Rural Landscape
Friday April 23, 2010
2:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.
Visit Blue Grass Tours to register.
Experience first-hand the benefits of land conservation, green farming practices and sustainable agriculture to the Bluegrass. Visit two Thoroughbred horse farms, one of our premier vineyards and end your day at a state-of-the-art equine veterinary facility. Tour Blackburn Farm, one of Kentucky’s oldest Thoroughbred nurseries, now part of a critical mass of conservation easement-protected farm land. Go behind the gates at Three Chimneys Farm, a pioneer in green farming, and meet their world-renowned stallions. Enjoy a wine tasting at Equus Run Vineyards, which produces award-winning wines with minimal environmental impact. Finally, visit Hagyard Equine Medical Institute and explore their extensive campus, including their new Sport Horse Soundness Facility. Proceeds of this tour benefit the Equine Land Conservation Resource, The Fayette Alliance and Bluegrass Conservancy.
2:00 p.m. Pick up at Hagyard Equine Medical Institute.
Drive through historic Blackburn Farm, a Thoroughbred nursery since the end of the Revolutionary War, now permanently protected by Bluegrass Conservancy easement. Blackburn was home to Thoroughbred foundation sires American Eclipse and Boston, sire of the great stallion Lexington, and is still a working family-owned farm.
Arrive at Three Chimneys Farm for a driving tour through two of their Bluegrass Conservancy-protected divisions where you will see examples of green horse-farming practices. Meet the stellar residents of the Stallion Division, which include Kentucky Derby-winning stallions Smarty Jones and Big Brown.
Wind through horse country to Equus Run Vineyard for a tour and wine tasting. See how Kentucky, home to the first commercial vineyard in the United States, is returning to its roots and doing it “greenly,” producing award-winning wines while practicing sustainable agriculture and energy conservation.
Return to Hagyard Equine Medical Institute for a tour of their state-of-the-art campus, including the new Hagyard Sport Horse Soundness Facility. Hagyard Equine is the largest and oldest private veterinary practice in the U.S., and has provided the highest quality care to the Kentucky equine community for 134 years.
7:00 p.m. Tour ends at Hagyard Equine.
This special tour is offered to highlight the importance of land conservation practices and “going green” in the preservation of our unique agricultural heritage in Central Kentucky. Proceeds benefit the Equine Land Conservation Resource, The Fayette Alliance and Bluegrass Conservancy. Guests will receive a souvenir horseshoe.
Price: $75 per person
