Today marks the 14th anniversary of Mr. Jones coming into my life and had Mr. Jones survived he would of turned 18 yesterday. Thinking about his loss has got me to thinking a lot about the tragedies of recent and the agenda a certain organization is pushing. Mr. Jones was a Thoroughbred and when his life began that was going to be his life’s work but that was not to be and he found his way to me. Ultimately the agenda that this unnamed organization is pushing would basicly remove horses from our lifes, of course they may try to argue that, but ultimately that is what their agenda would lead to.
For me, it comes down to a simple question, is it better to have loved and lost then to have never loved at all. For non horse people the point I am going to make next probably will be hard to understand, but if the world had been different when I was born and horses had been removed from our lives so Mr. Jones never came into my life would I or he been better off. Losing him was very hard and I still feel that loss to this day and I believe that he fought the fight to survive as long as he did because he was happy in this life. So would he or I been better off if he had never existed, I think you can guess my answer? So for those of you who think that horses do what they do because we mear humans command them to, you are sadly mistaken.
I will end on a more upbeat note. I heard that Laine Ashker was released from the hospital on Tuesday and by now should be home sleeping in her own bed which is great news though she still has much in front of her both physically and emotionally. I wish you all the best and look forward to seeing you ride at another Rolex in the future.
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.
Bill Keightley who was affectionately known as Mr. Wildcat as many now know passed last night at the age of 81. I never had the honor of meeting Mr. Keightley in person but of course knew who he was and had met people over the years who had met him. Certainly with all that is being remembered of him today and what I had heard of him over the years I have to think ultimately he is much more then just Mr. Wildcat he may be our greatest ambassador since Henry Clay. My meaning is that where ever he went he seems to have made an impact and it was always good for Kentucky because he had such an open and warm personality. He is the kind of Kentuckian we all should strive to be even though I know it may not be possible for any of us to ever achieve that pure level of friendship that he possessed but it is a noble goal. My deepest sympathies go out to his family and friends but my sympathies also go out to those of us who didn’t have a chance to meet him for the loss of a friend we will never get to know.
Kentucky Senate Bill 196 (Kentucky Recreational Trails Authority) passed both houses of the Kentucky Legislature and is headed to Governor Beshear’s desk where he has said he would sign it. This bill was referred to as the “Adventure Tourism Bill” was sponsored by Sen. Brandon Smith (R-Hazard). In simple terms this bill is going to allow the State to enter into agreements with public land owners to provide trails and access points to connect public lands while protecting private land owners from undo liability risk. First Lady Jane Beshear’s idea is to connect all 12o Kentucky counties with horse trails so that you could ride from one end of the state to the other. We of course think this is a great idea and are in total support.
On a side-note, I had the honor of meeting Emily Dennis at my CTA class and getting to ride out at her family’s Big Red Stables today. Emily testified in both the House and Senate on behalf of this bill and had significant input in the crafting of the liability portion of this bill. So I give thanks to Emily for her involvement in this bill and for the wonderful ride I had at her place today which I know I will feel in the morning, but that’s a good thing.
I completed my Bluegrass Tourism Ambassador Program on Thursday and am waiting the results of my test to see if I have earned the designation of Certified Tourism Ambassador™ (CTA). Lexington is among 5 cities so far to participate in the program and classes here in Lexington just started at the end of last year. This program is designed; “To increase regional tourism by inspiring-front-line hospitality employees and volunteers to turn every visitor encounter into a positive experience”.
The class is 4 hours long but there is reading material and exercises to be completed before the class that took me about 10 hours over a weeks time to complete. The reading material is provided in a well put together manual that goes into great depth on everything one would need to know to provide a better experience for tourists to our area.
There are keeping the class size to 20 or so and it was an incredible learning experience and I came away with much. The cost of the total program was only $20 and that is certainly very inexpensive for all that I got out of it. I would certainly recommend it to pretty much everybody who has some interaction with the tourism public or simply wants to get a greater appreciation of all the wonderful things that our area has to offer.
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.
I wanted to post a quick update because there is lots of news and we are busy putting together some meetings of our own.
I have as I suspect many of you have been keeping up with all the news on the State’s finances and the current wrangling over the State Budget. I need to sit down and go back through all of it and talk to some of my sources before I comment. At the moment I am not too worried because all the powers in Frankfort know the importance of the Games and I see them making the hard decisions to see that these Games are a success.
As far as our little organization it is being to come together and we are working on having some public meetings and getting out more in the public to get more people involved. I will get more news and analysis up over the next couple of days.
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.
I had the great honor today in being part of the Inaugural Parade for Governor Steve Beshear. Even a greater honor was that I got to carry the banner for the Parade’s Grand Marshall, Calvin Borel. Even before I knew what I was going to get to do in the parade I knew it was important, so when Gina Beard put out the request for Kentucky Horse Park volunteers to participate I jumped at the chance. For me this was important both as a Kentucky Horse Park volunteer as well as being a member of the Honorable Order of Kentucky Colonels to show my support for Governor Beshear because of the emphasis he had given to the horse in this parade.
I wasn’t able to do an exact count myself but the news media was reporting that there would be around 150 horses in the parade and I would say there was every bit of that number. The Horse Park alone had some 30 horses in the parade, from every aspect of the Park. The weather turned out to be wonderful and it was a great time with all the horses there. Gina got a good turn out of volunteers so we had plenty of people so the day went smoothly and everyone had a great time.
So all and all it was just another fun day being a volunteer at the Kentucky Horse Park.
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.
Wanted to provide an update on my volunteering activities at the Kentucky Horse Park as I have now volunteered 3 Saturdays and can report with a little more of an informed position.
I took an assignment in the Parade of Breeds Barn because for a horse person it is one of the coolest aspects of the park. So far my duties have included holding horses for the farrier, a very necessary job though not the most exciting, bringing in horses from out in their pastures, grooming horses and working the gates during the shows. The full time staff has been wonderful and very helpful to work with while I learn my way around the barn. The horses have also been great and its like any other barn I have worked in that they all have their own distinctive personalities.
So far my experience has been great, no surprise there, and as always I recommend others to give it a shot. That is one last thing I should say about volunteering, is there is nothing run with giving it a try and deciding afterwards that it is not for you, its better to give it a try and decide its not for you then to never try and never know if you are missing out on a great experience in your life.
I have some other updates concerning other things going on with the group and the games that I will have to get posted soon so stay tuned and thanks for all of your interest in our humble endeavor.
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