The person who put together this slideshow describes the song as " a love song to a place, a home, a way of life and the people you know" I agree.
This time of year, I often find myself humming "My Old Kentucky Home". It's not only because of the great pre-Derby tradition (which normally brings tears to my eyes), but about another springtime tradition, the one that brought me to Kentucky in the first place.
The Rolex Kentucky 3-Day Event, especially the Saturday Cross Country day, is one of my favorite spring events. I first attended this when it was the World 3-Day Event in 1978. I was a horse-crazy Ohio girl, and my parents brought another horsey friend and I to Lexington for it. I had also been to Keeneland Race Track the year or two before, and the seeds were planted in my soul for a future life in Kentucky on that trip.
Watching horse and rider negotiate the huge fences is exilherating, and I find myself holding my breath as they near the giant obstacles at a full gallop, with raw determination showing clearly on their faces.Yes, it is a dangerous sport (though many measures have been put into place to make it safer for horse and rider, as there have been fatalities in the past), and there is an occasional crash.
The very first horse we watched negotiating The Head of the Lake series of water jumps hit a solid-looking log and it made a sharp cracking sound. Fortunately, the log was made of styrofoam and after being checked okay, the horse and rider did the entire series over and went on safely. They replaced the log with a spare, and we noticed 5 more spares on reserve!
There is a lot of artistry and creativity that goes into the fence designs, as well as engineering for safety and challenge- it's a beautiful sight to see and to feel the hooves pounding since you're so close to the action.
I love it, and although I wish I was closer to my family in Ohio I'll never regret moving to The Bluegrass State.
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