April 13, 2022

Today was a very busy day. Our first stop on our Bucket List Tour (BLT) is the Kentucky Horse Park. Conveniently located next door to where we are camping. The weather was overcast but the temperature was comfortable. The Horse Park covers several acres. It is a walking tour and at various times throughout the day there are events that occur. Because of the time, we decided to start at the top of the hill and work our way back to the museum. The first stop was the Hall of Champions. This stable houses champion horses that been retired. The horses we saw were either pacer or trotter champions. We saw Mr. Muscleman, Won the West, and Western Dreamer. Beautiful animals. Great show. Additionally there are many champion horses buried on the grounds surrounding the stable. As we were leaving the stable Nancy was able to feed Mr. Muscleman a mint. PICTURES

We had lots of time to before the next event so we went to the Big Barn. In the Big Barn, the draft horses are kept as well as the trolley and multiple other carriages. We were lucky to be able to see a baby Clydesdale also. The foal was only 4 weeks old. Really cool. PICTURES

The next event was the Parade of Breeds. We had enough time before the official show to walk through the paddock and see and read about the various breeds that were there. I think the neatest breeds we saw were the American Miniature Horse and the Lipizan PICTURES

After the show we continued to roam the grounds. Lots of beautiful areas to see in addition to the animals. We walked through the Kids Barn and Nancy decided to try her hand as a jockey. Then we wandered over to the Police Barn. The officers were wonderful and very knowledgeable. The majority of the horses there were mixed breeds with some type of draft horse. The draft horse is very muscular so is great for police work, especially moving crowds of people. We then moved on to the Trolley Ride. Jake and Connor, Belgians, teamed up to pull a trolley full of people for a 10 minute tour of the grounds. Loved it! We made our way through the museum. One of the pictures, the fox hiding, is actually a jump used in a competition held at the Park. It was one of three very distinct jumps. PICTURES

I saved the best for last. My favorite was the statue and story of Staff Sergeant Reckless, a Marine. I’ll let you read the story. It is on the plaque in one of the photos. True hero!! PICTURES

We ended the day at the Red State BBQ. I had the 3 meat platter(smoked wings, pulled pork, and brisket) with baked beans and coleslaw on the side. Nancy had the pulled pork platter with corn pudding and beer cheese grits. The pulled pork was good but the wings and the brisket stole the show for me. Nancy said the corn pudding was excellent and the grits were too spicy for her to eat. I know it seems we are eating out a lot but currently in our kitchen is an antique hall coat rack (family heirloom) that we are transporting to our daughter in Indianapolis and a box full of boxes for when she moves this spring/summer to Colorado. PICTURES