Lexington, KY - As Lexington area businesses and tourist attractions prepare for the 2010 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games (WEG), the state's signature industry is ensuring it won't be left out. Although horse racing is one of the few equestrian sports not included in the Games, Lexington's Thoroughbred farms are planning to take advantage of the estimated 200,000 spectators who will be attending.
Many think of the pristine farms, with their verdant fields and gleaming gates, as largely inaccessible to the public. In reality, several of them work with local tour companies throughout the year to show off their famous stallions, and a few even allow visitors to view their broodmare facilities. For the Games, however, even more are opening their doors and letting visitors get a broader glimpse of their operations and of the Thoroughbred industry at large.
David Switzer, executive director of the Kentucky Thoroughbred Association, said he sees the Games as a critical opportunity for the Thoroughbred industry, and he has encouraged farms to open for tours.
"We actually are doing it because we believe in agritourism as a major business and a component of economic development," said Switzer. "People don't visit central Kentucky to see the subdivisions; they come to see horses and agriculture, and they spend money."
With this in mind, Horse Capital Productions, LLC, the company responsible for the 2010 International Equestrian Festival, began Horse Capital Tours in an effort to promote the horse industry in Kentucky during the Games and beyond. According to managing partner Kimberly Brown, Horse Capital Tours searched the web to compile contact information and tour descriptions for farm tour companies already in existence. Additionally, Switzer served as liaison between the farms and Horse Capital Tours and encouraged farms that normally remained private to open up during WEG.
"It's our job to promote the Thoroughbred image," said Brown. "People expect to see Thoroughbred racehorses when they come to the 'Horse Capital of the World.'"
There are roughly 500 horse farms in a 50-square-mile area around Lexington, according to Brown, and visitors should be able to enjoy them up close.
Horse Capital Tours serves as a matchmaker between tourists and touring companies and farms, listing farms that are open for tours and links to local touring companies'
websites.
Brown and Switzer agreed that the response from the farms to the call for tour openings has been excellent so far.
"Historically the farms have been, for the most part, private," said Brown. "They are happy to support the fans when they call and request tours, but for the most part, they are private working farms."
The busy nature and early mornings on most farms make it difficult for them to open to the public throughout the day, and many are often too short-handed to conduct or promote their tours without hiring additional personnel full time, which most cannot afford. Horse Capital Tours gave the farms an option of opening at one or two times per day to simplify the flow of tourists through their facility. Breeding farms also tend to have seasonal variations in their schedules, with the busiest times being winter and spring during breeding and foaling seasons. Fortunately, the timing of the Games will find the stallions more available for visitors, but some farms shuttle their most commercial sires to the Southern Hemisphere for breeding seasons in South America or Australia, so not all stallions will be at home during WEG.
Three Chimneys Farm began offering tours in 1984 and now provides them daily for 40 to 50 people at a time. During the Games, it will offer a variety of tour options, including glimpses of its broodmare facilities, sales and yearling divisions and open houses to host up to 400 people.
Three Chimneys will also offer separate tours for members of the press, educational seminars on Thoroughbred ownership and management, and the rental of its facilities for corporate events throughout WEG.
"By expanding our tour offerings, we will be able to accommodate thousands of visitors, many of whom are horse lovers and equestrians, but who may not have had the opportunity to experience a Thoroughbred breeding farm until now," said Jen Roytz, marketing and communications director for Three Chimneys.
Roytz said that large crowds are sometimes overwhelming for young stallions, and they must be trained by their patient handlers to stand quietly for breeders and tourists. Many of Three Chimneys' 12 stallions are ridden six days a week, which is unusual for retired breeding stock. Roytz said this reinforces the horses' sense of discipline and makes them easier to handle.
Three Chimneys is one of 10 farms offering tours during WEG through Horse Capital Tours. Interest is already growing, thanks to Horse Capital Tours'
service. Margaret Wood of Horse Farm Tours said that she is "very close to capacity"
for all her tours during the Games.
Brown said that the tour company is a long-term project that will eventually include non-Thoroughbred farms. She estimated that the company will take five to 10 years to be fully developed, and she said she believes that the interest generated from the Games will serve as a benchmark for its long-term goals.