Lexington, KY - More than 500 of the very best ponies in the U.S. are in Lexington, Kentucky right now to compete at the 2012 US Pony Finals. Starting Tuesday they will be ridden into competition at the Kentucky Horse Park by youth riders from around the country.
 
Over the next six days riders will take aim at the US Hunter Pony Championships presented by Sallee Horse Vans in Small, Medium, and Large Regular Hunter and Green Hunter sections and at an overall Regular and Green Hunter championship.  Starting Wednesday and continuing through Friday pony jumpers will go after Team and Individual jumping championships. On Sunday, August 12th the week will end with the awarding of the Equisport Insurance/US Pony Medal Championship.
 
The full 2012 U.S. Pony Finals schedule is available here.
 
Though a National Pony Championship has been held in the U.S. since 1967 the popular and cherished Pony Medal has only been awarded since 1984. Since then the equitation competition that determines the medal winner has been a highlight of the week. Riders qualify by earning a blue ribbon or by earning 30 points in any U.S. Pony Medal Qualifying class. During the championship they will be judged head-to-head over a demanding course of fences.
 
2012 is the 11th year that the National Pony Jumper Championships are being held as part of the US Pony Finals. To qualify rider/pony combinations need to be one of their zone's top four. Zone 7 won last year's team championship and last year's individual winner Julia Curtis is back with her winning mount, The Waterboy.
 
The Hunter Pony competitions are held in three phases in which a pony's conformation, movement under saddle, and jumping ability are judged. The first Hunter Pony classes begin Tuesday in the Walnut Ring at the Kentucky Horse Park.
 
USEF Network will post results and videos from the US Pony Finals daily at http://usefnetwork.com/featured/2012USEFPonyFinals/
 
Find out more about the Pony Finals at www.usef.org. 

Back by popular demand, the Horsemen of All Ages Sale, presented by Adequan, returns to Floral Hall Round Barn at The Red Mile Race Track.

This bachelor and bachelorette auction features a group of the most interesting single people in Lexington, willing to go on a date to benefit The Race For Education.

The Race For Education is a scholastic organization that provides career and college readiness programs for students in need of additional academic support, and college scholarships for young people with significant financial need.

Vote for our Kentucky Horse Park executive director, John Nicholson, in the Horsemen of All Ages Sale.  If he gets the most votes, our Kentucky Horse Park Foundation will win 2 UK Football Tickets and $1,000!   YOU could win a pair of tickets for the Meet and Greet sponsored by SKYBAR, dinner and Bachelor Auction on Friday, September 7, just for voting!

You can vote once a day from each of your email addresses.  Vote here daily through Sep 1.

For more information on the event, call The Race For Education at 859.252.8648 or visit them online at raceforeducation.org.

You don't have to be here to bid!!

Hats Off to Kentucky’s Horse Industry Day and the Rood and Riddle $50,000 Kentucky Grand Prix will take place on Saturday, August 4th here at the Kentucky
Horse Park. This event includes both live and silent auctions and donates 100%
of its proceeds to two very worthwhile charities, the Kentucky Horse Park Foundation and the Kentucky Equine Humane Center.

This year, for the first time, all live auction items and some silent auction items
will be offered through proxy bidding for those who cannot attend the event.

There are some very exciting and unique items available, including a Zenyatta package, so check out this partial list and fill out your proxy bid form!: http://www.hatsoffky.com/images/files/ProxyBidSheet.pdf

We hope you'll attend the Rood & Riddle Kentucky Grand Prix in person to also bid on a great selection of silent auction items!  For more information go to:

As a special treat for our guests this weekend, we have the Warm Beach Vaulters here to perform, Friday through Sunday, Jul 27-29 in our Horses of the World show. 

They are the third largest vaulting club in America and we guarantee that you will be impressed! 

Come and see them - it's included with park admission. http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&;v=VzDdx1P84yk#at=154

Lexington, KY – July 23, 2012 – The 2012 Kentucky Summer Series will begin this Tuesday and run for two weeks, followed by the USEF Pony Finals, the Bluegrass Festival Classic, and the KHJA Horse Show. The Kentucky Summer Horse Show will be held July 25-29, 2012, and will be followed by the Kentucky Summer Classic, scheduled for July 31-5, 2012. The East Coast U.S. Junior Hunter Championship will run concurrently with the Kentucky Summer Horse Show from July 24 - July 25, with the USHJA/Essex Classics Hunterdon Cup Equitation Classic.

Any members of the media that require special interviews or any special assistance, or those that wish to cover this event, please contact Phelps Media Group, Inc. International on the grounds at the Kentucky Horse Park.

Mason Phelps – 561-371-0118
Kendall Bierer – 561-309-9873

Or call the Kentucky Spring Horse Show Office
859-254-3343 (phone)
859-231-6097 (fax)

The East Coast U.S. Junior Hunter Championship will begin tomorrow, July 24, and run concurrently with the Kentucky Summer Horse Show on July 25,2012. This national championship will attract the very best Junior Hunters. In addition, the USHJA/Essex Classics Hunterdon Cup Equitation Classic will be held July 25, 2012 in the Rolex Stadium.

Held at the renowned Kentucky Horse Park, the Kentucky Summer Horse Show will include the $5,000 USHJA National Hunter Derby sponsored by Hallway Feeds, one of the six events of the Hallway Feeds series, which will provide a $10,000 Bonus to the leading professional rider and $2,500 each to the leading Amateur and Junior riders. Jumper highlights for the Kentucky Summer Horse Show include the $25,000 Hagyard Lexington Classic on Thursday, July 26, the $40,000 Kentucky Summer Grand Prix on Saturday, July 28, and the Show Jumping Hall of Fame Junior and Amateur-Owner Jumper Classics on Sunday, July 29. The Hagyard Lexington Classic is part of a seven-class series, culminating with a $50,000 Leading Riding Award. The 2012 Hagyard Challenge Series will also feature a high point Thoroughbred Award. Following the final event, a $10,000 prize will be presented to the high point Thoroughbred participating in the Series.

Throughout the summer, the Kentucky Summer Series will feature the SSG Riding Gloves ‘Go Clean for the Green’ promotion, offering $30,000 in bonus money. Riders wearing the SSG ‘Digital’ Riding Gloves with the SSG horse head logo clearly visible during all rounds of competition in designated events are eligible for the bonus.

The series will continue with the Kentucky Summer Classic held July 31-August 5. The $25,000 Hagyard Lexington Classic will be held on Thursday, August 2, and on Saturday, August 4, riders will compete in the Rolex Stadium in the $50,000 Rood and Riddle Grand Prix. The $5,000 Hallway Feeds USHJA National Hunter Derby will also return on Saturday, August 4.

The USEF Pony Finals will be held August 7 - 12. More than 600 qualifying ponies will compete for awards in Green and Regular pony sections, pony jumpers and the Pony Medal Finals.

The third show of the Kentucky Summer Series, the Bluegrass Festival Horse
Show is a WCHR Member event, where riders can earn points towards year-end awards. The $100,000 USHJA International Hunter Derby Finals will return to Rolex Stadium, August 17-18. Spectators can also look forward to the $25,000 Hagyard Lexington Classic on Friday, August 17 and the $40,000 Bluegrass Festival Grand Prix and Junior/Amateur-Owner Jumper Classics on Sunday, August 19.

Wrapping up the summer series will be the KHJA Horse Show held August 22- 26, 2012. The $10,000 Hagyard Welcome Stake will run Friday, August 24, and will be followed on Sunday, August 26, by the $30,000 KHJA Grand Prix and the Junior/Amateur-Owner Jumper Classics. The KHJA Horse Show will also host the final event of the Hallway Feeds USHJA National Hunter Derby and the presentation of the leading rider awards.

Based at the renowned Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington, KY, host of the 2010 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games, the Kentucky Summer Series offers equestrians a chance to compete at one of the top facilities in the world. For more information about the Kentucky Summer Series, please check the prize list on www.kentuckyhorseshows.com.

Photo Credit: The Kentucky Summer Series prize list is available online. Photo Courtesy of the Client. Photograph may be used only in relation to this PMG press release.

KENTUCKY SUMMER HORSE SHOW FAST FACTS

Events:
Kentucky Summer Horse Shows, USEF National Pony Finals, Bluegrass
Festival Horse Show and KHJA Horse Show, and the 2012 USHJA International Hunter Derby Finals.

What:
The Kentucky Horse Show LLC\'s 2012 series includes five weeks of top competition throughout the summer. These premier hunter/jumper competitions feature a USEF 5* Jumper Rating and \"AA\" Hunter rating. The Kentucky Horse Show Series is the host of the Hagyard Challenge Series with seven grand prix competitions that culminate with a Leading Rider Award.

Where:
Kentucky Horse Park, Lexington, KY, site of the 2010 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games™. Home to the United States Equestrian Federation.

When:
U.S. JUNIOR HUNTER CHAMPIONSHIP - East Coast & HUNTERDON CUP
- July 24-25, 2012

KENTUCKY SUMMER HORSE SHOW – July 25-29, 2012
$25,000 Hagyard Lexington Classic
$2,500 USHJA National Hunter Classic
$40,000 Kentucky Summer Grand Prix
$5,000 Hallway Feeds USHJA National Hunter Derby

KENTUCKY SUMMER CLASSIC – July 31- August 5, 2012
$25,000 Hagyard Lexington Classic
$50,000 Rood & Riddle Kentucky Grand Prix
$5,000 Hallway Feeds USHJA National Hunter Derby

2012 USEF PONY FINALS - August 8-12, 2012

BLUEGRASS FESTIVAL HORSE SHOW - August 15-19, 2012
$100,000 USHJA International Hunter Derby Finals - August 17 - 18, 2012
$25,000 Hagyard Lexington Classic
$40,000 Bluegrass Festival Grand Prix
$5,000 Hallway Feeds USHJA National Hunter Derby

KHJA HORSE SHOW - August 22-26, 2012
$10,000 Hagyard Welcome Stake
$30,000 KHJA Grand Prix
$5,000 Hallway Feeds USHJA National Hunter Derby

Hours:
8am – 5pm daily

Hats Off to Kentucky's Horse Industry Day is a celebration of the horse and its impact on the state of Kentucky. The day offers fun family activities including arts and crafts for children,  pony rides, interactive educational booths, thrilling equestrian competition, and it's all free! Hats Off Day is the only day of the year an entire family can enjoy the Kentucky Horse Park and all it has to offer, at no cost!

The horse industry in Kentucky generates 80,000 - 100,000 in direct and indirect jobs, and impacts our economy by an estimated 8 billion dollars!

In celebration of the horse, Kentuckians flock to the Kentucky Horse Park on Hats Off Day  for a free day of family fun and an opportunity to learn more about horses and the amazing things they do for our great state.

Events include children’s activities, free pony rides, educational booths, interactive equine stations, $50,000 Grand Prix Show Jumping, and much more!

The Rood & Riddle Kentucky Grand Prix, a challenging show jumping competition between top international horses and riders, is the featured evening entertainment of Hats Off Day and is taking place in the beautiful outdoor Rolex Stadium. A silent and live auction will benefit the Kentucky Horse Park Foundation and the Kentucky Equine Humane Center.

2012 promises to be very exciting!  There’s something for everyone -- competition, great amenities and fantastic entertainment for the whole family. See the schedule of events

Patrick Smithwick, author of "Racing My Father" will be here to sign his new book,
"Flying Change: A year of racing and family and steeplechasing" 
Saturday, July 21, 11am to 1pm 
Kentucky Horse Park Gift Shop 

Don't miss this chance to meet the author and pick up his book, which is described as, "This memoir of dueling ambitions is the tale of a man who decides in mid-life to call off all restraints, silence all naysayers, put his mind and body and courage to the test, and do what in his case-he has been away from the world of racing for twenty-five years-is the impossible: within a nine-month period get a horse to ride in the most difficult steeplechase race in the world, and then, ride that horse as if his life depends on it, which, literally, it does."

See you here!

Meet Montana, a 12-year-old Appaloosa gelding, who is looking for a good home. 

He is 14.3 hands, friendly, and gets along well with his pasture mates.  He is easy to catch and has good ground manners.  Montana has been ridden for pleasure and would be suitable for an advanced beginner to intermediate rider.

To find out more about Montana or schedule and appointment to meet him, contact the Kentucky Equine Humane Center, 859-881-5849, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . 

To see some of the other great horses who are available for adoption, go to www.KyEHC.org.

Lexington, KY - The 2012 Adequan/FEI North American Junior & Young Rider Championships presented by Gotham North will take place July 17-22, 2012 at the Kentucky Horse Park.

The NAJYRC is the premier equestrian competition in North America for junior and young riders, age 14-21. Young equestrians come from the United States, Bermuda, Canada, Mexico, Central America, Puerto Rico, and the Caribbean Islands to vie for team and individual FEI medals in the three Olympic equestrian disciplines of show jumping, dressage, eventing and the FEI World Equestrian Games disciplines of reining and endurance. 2012 will also feature a CVI running concurrently as vaulting continues to gain momentum in partnership with these Championships. The competition is run under rules of the FEI (Federation Equestre Internationale), the international governing body for equestrian sport, and is the only FEI championship held annually on this continent.

For more information about the event, please visit: http://www.youngriders.org/

The NAJYRC is included with park admission.