Kentucky Horse Park - Competition Venues In Place

The Kentucky Horse Park rivals any horse show venue in the world according to Nicholson, especially in the area of experienced personnel. "We do almost 70 competitions here every year and many of them of an international caliber. There's no question but that we have the organizational capability here to do the Games, including the fact that we have the organizational team that puts together one of only four four-star events in the world - the Rolex Three-Day that's held here - so there's certainly the organizational ability and the expertise."

One of the key points and chief strengths in promoting the Kentucky Horse Park for the 2006 WEG is that every one of the sports will be held on the venue's grounds. "Not only within the same city, but within the same, exact venue," emphasizes Nicholson. "I don't think that there's any place else in the world that can do that."

And not only will the disciplines all be at the same show grounds and run by a staff already in place, but the Kentucky Horse Park also has existing world-class competition areas ready for use by all five disciplines of the World Equestrian Games. "The facilities here in Kentucky are well-known. They're a proven commodity," said Nicholson. He noted that one of the outstanding features of the Park is its Three Day course. "Building a Three Day course from scratch is no small thing to do, and a course like that needs seasoning. This is certainly one of the top two or three Three Day courses in the world. It's worthy of a World Championship now. It has been a World Championship course before and is a four-star course now."

In addition to the Three Day course, the Kentucky Horse Park also boasts two international caliber Grand Prix rings that can be used for Grand Prix Show Jumping as well as Dressage. "These rings are new and newly renovated," said Nicholson, noting that during the past five years the Park has done considerable renovations to the competition facilities. "They've been proven in international level competitions. They've received great reviews from the riders and trainers."

In addition to Dressage, Show Jumping and Three-Day Eventing, the WEG also features Driving and Reining, two more disciplines that the Kentucky Horse Park can accommodate without having to build new venues. "We have a course area for driving already here," said Nicholson. "Reining is really a matter of footing, and the arena to host that is here."

The Kentucky Horse Park currently features one indoor arena, and even before the 2006 WEG bid was submitted, plans to construct a second indoor were already in the works. The new indoor arena will seat 7,000 to 8,000 people and will be climate-controlled.

"One of the great advantages of having the Games here is that such a high percentage of the facilities are already in place," said Nicholson, noting that the only new construction to the Park for the 2006 WEG will be additional seating. "We'll have outstanding seating and logistical arrangements for the Games."