By permission of Tom Martin we are re-posting here in its entirety. The original article can be found here on the Business Lexington site.
Tom Martin, Editor in Chief of Business Lexington wrote a compelling article on the need to provide the additional funding now for the Horse Park as proposed by Governor Fletcher in his State of the Commonwealth Address. This article also speaks to the importance of this opportunity to all Kentuckians across the state.
We thank Mr. Martin for allowing us to repost his article and for his efforts in promoting this cause that we also feel so strongly for.
Governor Fletcher’s recent call on the General Assembly to fund a $24 million outdoor arena at the Kentucky Horse Park is far more urgent than even recent press reports, including our own, have implied.
The Fayette County legislative delegation must “get this†and must close ranks immediately in a unified demand that House Speaker Jody Richards and Senate President David Williams cease their resistance to revising the current budget to provide these funds.
There is no time to quarrel over who is at fault for allowing this situation to become so serious and at such an 11th hour. We will sort that out later.
Right now, all of us here in Kentucky need to understand that in 3 short years we are going to represent the entire United States on live television broadcast worldwide by NBC and in other media from scores of nations. We need to appreciate the generous $10 million sponsorship of Alltech and to respect the industry that, more than any other, positively defines Kentucky culture.
Here is the situation.
When in 2006 the Fletcher administration requested initial funds for Horse Park improvements, the intent at the time was to demonstrate to the organizing body, the Federation Equestre Internationale, that Kentucky has the wherewithal to become the first-ever site outside of Europe to host the prestigious World Equestrian Games. It wasn’t until Kentucky officials actually traveled to the ’06 Games in Aachen, Germany that they realized the necessity of a permanent outdoor arena.
Time is of the essence. Best estimates project a 9-month planning and design process followed by a 12-month construction phase. And that doesn’t account for the inevitable delays. Even in a best case scenario, with funding provided in the ’07 session, construction could not begin until after the 2008 Rolex Three Day Event.
The Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games are scheduled for late summer of 2010. The Horse Park, however, is required to host a series of test events in preparation for the games. Those test events must get underway no later than the spring of 2009.
Indeed. It is an exceptional event for all of Kentucky, not just the Bluegrass. The anticipated economic impact spreads far and wide, enriching industries ranging from human hospitality to equine support.
Whether you live in Paducah, Ashland, Louisville, Somerset or Dry Ridge, you live in a state that, when perceived positively by the rest of the world, is viewed as “The Horse State.â€
Think we have a corner on this? Think again. Maryland, among other states, is breathing down our necks.
The state has completed a feasibility study for a parcel of land in Anne Arundel County and is currently in the process of putting in a bid for long-term control of the property. If their bid is accepted, they estimate it will take roughly three years and an investment of $114 million in capital costs to get the Maryland Horse Park up and running, said Rob Burk, executive director of the Maryland Horse Industry Board, part of Maryland’s Department of Agriculture.
When asked about the long-term economic value of that investment, Burk said they looked to Kentucky, as well as other state horse parks.
“For us it really came to light through the feasibility study when we were looking at the economic impact of not only the Kentucky Park but other parks around the country,†Burk said. “From a state’s perspective, we look at the amount of taxes that are actually generated through the park. For us, we came up with a number of about $11 million that would be generated each year for a similar facility to Kentucky’s. And that’s really how we justify the capital costs of a facility like this.â€
That doesn’t count the estimated annual economic impact of more than $100 million for Maryland businesses, and that’s without an event like the World Equestrian Games.
Burk compares a horse park to both a centralized farmers market for the equine industry and a convention center.
“The way we look at it is it really is a place for the public to interact, to put money into our industry†said Burk, who added that a sales facility has also been folded into the Maryland Horse Park design. “Since we can’t have a farmer’s market stand for a horse necessarily, the states have created these (parks) as large markets where they can advertise, in your case what Kentucky has to offer, in our case what Maryland has to offer.â€
“From an industry standpoint, and I think most heads of the industry will agree, the future of our sport really does lie in these facilities,†Burk added. “They are one of the most promising things for our sport.â€
Kentucky must remain preeminent in the horse industry. The ultimate purpose of the proposed outdoor arena extends well beyond its use in the 2010 Games. A new outdoor stadium, along with the new indoor arena, makes possible the National Equestrian Festival, an annual weeklong mega-event expected to attract 75,000 spectators producing a regional economic impact of $75 million. In addition, events such as this will enable the Horse Park to reach its goal of becoming self-sufficient –as in free of dependence on taxpayer dollars– by 2012.
We understand the reluctance of legislative leaders to re-open the budget in what is supposed to be a brief, non-budgetary session. Indeed, when voters added the odd-year short session it wasn’t meant to decide the entire biennial budget, but certainly the intent wasn’t to have the 138 members of the legislature trot to Frankfort only to pass bills that didn’t cost the state a dime. The intent was to keep the governor from calling special session after special session to alleviate issues that came up in the 20 months between the end of one session and the start of another.
Few will recall that the 2007 Kentucky General Assembly appropriated $24 million for a stadium. But who would forget that the politicians in Frankfort cost our state…and nation…such an important economic driver as the World Equestrian Games?
Is the level of urgency actually that high? Consider this: France, Holland and Ireland all lost the Games to other countries or failed to execute the event well, all related to failure to live up to promises made during the bidding process.
When asked if the WEG coming for the first time to the United States had generated any excitement in Maryland, Burk said there was still quite a bit of indifference among the general public. He feels certain that will change once people understand the scope of it better.
“I’m sure once the Equestrian Games get here, and we are able to show and demonstrate the statistics as far as the economic impact of this type of event, it will garner interest, especially from the legislators,†Burk said. “But until that time I think there is kind of a detachment here in Maryland.â€
We know the feeling. Hopefully, we can generate that kind of interest among our own legislators before the world is arriving on our doorstep.
Let this not be lost on any of us. It is time to act. Call your legislator and let him or her know that you are in favor of spending dimes to generate dollars.
AbitaNet Corporation