© Mats Tooming | Dreamstime.com
Because the best of the best will compete in two separate events.
- The World Equestrian Games
- September 25 to October 10, 2010
- Kentucky Horse Park
For 16 days, world-class equestrian athletes in eight different sports will compete for world titles.
This is the first time the WEG will be held in the US. Think about it … just that distinction makes it a Very Big Deal.
Five hundred thousand spectators are expected. More than 900 horses are expected to compete.
Just those numbers make it bigger than the Kentucky Derby, which only attracts about 125,00 spectators.
Is your head swimming from all these numbers?
Not an annual event
Then, howzabout this — the WEG is like the Olympics, only it’s horses. Just equestrian competitions.
Like the Olympics, the WEG is held every four years, but two years away from the Summer Olympics.
Not every equestrian sport will be represented at the WEG, only eight. But there are SO many, when you think about it.
But that’s more than you can see at the Olympics, which only offers dressage, eventing and show jumping.
The WEG includes those Olympic equestrian sports along with reining, para-equestrian, vaulting, driving and endurance.
FWIW, in case any of those sports look unfamiliar, we’ll talk more about those in future posts. For now, you can see some in the WEG banner video on the site.
Tickets go on sale in fall 2009. So, if you’d like to go, start saving and planning now.
WEG on TV
But, if you’d prefer the comfort of your home to the crowds, NBC will broadcast six live hours on the weekends of the event, plus a yet-to-be-announced schedule of online coverage.
The other event recently announced as coming to Kentucky in 2010 is:
- The Breeders Cup
- Tentatively scheduled for Nov. 5 and 6, 2010
- Churchill Downs, Louisville
The fastest thoroughbreds will meet for two days under the legendary Twin Spires that symbolize the Kentucky Derby.
© Mats Tooming | Dreamstime.com
Horses of both sexes will compete in different divisions on the track and on the turf.
This year’s and next year’s Breeders Cup will be held at Santa Anita in California.
Each year, at least one race on the card generates excitement. This year’s marquee runners are said to be the current richest horse in the world Curlin and this year’s Kentucky Derby and Preakness winner Big Brown, finally to meet in the Breeders Cup Classic.
ESPN will provide live coverage of both days of this year’s Breeder’s Cup.
Again, if the idea of attending the Breeder’s Cup excites you, my suggestion is to start saving and planning now. Those tickets won’t be cheap, either.
Now, my advice? Start saving up and planning now, if you want to attend either, let alone both, of these events.
In future posts, we’ll talk about logistics and lodging and those other whatnots of travel, especially in these trying (now, there’s an understatement) financial times.
I used to live in Kentucky, plus I often (well, not often enough) return as a tourist to see the things that I didn’t have time to see when I was living and working there.
Tags: 2010 World Equestrian Games, Churchill Downs, Kentucky Horse Park, The Breeders Cup
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