Here’s another from the “fascinating old photos” file. Sadly, I don’t know anything about the photo (where, when, why it was taken, etc.), nor do I know how many horses were pulling this thing … but I sure hope it was more than just a few!
August 24, 2010
Why, you need walls, of course!
First, from Friday afternoon:
all the roofs are raised up on the three HUGE tents chronicled in the previous post … and, yes, all the rooflines are at different heights
Then, from yesterday (Monday) afternoon:
… suddenly (well, several days later), there were walls on each of the three main tents AND a new central, round-roofed tent
… and, check this out … the tall tent in the back looks like it has two floors!
And finally …
workers (Can you see them??) on the temporary grandstand that faces the main (permanent) grandstand at the outdoor arena
August 20, 2010
… on a pavilion for the upcoming Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games (now just a few weeks away!) … I had thought these might be for the Trade Fair, but they are perhaps the roofs for the Kentucky Experience pavilion … or ?
Over the course of this week, I’ve been taking pictures in the mornings and afternoons to chart the progress of the various (enormous) tent complexes going up in the parking lot. Now you can follow along.
before construction began: piles and piles of supplies were lined up in the parking lot in front of the USDF building
this past Tuesday: the exoskeleton for one of the three tent roofs, under construction
yesterday: several of the large tent roofs, sitting on low supports, before being hoisted up and provided with legs to stand on
around mid-morning today, I went out to check on the progress of the squat roof structures, and saw these enormous cranes in the parking lot; one roof structure had already been raised, and a second was about to go up, so I stayed to get some photos
first, the smaller of the two (huge!) cranes was lowered so the workers could …
… hang cables on the crane’s hook (you can get an idea of the scale of these tents from the first raised roof, behind the workers)
then the crane lifted the cables and straps back over the roof; the other (larger) crane is already ready with its cables and straps
here, a view of the raised roof and the roof about to be raised, resting on its low supports for a little while longer (for scale: those orange dots are hardhats)
yikes! that’s a big crane (there’s a person, up on the roof structure, for comparison)
attaching the straps to the roof structure, four per crane, on either side of the roof
getting ready to go up! … the cranes have pulled the straps and cables taut
starting its ascent … the roof has been (slowly) raised off its initial supports
this entire process was fascinating, but slow … I took this shot on my way back to the office … here: the raised roof, the roof being raised, and a third roof still sitting on the ground (I’m sure that all three will be up when I go back out later this afternoon)
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.
The Slower Road 