CANCELLED -To be rescheduled

Barn and Stable Fires Can Be Devastating

•    22 show horses killed in New York barn fire - January 2012
•    27 horses perished in a barn fire in Michigan - February 2012
•    6 race horses killed in a fire in Chicago - March 2012
•    18 horses die in a barn fire in Illinois - April 2012

We hear about these tragedies all too often, and hope it does not happen to us.  Everyone can remember the 2011 fire, recently profiled on CBS 60 Minutes, which roared through Boyd Martin’s stable claiming the lives of 6 horses and causing hundreds of thousands of dollars in loss which almost ended Boyd’s career.  Miraculously, one  of Boyd’s mounts Neville Bardos, while suffering extensive burns and damage to his lunges, was spared and came back to be his current Olympic hopeful mount.  This is one of those stories which legends are made from, but one which none of us should ever have to experience.  

Barns and stables are filled with highly flammable materials, and present a big fire prevention challenge.  Add the presence of panicked animals and you have a recipe for a disaster if a fire breaks out. However, barn and stable fires are preventable and can be extinguished with the deployment of good barn management and the right fire extinguishing agent.  

Whether you keep your horses at home, or stable them, a barn fire is an event you must plan to prevent.  The United States Pony Clubs, Inc. has teamed up with Fire Freeze Worldwide, Inc. to bring to your attention “Cold Fire” an environmentally horse safe and cost effective fire extinguishing agent.   

Join us on June 29, 2012 at the Kentucky Horse Park, for a live demonstration of the effectiveness of Cold Fire and an explanation of its benefits to the equestrian community.

Where: The Kentucky Horse Park, Alltech Arena, Lower Parking Area.
Follow the Directional Signs
When: June 29th, 2012 at 11:00am

Please R.S.V.P by June 27th to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .

Photo by Jonathan Kendrick

CANCELLED - To be rescheduled

June 19, 2012, Lexington, KY - Barn and stable fires claim horses lives.
• 22 show horses killed in New York barn fire - January 2012
• 27 horses perished in a barn fire in Michigan - February 2012
• 6 race horses killed in a fire in Chicago - March 2012
• 18 horses die in a barn fire in Illinois - April 2012

We hear about these tragedies all too often, and hope it does not happen to us. Everyone can remember the 2011 fire, recently profiled on CBS 60 Minutes, which roared through Boyd Martin’s stable claiming the lives of 6 horses and causing hundreds of thousands of dollars in loss which almost ended Boyd’s career. Miraculously, one of Boyd’s mounts Neville Bardos, while suffering extensive burns and damage to his lungs, was spared and came back to be his current Olympic hopeful mount. This is one of those stories which legends are made from, but one which none of us should ever have to experience.

Barns and stables are filled with highly flammable materials, and present a big fire prevention challenge. Add the presence of panicked animals and you have a recipe for a disaster if a fire breaks out. However, barn and stable fires are preventable and can be extinguished with the deployment of good barn management and the right fire extinguishing agent.

Whether you keep your horses at home, or stable them, a barn fire is an event you must plan to prevent. The United States Pony Clubs, Inc. has teamed up with Fire Freeze Worldwide, Inc. to bring to your attention “Cold Fire” an environmentally horse safe and cost effective fire extinguishing agent.

Join us on June 29, 2012 at the Kentucky Horse Park, Lexington Kentucky, for a live demonstration of the effectiveness of Cold Fire and an explanation of its benefits to the equestrian community.

Where: The Kentucky Horse Park, Alltech Arena, Lower Parking Area.
Follow the Directional Signs

When: June 29th, 2012 at 11:00am

Please R.S.V.P by June 27th to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .

Bill Harless
Marketing & Communications Director
The United States Pony Clubs, Inc.
4041 Iron Works Parkway
Lexington, KY 40511

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Feb. 15, 2012) The Kentucky Horse Park is pleased to announce a new state-wide horse grooming contest to be held on March 31.

The contest will to provide 4-H Clubs, Future Farmers of America, United States Pony Clubs, and other youth groups an opportunity to demonstrate their ability to work together in a safe and humane manner to groom and prepare horses for showing. Both senior and junior divisions will be offered, and champion and reserve champion awards will be given.

Participants will need to dust off their grooming supplies and get in groom-ready shape. The Kentucky Horse Park will provide the horses, and park staff will make sure the animals are all in need of a good grooming before the contest.

Teams of three will be assigned a horse and then given 30 minutes to brush, dust, detangle and polish their way to the champion groom team honors. The contest also will include a written test on general horse knowledge as well as a showmanship class at the end of the day, to show off all of the polished ponies.

This is sure to be good, “clean” family fun and a great opportunity to kick off the summer show season, which is just around the corner.

For complete details and a registration packet, please contact Sheila Forbes at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or 859-233-4305.

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Feb. 14, 2012) The Kentucky Horse Park will open something akin to a school in a barn, to engage school-age children in discovering the wonder of horses. The new attraction is a joint project between the public and private sectors and it will be the first attraction at the park that is dedicated solely to children. The Kids’ Barn will feature interactive exhibits, while the park’s education department staff will host daily hands-on activities with the park’s resident horses.

“Children have a tremendous curiosity and natural affinity for horses, and since one of the most important missions of the Kentucky Horse Park is to raise awareness of - and interest in – horses, our new Kids’ Barn will be a wonderful expression of our dedication to that goal,” said John Nicholson, executive director of the park. “It will expand their knowledge and appreciation of horses and the horse industry in a fun and memorable way, through lots of hands-on interactions and other learning experiences.”

THE UNITED STATES PONY CLUBS, INC. PRESS RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – PHOTOS AVAILABLE UPON REQUEST

Press Contact: Shelley Mann, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Pony Club: www.ponyclub.org, 859-254-7669

Record Attendance Expected at Pony Club Festival!

Lexington, KY, July 13, 2011—Record numbers of Pony Club members are expected to converge on the Kentucky Horse Park, in Lexington, Kentucky for the 10^th triennial Pony Club Festival celebration. Pony Club members, their families, friends, volunteers, and other invited participants—more than 4000 in all—from 47 states, Canada, and abroad will come together July 18-26 to compete, learn, and celebrate during the National Championship and Educational extravaganza.

1,160 Championships competitors will vie for ribbons the first half of the week in eventing, stadium jumping, dressage, polo crosse, mounted games and tetrathlon. Both the eventing and show jumping disciplines are hosting record-breaking numbers. During the second half of the week, more than 500 Pony Club members will attend clinics and workshops that will allow them a chance to experience everything from fox hunting, to swinging a polo mallet, to spinning on a famous reining horse.

Thinking of the week ahead, Wayne Quarles, the Activities Director for Pony Club said, “A lot goes into organizing all of these disciplines at one venue, but being able to offer these vast opportunities to our members (and for the first time, our Canadian neighbors) is what Pony Club is all about. It’s nice to see so many members able to take advantage of what Pony Club has to offer in one location.”

About Festival—Festival is a week-long (July 18-26) celebration of Pony Club that brings together more than 4,000 Pony Club members from across the country. Its purpose is to provide a National Championships competition combined with a unique educational learning experience. A host of international caliber clinicians will conduct, both mounted and unmounted clinics during the Education portion of Festival.

Watch a video of USPC Executive Director Kevin Price on WTVQ-36.

Watch a video, shot Thursday, July 21 of Pony Club members getting ready to play polo crosse. 

About Pony Club—The United States Pony Clubs, Inc. (USPC) was founded in 1954 as a nonprofit national youth organization to teach riding and horsemanship through a formal educational program. Many of the nation’s top equestrians, including many of our Olympic team members, have roots in Pony Club. Members range in age from as young as 4 through age 25. There are approximately 10,000 members in 600 clubs and riding centers in 43 regions throughout the country. Pony Club is headquartered in Lexington, Kentucky www.ponyclub.org.