Equestrian Experiences

Equestrian experiences abound in the Bluegrass State — the bright green grass perfect for grazing grows abundantly in our pastures. Go horseback riding through Daniel Boone National Forest or Mammoth Cave National Park. Tour a horse farm (more than 400 in the Lexington area alone!) and spend time with a titleholder-in-training or Kentucky Derby horses retired to stud. And don’t miss the high-stepping hoofbeats heard ‘round Shelbyville, the American Saddlebred Capital of the World, each August during the Shelbyville Horse Show.

From the legendary Kentucky Derby to the one-of-a-kind Kentucky Horse Park, it’s undeniable that Kentucky’s horse culture has the inside track.
The first Saturday in May attracts more than 150,000 fans to Churchill Downs to witness the Kentucky Derby, “the most exciting two minutes in sports,” but every day is Derby Day at the Kentucky Derby Museum in Louisville. Get hands-on with interactive exhibits, take in the 360-degree film and take a guided visit to the Churchill Downs track.

The renowned Louisville course isn’t the only place to hear and feel the thundering of hooves. Keeneland in Lexington is a National Historic Landmark; it’s hosted spring and fall thoroughbred races since the 1930s, and today spectators tailgate on “The Hill” with fare from food trucks while live bluegrass plays in the background.

Other horse racing courses are sprinkled around the state, and for something a little different check out harness racing at Red Mile Racetrack in Lexington. The second-oldest harness track in the world, the clay-course Red Mile attracts more than 18,000 fans to its season, July through the second week of October.

At the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington, celebrate local horse heritage every day. See American Saddlebreds to Old Kentucky Saddlers being trained and groomed in the Breeds Barn. Admire retired racehorses in the Hall of Champions. Take a trail ride on horseback or saddle up the kids for pony rides. Attend equestrian events, including show jumping, dressage and polo.

Even if you don’t come to Kentucky a horse lover, you’ll almost certainly leave as one.

Watch Kentucky Stories

Trip Inspiration

Articles

Delightfully Spooky Kentucky

State Wide

For those who love spooky stories and experiences, Kentucky has plenty of paranormal destinations all over the Commonwealth.

The Eastern Kentucky Appalachians are just brimming with tales of haunted coal camps. Eerie and abandoned mines, like Blue Heron Mine in McCreary County, offer not only a chance to see what life was like for miners and their families, but also to learn about local folklore. In addition to year-round tours, every October visitors can attend Blue Heron Ghost Mine and listen to spine-tingling stories about the mines, hills and hollows in the region.

Want to take in some nature with your ghost stories? Don’t pass up on Lovers Leap at Cumberland Falls State Resort Park, where in the 1950s a newlywed bride, still in her wedding dress, fell 80 feet into the Cumberland River and was swept over the falls, never to be seen again. Over the decades since, many visitors have reported seeing a beautiful woman in a white wedding dress wandering the area around the falls.

Owensboro, situated just down the Ohio River from Louisville, is a city that is home to more than a few eerie happenings. Schedule a Haunts of Owensboro walking tour and listen to chilling accounts of inexplicable footsteps in empty rooms, lights and faucets turning on and off on their own and ghostly figures appearing in doorways and windows.

Paramount Arts Center is home to a mischievous specter affectionately known as "Paramount Joe"

In Ashland you will find the Paramount Arts Center, a thriving theater and event venue. However, according to local legend, in 1931 a workman, “Paramount Joe”, died in the theater while it was still under construction, and his spirit still haunts the premises. Since his demise, theater employees say Joe is known to show up in hallways, cause cold drafts, and make items around the playhouse disappear.

Regardless of the time of year, Kentucky is the perfect place to find hair-raising, pulse quickening things to see and do. For more spooky trip inspiration, look up Kentucky After Dark. Visitors may plan their route through 21 paranormal destinations spread throughout the Bluegrass, and Kentucky After Dark Passports are available at each of the locations.

Author Information

Ben Mackin

Ben Mackin is a communications specialist for the Kentucky Department of Tourism. Before joining KDT, Ben worked as a staff writer and freelancer for a number of publications including the Vicksburg Post, Williamsburg-Yorktown Daily and the State Journal in Frankfort.

Kentucky Horse Country