Kentucky’s greatest natural resource may be one that relies largely on image, perception and emotion – the horse. “Our label of ‘Horse Capital of the World’ is real,” John Nicholson, board president of the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington, told the Enquirer editorial board Thursday. “White fences and green grass, horses are happier here – everybody knows that.”
Nicholson and other officials with the 2010 World Equestrian Games – set for Sept. 25-Oct. 10, 2010 at the park – met with us to outline their preparations for the event, which could be the biggest economic and image boost for the Commonwealth in decades.
Organizers are expecting an attendance of about 800,000 for the 16-day event, which will be televised in 150 countries with a global viewership of 500 million households. It’s the first time the quadrennial games have been held outside of Europe.
They also estimate it will have an economic impact of at least $150 million in Kentucky.
Greater Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky will feel some of the benefit – notably from hotel reservations, tourism and entertainment. The competing horses from other nations will fly into Greater Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport, and will be kept in the area for mandatory quarantines, which can last anywhere from 48 hours to two weeks.
The Games are nearly 2½ years away, but the Lexington facility is being modernized, expanded and reshaped. The state is pitching in with $40 million for an indoor arena, $24 million for an outdoor stadium and $13 million for road upgrades – but park officials say those improvements were part of its master plan anyway. They will enable the park to bring in additional events year-round long after the Games are over.
Kentucky also hopes to leverage the games to tap into America’s growing attraction to the horse-owning lifestyle There are about 9.5 million horses in the United States, up from 6.5 million a decade ago.
Landing the World Equestrian Games is an impressive coup for the state and, as Nicholson put it, “a wonderful way for Kentucky to reintroduce itself to the world.”
After all, horses are happier here – everybody knows that.
