A view of the Kentucky Horse Park indoor arena from atop the far end opposite the entrance. The so-far-unnamed arena has seating for 5,500 spectators.

IHSA NATIONALS RETURN TO KENTUCKY FOR THE FIRST TIME SINCE 1992

When the IHSA turned 25 in 1992 their year-end National show took place inside Richardson Arena within the Derrickson Agricultural Complex on the campus of Morehead State University in Morehead, Kentucky. Ohio State University won their second straight western National Championship (still referred to as Stock Seat Champion at that time) while the University of Virginia won what to date is their lone National Championship in hunter seat. UVA was the last team to receive the Cartier Cup, as that trophy was replaced by the Miller's Cup in 1993. There was much pomp and circumstance as 16 regions, 183 colleges and 3,500 riders (well, only some of the schools and riders were present) celebrated the IHSA's silver anniversary.

This was not the first time IHSA Nationals had been held in Kentucky. In 1985 the entire show was outdoors, at the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington. When the IHSA turned 18 Southern Seminary College won their fourth consecutive IHSA Hunter Seat National Championship while Murray State University won their second stock seat National Championship (with Jim Arrigon the winning Head Coach). Michael Page was the hunter seat judge for the second time at an IHSA Nationals show. Page would judge Nationals for the third time at Morehead State seven years later.

Now the IHSA is 43. Nearly 350 schools and over 8,000 riders take part in one of IHSA's 31 regions. And for the first time in 25 years the National show is back at the Kentucky Horse Park.

The main entrance to the arena. Spectators should drive past the side of the building to park and then enter on the higher level.

Though the Kentucky Horse Park opened in 1978 several buildings on the property date back to the 1800's (a residence completed in 1866 now houses some of the horse park's offices). The world three-day championships were actually held on horse park property two months before the facilities' official opening that year. The park covers over 1,200 acres of property and houses offices of more than 30 national and regional equine organizations and associations suchs at the USEF.

The Kentucky Horse Park has a monsterous web site, www.kyhorsepark.com, with enough information to keep one on the site for well over half an hour. One thing this writer could not find was simple directions from the main gate to the new (and unnamed) indoor arena. However from the main gate the process is fairly simple.

Use the main entrance off of State Route 1973 - Known better as Iron Works Pike (if you are headed to Iron Works Pike via the Newtown Pike, look for a sign pointing to the left that mentions the American Saddlebred Museum and make the left there). Go through the main gate (depending on the time of day you may pay $5.00 to enter) and go three-quarters of the way through the roundabout/circle and take Cigar Lane. Follow Cigar as it bends to the right. Then you will see a brand-new blueish/greyish building ahead in the distance on the left. This is the arena Nationals will be held in. Turn left onto John Henry Lane and follow past the tall glass windows on the arena and start going slightly uphill as you round the facility. Then turn left into the parking lot and walk up the steps on the right into the main entrance of the building.

The indoor ring as seen when looking down after having walked straight ahead from the main entrance.

Upon entering the building you will closest to the far end of the arena. Riders who are competing at Nationals will be entering and exiting the ring from the opposite side of the building. In between are 5,500 permanent seats (including those in the skyboxs), many of which are below the level of the main entrance. Food concessions are located on either side of the main entrance, as are two sets of womens and mens rooms (more toilets exist further into the facility). If you go left from the main entrance you will pass several exhibitor's rooms where vendors may set up shop if they are not set up within the concourse that runs around the entire facility. In similar fashion to when Nationals were in Burbank two years ago riders and coaches (heck, everyone) will have to go outside the seating area to reach the floor level of the facility. A rather inconspicuous brown door at the far end of the arena leads to the only staircase down to the in and out gates, though a nearby elevator also works if you have the patience. The arena is temperature controlled, though midday temperatures are projected to be no worse than the upper 60's outdoors each day.

The presentation of awards will likely be closer to the side of the arena which features the in and out gates. By contrast the "Ask the Coach" question-and-answer session with ten IHSA Coaches on Saturday morning will likely take place closer to the entrance and consessions.

We are not sure how to describe this piece of art, but it looks like a transparent horse to us. There are two horses like this one inside the arena and others elsewhere on Kentucky Horse Park grounds.

During the World Equestrian Games at the Horse Park in September and October the indoor arena (which will hopefully be named by a sponsor before the games start) will be used for Reining, Vaulting and Para events. According to Nicole Rivera, the Director of Event Facilities at the Horse Park, the Reining and Vaulting events are already sold out. IHSA Nationals are one of several 'test' events to take place in the arena before the WEG. And contrary to what was stated elsewhere previously on our site this is the only indoor arena at the Kentucky Horse Park. Thus all other WEG events will take place outdoors.

If you have down time at Nationals (perhaps one rider qualified to ride early in the day and another late in the day) there is much to see elsewhere on Kentucky Horse Park property. If you go back through the roundabout/circle you will find the International Museum of the Horse and visitor center. Though the KHP website boasts that "The International Museum of the Horse is commited to educating the general public, equestrian and academic communities about the relationship between man and the horse throughout history and the world" IHSA followers would be interested to know that a section of the museum has an IHSA display (including the retired Cartier Cup). After 2010 Nationals are in the books the current Cacchione Cup will be retired and placed on display here as well. Though entering the Visitors Center (and gift shop) is free there is a $16.00 charge to go through the museum (you receive a dollar off if you have triple A or a military I.D.). There is also a horse-drawn trolley tour three times a day (the tour may take less than 15 minutes) and is included with the price of admission. At 11:00AM and 2:00PM each day a "Parade of Breeds" takes place in the Breeds barn. Authentically costumed handlers put the various breeds (up to 24 of them) through their paces. Visitors can even pet their favorite horses and talk with the handlers after the show. A blurb on the KHP site claims that "Nowhere else in the world can you see this many breeds of horses in one place." One other museum, the previously-mentioned American Saddlebred Museum, is currently closed for renovations. However with Nationals scheduled to return to the Kentucky Horse Park next season the renovations should be completed by that time.

The only way downstairs by foot: If you look past the skyboxs and the announcer's booth to the far end of the arena you will notice a horse on the wall between what is a set of bathrooms. To the left of this horse is a non-descript brown door. Please note this brown door leads to the staircase down to the horse-holding area and the in-gate.

Exit Strategy: As we have done prior to several IHSA National shows over the past six seasons we visited the site of Nationals to not only take photos of the facility but also to drive around and find out where the hotels are, where one might grab a bite to eat and where the non-horsey attractions are located. Since interstate highways play a big part in the Lexington area, we have focused on the dining, lodging and entertainment options located near three of the exits off of Interstate 75, which runs from Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan to Naples, Florida though only 12 miles of the highway in Kentucky have any merit to us here.

I-75 Exit 115 (intersects with Kentucky Route 922, better known as the Newtown Pike): McDonalds, Cracker Barrel, Waffle House, Embassy Suites*, Holiday Inn*, Fairfield Inn, Four Points by Sheraton*, Knights Inn and La Quinta*. An asterisk (*) beside the name of a hotel indicates this is an IHSA Nationals Host Hotel or that a block of rooms has been set aside for IHSA. This exit, which is five miles from the Horse Park, is made up mostly of hotels (semi-obvious). Those who head north on the Newtown Pike can make the left onto Kentucky Route 1973 and be at the Horse Park in under ten minutes from puting the key in the car door. There is also a Shell station and a Chevron station at this exit. Both were charging $2.89 a gallon for regular on April 28th (a Chevron station at Exit 120 - right outside the Horse Park - was also charging $2.89 that day). It is worth noting that between exits 111 and 115 I-75 is also I-64, which runs from the St. Louis area to Virginia Beach but overlaps with I-75 for only seven miles here.

If you go the opposite way on the Newtown Pike you will head south into the heart of Lexington. There is much construction in downtown Lexington at the moment, with several roads completely closed for repaving (it should all be nice and neat for the W.E.G. in September). If you take the Newtown Pike south to Main Street (where you have to make a right or a left due to a road closure) and make a left you will pass the childhood home of Mary Todd Lincoln, who went on to marry the man who became our 16th President. Her home is on the right-hand side of Main Street and is open to the public. Also in this vicinity is Victorian Square, an upscale collection of shops, artist's studios, bars and restaurants. If you want to see the 'real' Lexington we were told that Victorian Square is the place to go. Also in the downtown area are the Hunt-Morgan House (John Wesley Hunt was the first American Millionare west of the Alleghenies according to one source) and Ashland, the Henry Clay Estate. Clay is best known for his many runs for the White House during the 1820's to the 1840's, several times as the Whig party candidate. Clay's estate covers 17 acres in downtown Lexington.

If you see this building you have found the KHP Visitor's Center and Museum. Once through the main gate (pictured here) be on the lookout for statues of some well-known triple crown winners.

I-75 Exit 113 (The Paris exit, or Rupp Arena exit): Ramada Inn*, Red Roof Inn*, Days Inn, Walmart, several fast food chains. We admit we did not actually take this exit though we are told that the Walmart (which is a super-center) is convenient. Rupp Arena, home of the University of Kentucky Wildcats basketball team, may have the only Dunkin' Donuts anywhere north of downtown Lexington.

I-75 Exit 108 (Man O'War Boulevard): Upon exiting I-75 headed southbound and turning right onto Man O'War the complex known as "Hamburg" or the Hamburg Pavillion is on the right. Inside this massive outdoor complex are TGI Friday's, Applebee's, Johnny Carinos, Max & Erma's, Logan's Roadhouse, Rafferty's, Fazoli's, Steak and Shake, Old Navy, Kohl's, Target, Best Buy, Barnes & Noble, Chase Bank and the Regal Cinemas 16. The Hamburg Pavillion, most of which is on Sir Barton Way, has almost any store imaginable (Marshall's, Michaels, Petsmart, etc.) and even stores that are no more (Circuit City, Linen's & Things, etc.). Across Man O'War Sir Barton Way becomes Pleasant Ridge Drive. Among the establishments on the 'Pleasant' side are Starbucks, Carabbas, Ichiban, Outback Steakhouse, Chipolte, Chick-fil-a, McDonalds, KFC/Pizza Hut, Taco Bell, Arbys and Fifth Third Bank. There are also hotels here (such as Courtyard by Marriott) but owing to being further from the Horse Park none have blocks of rooms for the IHSA. If you follow Man O' War for another four lights you will come to Richmond Road, which has even more eating establishments (O'Charley's, Krispy Kreme Doughnuts) and supermarkets such as Kroger. If you follow Richmond Road far enough it turns into Main Street and takes you back into downtown Lexington.

And though we know very little about liquor we have heard that some famous Bourbons have their origins not far from Lexington. Information on 'The Kentucky Bourbon Trail' (which includes four local distilleries) can be found at most hotel front desks. Nearly 95 percent of all Bourbon is produced in the state of Kentucky according to the Kentucky Distiller's Association. (Midway College graduate and alumni rider Marianne England had the following to add after this story was originally posted: "...Lexington and Midway have MANY really good wineries that all grow their own grapes and distill their own wines. Many of the wineries such as Equus Run (off Route off 421 in Midway) and Talon (off Tates Creek Rd heading out of the city of Lexington) do tours and tastings for free, and many do live music on Fri and Sat").

If your team has riders going on two separate days with a full day in between there is no shortage of things one can do to pass the time in the Lexington area.

--Steve Maxwell