August 19, 2010
… that’s tents, going up, up, and up here at the KY Horse Park. A variety of crews have been hard at work putting up all the necessary (extra) seating, tents, and more.
The latest:
I think this will be the hospitality tent at the driving arena
part of the roof of an “experience” tent (this will be the Alltech Experience, I believe)
and the biggie … as you may be able to see on the sign, this will be the Maker’s Mark Bourbon Village (main hospitality tent)
August 18, 2010
Back in 2000, the sidewalks in and around downtown Lexington (the “Horse Capital of the World”) were awash in painted and decorated fiberglass horses.
That first Horse Mania proved wildly popular, and so we’re doing it again … this time, in conjunction with the Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games.
During the WEG, Lexington locals and visitors can marvel at both live horses and decorated horses.
To see a preview of the eighty-nine Horse Mania horses, click here: http://www.horsemania2010.com/horses.htm
And to see a printable map of where you can find them all, click here: http://www.horsemania2010.com/map.htm
I’ll post some photos soon of this year’s Horse Mania horses in their natural, downtown habitat.
August 17, 2010
First, the Parade of Champions from Walnut Hill:
.
Next, the latest (fresh photos, taken this morning) on the ongoing parking-lot construction at the KY Horse Park — getting the various pavilions, tents, etc. ready for the WEG:
August 10, 2010
The following article, by Linda B. Blackford, appeared recently in Lexington’s local newspaper (www.kentucky.com):
Lyndsey Jordan knows a lot about horses, and she knew a fair amount about the Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games before she started working at Alltech, the Nicholasville-based animal supplement company that is the lead sponsor of the Games.
Now she knows more. A lot more.
That’s because Jordan and three other women sit in an office all day answering a toll-free telephone number devoted solely to the Games. The line — 1-888- 934-2010 — was started by Alltech as a way to help people navigate ticket purchasing, but now it’s information central for every aspect of the event coming to the Kentucky Horse Park from Sept. 25 to Oct. 10.
“If we don’t know the answer, we find the answer for them,” said Jordan, a recent graduate of Auburn University and an amateur reining champion. “Sometimes it’s about getting them in contact with someone who can help them.”
“What’s the traffic situation?” That’s the most common.
“Which event should I watch?” That one takes a little longer.
Then there’s the famous question that representative Katie Arthur fielded a while back. “I have my seat number; where will the sun set in relation to my seat?”
She used Google maps and a seat guide and found that setting sun wouldn’t be too much of a bother.
On Jordan’s very first day, a man asked her whether he could enter his trail horse in the 100-mile endurance race. She tried to explain about international level competition and qualifying trials, but then finally patched him through to Emmett Ross, the discipline manager for endurance.
Jordan’s expertise — her mother, Becky Jordan, is on the World Games Foundation board — comes in handy when people call wondering which event they would like the most.
“I have to explain the different events,” Jordan said, “Here’s what jumping is, that’s very exciting, or you might like driving.”
Many people call because they find it difficult to buy tickets on the computer. With the help line, representatives will make sure they get through to Ticketmaster, staying on the line to make sure the purchase is complete.
“It can be difficult and confusing to work it out through the Web site,” said Orla McAleer, Games project manager for Alltech. “We knew there would be a ramp-up of interest as the Games got closer, so we wanted to give people a person to walk them through the process.”
That ramp-up got even busier last week after Games organizers announced lower prices on some tickets to improve flagging sales. (Officials did not have immediate updated numbers on ticket sales.)
The Alltech help line works 24 hours a day. In the evenings, the line is forwarded to an Alltech employee in New Zealand who answers questions; by 3 a.m. Eastern time, the line has switched over to Alltech’s Irish office before coming back to the Kentucky representatives.
Arthur, a rising senior at Eastern Kentucky University, says the work is fun. “I enjoy talking to people, and it’s interesting to talk to different people who call from all over.”
Even when the questions get somewhat exasperating. For example, “Is the outdoor stadium indoors or outdoors?”
Um, outdoors.
August 9, 2010
With just about forty-five days to go until the start of the Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games at the Kentucky Horse Park, work has begun in earnest on many of the temporary structures that will be put to use during the Games.
Stacks of building materials are scattered around the park; large trucks deliver all manner of parts and supplies, and the “s.ky blue” solar house has arrived on a flatbed trailer and now waits in the main parking lot. The s.ky blue house was the University of Kentucky’s Top 10 entry in the 2009 Solar Decathlon and, during the WEG, it will serve as a visitors’ center and the official entrance to the Kentucky Experience. To read more about the solar house and the students who built it, visit http://www.uky.edu/solarhouse/index2.html.
the s.ky blue building, in the parking lot at the KY Horse Park
Across the street from the outdoor arena, several enormous tent “buildings” are being erected to house the media center and VIP hospitality areas. Farther down the street, around what is normally a polo field, the grandstands for the driving arena are going up.
several temporary structures being built for the WEG
... and the skeleton of another, next to the steeplechase barn
... and another view of the ones in the first photo
one long side of the new temporary grandstands around the driving arena
... and the skeleton of the structure on the opposite long side
The temporary Alltech FEI WEG “city” is under construction, and it will be a sight to see when finished. Tickets for the World Equestrian Games are still available at www.ticketmaster.com.
The Slower Road 