The Kentucky Horse Park, located along Iron Works Pike just north of Lexington, is both a working horse farm and a living museum devoted to Kentucky’s most celebrated animal. Spanning more than 1,200 acres of Bluegrass pasture, the park is a cultural landmark where the state’s long-held reverence for the horse comes vividly to life through exhibitions, daily demonstrations, and world-class equestrian events.
Opened in 1978, it remains the only park in the world dedicated to the relationship between humans and horses. Visitors encounter dozens of breeds through daily shows, carriage rides, guided tours, and interactive exhibits. The park also hosts one of the most extensive equestrian event calendars in the country, featuring everything from steeplechase and dressage to polo and the internationally renowned Defender Kentucky Three-Day Event—the only five-star competition of its kind in North America.
Among its premier attractions is the International Museum of the Horse, a Smithsonian affiliate with over 60,000 square feet of galleries tracing the horse’s role in civilizations past and present. Nearby, the American Saddlebred Museum honors Kentucky’s native breed with rotating exhibits and archival displays. Across the grounds, visitors can join scheduled programs such as the Hall of Champions, home to retired racing greats like Go for Gin, or visit the Breeds Barn and Big Barn, where draft horses, carriage collections, and rare breeds are presented with narration and live demonstrations.
For those who prefer to explore the landscape, the park offers 35-minute horseback trail rides through open paddocks and pony rides for younger guests from April through October. Horse-drawn trolley tours run daily during the main season, providing a leisurely way to see the grounds. Throughout the year, the park also serves as a venue for major horse shows, rodeos, festivals, and international competitions that draw spectators and competitors from around the world.
The Kentucky Horse Park gained global attention in 2010 when it became the first North American venue to host the FEI World Equestrian Games. Over half a million visitors came to Lexington for the event, which featured more than 800 athletes and 900 horses representing 60 nations—an occasion that solidified the park’s standing as one of the premier equestrian destinations in the world.
