KY Horse Park Museum Plans for Expansion

The Lexington Herald-Leader broke a story about the KY Horse Park recently has plans for a large museum expansion to begin in April 2008.  This is the first substantial addition to the facility since it debuted in 1978.  The plan calls for increasing the size of the building by 8000 sq.ft. which would be an increase to the total square footage of the museum of approximately 30%.

This addition is being funded by the Arabian horse enthusiast organizations, which are specifically the Purebred Arabian Horse Trust & the American Arabian Horse Community.

In addition to the funding for the expansion, the displays within the newly constructed areas will include many pieces from those 2 organizations collections in order to better showcase the items.  It also includes some of the latest technologies that include interactive participation from the visitors and will cover the entire cycle of history for the Arabian horse from early times through modern day.

The KY Horse Park museum expansion is scheduled to be open some time in the summer of 2009 which should be well in advance of the preparations for the 2010 World Equestrian Games (WEG) to be held there at this facility.

As an aside, there will be an exhibit on display for the WEG that is being funded by the Saudi Arabian Equestrian Federation called “A Gift from the Desert: The Art, History, and Culture of the Arabian Horse”.  This exhibit alone is expected to run approximately $2.3 million.

Adding these expansions to the many other plans of expansion and new buildings which include an indoor and outdoor arena for the WEG, and the KY Horse Park is really packing in a lot of construction in preparation for the 2010 event.  It should be a marvel for persons that are first time visitors to Kentucky to experience a facility the likes of which no one has ever seen before.  It makes you feel quite proud to be from Kentucky, and a part of this wonderful addition to the horse community.

And before I get lost in my enthusiasm, BIG KUDOS to the Arabian Horse communities and enthusiasts for their generous contributions.  Its another example that Kentucky is the leader for the entire world in the horse industry, and that there really isn’t comparison to our KY horse farms anywhere else!

And if you haven’t done it already - start making plans to attend the 2010 World Equestrian Games.  You won’t want to miss it!