The show was done by the Walnut Wylde Wryders which are the horse farm’s youth members and is an annual event at the Shelby County horse farm and it is used as a fund raiser to raise money for charity.  Approximately $400 was raised from the event, and it will be donated to either a therapeutic riding center, or perhaps even some sort of community service project within the local area.

All in all, the event received big accolades from the participants, and the attendees that got to enjoy the event.

Three Chimneys Farm is no stranger to crowds though.  This Midway Kentucky veteran currently gets anywhere from 20 to 25 thousand visitors each year from various persons.  Tours to visit the horse farm are available several days each week - but by appointment only.  Tip:  Make reservations early.  Three Chimneys Farms can often be completely full for its tours for months.  If you would like to make reservations for a tour, you can call (859)-873-7053.

To give some background on the horse farm:  3 Chimneys Farm was formed in 1972 with approximately 100 acres that was acquired by Blythe & Robert Clay and was named for the honeymoon location that they stayed at in the Bahamas.  That initial land purchase has now ballooned to approximately 2,000 acres over six horse operations which includes several different areas of the horse industry such as a stallion area, 4 broodmare sections, and a yearling section.

Despite a disappointing finish in the Belmont Stakes, Big Brown is certainly going to go down as one of the most famous race horses in history.  And I’m glad he’s in our backyard of Kentucky.

The 9 conditions are:

1.  The facility will only be utilized by the Kentucky Cutting Horse Association & its affiliates.

2.  The horse arena will be used on weekends, and holidays only.  Hours are limited to 9 am through 9 pm each day.

3.  The proposed entrance to access the farm site must be relocated & approved by the Shelby County Road Department and comply with their requirements and specs.

4.  Any outdoor lighting at the facility must be in compliance with the Triple S Planning & Zoning Commission requirements.

5.  Sanitary sewers system must be approved the government agency that oversees those facilities.

6.  Landscaping will be installed and maintained around the horse arena, and the Recreational Vehicle & Trailer parking areas.

7.  Recreational Vehicle parking will be temporary.

8.  Events held at the facility will be submitted and approved on an annual basis.

9.  A proposed site plan for the real estate development would be submitted for approval by the board.

This opens the way for some new horse and equestrian events to be held within Shelby County.  Shelby County Kentucky is the Saddlebred horse capitol of the world.  Hopefully this will help further propel Shelby County KY as a popular area for other horse breeds and disciplines as well.

Be sure to come out and check out some of the fun at the Kentucky Horse Park. (Besides, it would be a good time to at least see some of the ongoing construction that is readying for the 2010 World Equestrian Games.)

The cost is $15 per adult, and its free for children 12 and under. For more information, call (859)-233-4303.

The winner of the High Hope Steeplechase was a Lexington Kentucky native, Jessica Oldham Stith.  She comes from a long line of persons with jockey experience, including both of her parents (mother & father), as well as her grandfather.  She honored her family lineage by wearing her families colors on her silks for the race.  Congratulations Jessica and the rest of the graduates of the North American Racing Academy.

The North American Racing Academy is located at 3380 Paris Pike, Lexington Kentucky 40511.  The telephone number is (859) 246-6678.  It was founded by Chris McCarron who is a member of the Jockey Hall of Fame.

The farms bill is now estimated at $289 billion over the course of 5 years.  And if enough farms continued to participate in the program, the cost could escalate to an estimated $700 billion over 10 years.  Critics point to the farms bill over burdening the American tax payer, while those in favor champion its cause as reinvesting in our heartland.

Approximately 2/3 of the cost in the 1st five years is allocated to nutrition and food stamps.  The existing subsidies to corn, wheat, cotton, and rice remain essentially unchanged.  But it does include a $3.8 billion permanent disaster payment program that would assist persons that have had harsh farming conditions such as Montana, South Dakota, and North Dakota.

It does however offer enhanced assistance for farms growing fruits and vegetables as well as offering between an estimated $1.3 billion and $3 billion for special crop marketing efforts, research, and production.

One important note for horse owners was attempted to be included by Senator Mitch McConnell into the build, which includes a tax break for race horse owners.  The legislation added provides that race horses would be depreciated over 3 years tax-wise, regardless of when the horse actually began its training.  This provision however did NOT make it as an earmark because it would have affected many thousands of persons in almost every state in the US.  Estimates for this provision would have placed it at approximately $126 million in costs over 10 years.

Regardless, it looks like the Farm Bill is going to be approved, despite President Bush’s objections as a significant majority of the elected officials are now behind and are lending its support to override any veto efforts by the President.

Throughout its 200 year history, this Woodford County KY farm has been utilized for everything from growing of hemp, horse farms breeding, raising of cattle, tobacco farming, and even as a dairy farm.

Hopefully the new owners will cherish this piece of Kentucky heritage that has stood the test of time.

Their company will be providing 10,000 sq.ft. of warehousing space along with 6,000 sq.ft. of office space for the World Games 2010 Foundation - as well as an undisclosed financial contribution to the 2010 World Equestrian Games.

The use of this space is expected to be primarily for storage as well as an operations center for the projected approximately 6,000 WEG volunteers that will be there helping out during the event.

Congratulations to Fortune Commercial Properties for the honor and contributions to this equestrian event!

(Of course, if you are interested in horse farms for sale, you are already at the right place!  Click whichever area you are interested in for the Louisville metropolitan or Lexington KY metropolitan areas and start your horse farms search today.)

The bottom line: the bonds weren’t sold in time for the April 15th deadline, and as such the deal will not be allowed to proceed.

Kentucky horse park officials have stated that the proposed failed hotel deal should not have any impact on the games, as there is ample hotel facilities located within a short distance of the horse park.  And while they would have liked to been able to provide an on site facility for persons attending, that the short commuting distance is reasonable to the other hotel facilities in the area.

So, the hotel is dead - for now.  But, its important to note that a hotel is in the KY horse park master plans, and it is likely that right after the 2010 WEG at the Lexington KY facility, you can expect the Horse Park hotel discussion to resume.  The KY horse park remains consistently busy - and booked for most days year round.  A hotel would provide an additional revenue stream for maintaining the facility.

The hotel should be a nice addition and convenience for those persons that are interested in the various activities located there.  Buts, its not a total loss - the persons commuting driving back and forth from the horse park have to “endure” driving past some absolutely gorgeous Ky horse farms to get from the horse park to their hotel, and back again.  I’m sure people will “tolerate” their harsh conditions.

The Horse Farms Worker’s Educational Fund is now taking applications for college scholarships (or technical programs) from those persons that are recent high school graduates.

To qualify, the student applying must be the child of a parent (or parents) that work full time on one of the Central Kentucky Thoroughbred horse farms for a minimum for 3 years time.

The deadline to apply for the horse farms scholarship is July 1, 2008.  If you would like an application, please call (859) 269-1719.

Good luck to all of the Kentucky horse farms scholarship applicants!