KENTUCKY HORSE FARM KENTUCKY

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KENTUCKY- KENTUCKY HORSE FARM, KY- 7/25/05

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Kentucky Horse Park, Kentucky

(Near Lexington, Kentucky)

GLORY DAYS OF THE PAST

OWNERSHIP of LAND COMPRISING

THE KENTUCKY HORSE PARK

1779	Patrick Henry, Governor of Virginia, grants 9000 acres of the Kentucky County to William Christian, his brother-in-law, as a reward for military service. This county in Virginia later becomes the state of Kentucky. Native Americans have no permanent villages there. They use the land only for hunting and battlegrounds.
1786	Christian, a wealthy Virginian, had just established a farm on Beargrass Creek near what is now Louisville, but is killed during a skirmish with Native Americans following a horse raid. His daughter, Elizabeth Dickerson, inherits 1,000 acres in present day Scott and Fayette Counties

1805	Dr Walter Warfield purchases the land from Elizabeth Dickerson, his sister-in-law.
1816	Warfield sells 400 acres to Matthew Flournoy. His son, Victor Flournoy, inherits the farm in 1842 and builds a house that comes to be known as Walnut Hall due to the use of black walnut on its trim.
1826	After Walter Warfield dies, his son, Charles Warfield, sells 486 acres to Dr William Richardson, who names his new farm Caneland.
1849	Caneland becomes Caneland Stock Farm when Eliphalet Muir, married to Daniel Boone's niece, buys the land. Prior to Muir's death in 1868, his son, Eliphalet "Lief" Samuel Muir, takes over running the farm and begins breeding Saddlebreds.
1854	The western portion of the park owned by the Graves family since about 1786 is bought by S J Salyers who breeds Thoroughbreds.
1866	S J Salyers continues to add acreage and builds the house which stands next to the park entrance. In 1875, Salyers enters his horse, Bill Bruce, in the first Kentucky Derby.
1879	Flournoy's descendants sell Walnut Hall to John S Clark, a Civil War Veteran. He was an avid fan of horse racing and prominent breeder of Thoroughbreds.
1884	Clark sells Walnut Hall Farm to Rudolph Wieser, an engineer who is key in construction of High Bridge that spans the Kentucky River.
1892	Lamon V Harkness purchases Walnut Hall. By the 1900's, he becomes one of the world's prominent breeders of the American Standardbred horse.
1893	S J Salyers had died in 1882 and his farm changed hands several times. The land is eventually purchased by John D Creighton who raises and trains Trotting horses. He names the property Ashland-Wilkes Farm.
1895	Lamon V Harkness buys Caneland from Muir's heirs thus rejoining it to Walnut Hall. By 1907, his farm covers around 2,000 acres.
1897	John Creighton builds the park's training track and probably, also, the first portion of the "Big Barn" on Ashland-Wilkes Farm, but in just a few years, he is in debt and must sell the farm.

1902	"Captain" Samuel Brown, a Pittsburgh coal baron and Thoroughbred breeder purchases Ashland-Wilkes Farm and calls it Senorita Stud Farm. Brown bred two Kentucky Derby winners, Buchanan in 1884 and Agile in 1905. In poor health, he dies the winter of 1905.
1909	Lamon Harkness purchases Senorita Stud Farm from Samuel Brown's brother thus reuniting the majority of Elizabeth Dickerson's land.
1919	Upon Lamon's death, Lela, his daughter, and her husband, Dr Ogden Edwards, purchase all the shares of the farm from the various heirs thus keeping it intact as Walnut Hall Farm. They continue to breed the finest of Standardbred horses.
1939	Dr Richardson gives Caneland to his son, Louis, who is the first to breed Thoroughbreds on the land. Sadly, by 1845, the entire Richardson family is wiped-out in a cholera epidemic that sweeps through Kentucky.
1947	Walnut Hall Farm, now quite large, is divided between the daughter-in-law and the daughter of Dr and Mrs Edwards. The slightly smaller portion becomes Walnut Hall Stud. Both farms continue to produce top Standardbreds.
1972	Walnut Hall Stud is bought by The Commonwealth of Kentucky along with another small addition later to create the Kentucky Horse Park which opens in 1978.
2000	The Kentucky Horse Park buys an additional 200 acres to expand facilities. It now covers 1,224 acres of bluegrass countryside dedicated to mankind's love of the horse.

EARLY WATERING SYSTEM (c. 1904)
In 1902, Captain Sam S Brown, a wealthy Pittsburgh coal baron and horseman, purchased the Ashland-Wilkes Farm, now the Kentucky Horse Park, for approximately $ 38,000. He named his farm Senorita Stud, after his favorite mare. Brown was associated with two Kentucky Derby winners, Buchanan (1884) which he co-owned, and Agile (1905) which he bought outright. He also raised excellent trotting horses at his farm in Pennsylvania.

Captain Brown had a theory that horses contract many of their diseases from commonly used watering ponds. He spent over $5,000 installing two artesian wells that fed a series of raised water towers. Pipes ran from the towers to steel water troughs in each of the farm's paddocks, providing a daily supply of fresh water. By 1904, Senorita Stud had the most modern waterworks system of any breeding farm in Kentucky. This tower is one of two surviving elements of Captain Brown's elaborate watering system.

WALNUT HALL STUD FARM
In 1891, Lamon Harkness bought Walnut Hall Farm, beginning a successful breeding stable for Standardbred horses. In 1947, the farm was divided between the heirs of Mr and Mrs Odgen Edwards resulting in Walnut Hall Farm and Walnut Hall Stud, which became a major force in breeding trotters in the 1950's. Following the death of their leading sire, Rodney, in 1963, Walnut Hall Stud began to cut back operations. In 1972, the farm was sold to the Commonwealth of Kentucky to later become the Kentucky Horse Park.

The horses buried in this cemetery represent the glory days of Walnut Hall Stud. At the head of the cemetery is the great sire, Rodney. Owned by David R Johnson, Rodney was a champion on the track, winning 47 of 67 starts and earning Harness Horse of the Year honors in 1948. He stood at Walnut Hall Stud from 1950 until his death in 1963, siring 506 foals that earned over $12 million on the track. His influence on Standardbred trotters is still felt today.

WALNUT HALL STUD HORSE CEMETERY
The Central Kentucky tradition of burying exceptional horses began in 1875 when R A Alexander interred the great sire Lexington and marked his grave with a simple marble shaft. Although some horses are buried in their entirety, it is also common to bury what is felt to be the essence of the horse, the heart, head, and hooves. The legendary Man O' War, who is buried under his statue at the Park's entrance, was the first modern horse to be embalmed. His funeral was attended by more than 2,000 people. The Walnut Hall Stud cemetery contains the remains of 11 of the farm's excellent broodmares, the great sire Rodney, and one dog.

SALYERS HOUSE
During the 1850's, S J Salyers purchased this portion of the Park and began to breed and train Thoroughbreds. In 1866, he completed construction of this two story, farm Victorian residence. The house was built on the foundation of an even older home, probably the mansion of Thoroughbred breeder Dr William Richardson, which burned down prior to the Civil War.

Salyers, whose horse Bill Bruce was entered in the first Kentucky Derby in 1875, would be the only owner to live in the house. As the property passed through its four subsequent owners, the residence was occupied by the farm managers. Today, it serves as the Park's administrative offices.

THE CHAIRS
In 1978, the Kentucky Horse Park became the first American host of the World Three Day Event Championships. The cross country phase of the championships featured some of the most challenging obstacles in the world. These chairs were two of the eight which surrounded fence number 10, the "Giants Table." Each spring, the Kentucky Horse Park is the sire of the Rolex Kentucky International Three Day Event.

THREE BARS (American Quarter Horse Historical Marker)
Three Bars, the most influential Thoroughbred in American Quarter Horse history, was foaled April 8, 1940 near Lexington. Despite severe circulatory problems in a hind leg, Three Bars won races as a three, four and five year old. As a six year old in 1946, he set a :57-3/5 track record over five furlongs at the Phoenix Fairgrounds in Arizona.

The chestnut stallion possessed not only speed, but excellent conformation and disposition which conveyed to 558 American Quarter Horse offspring. A legendary sire of almost transcendental genetics, Three Bars sired champions in all facets of the American Quarter Horse breed, with four AQHA Supreme Champions, 29 AQHA Champions, 14 Racing Champions and 64 Racing Stakes Winners.

His impact still weighing heavily on the breed, Three Bars figures prominently in the pedigree of virtually every champion from racing to cutting to showing. Three Bars died in 1968 at the age of 28.

American Quarter Horses are now competing in races around the world and are in demand for showing, ranch work, rodeo, recreational riding and many other activities. AQHA is the world's largest equine breed registry, with its international headquarters located in Amarillo, Texas.

FEATURES OF THE FARM... THE LAYOUT

VISITOR CENTER

ARENA

SHELLA JOHNSTON ARENA

UNITED STATES EQUESTRIAN FEDERATION

EQUESTRIAN AREAS

NATIONAL HEADQUARTERS OF THE UNITED STATES PONY CLUBS

BIG BARN

BIG BARN HISTORY
In 1893, this portion of the Horse Park was purchased by Mr John D Creighton and named Ashland-Wilkes Farm. Creighton was the first to breed and train Standardbreds on the land. In 1897, he constructed both the Park's 1/2 mile training track and the "Big Barn." In 1909, the farm was purchased by Lamon V Harkness and became part of Walnut Hall Farm. Under Walnut Hall, the Big Barn was expanded and the indoor auction area was created in the early 1900's.

Walnut Hall Farm became the first major Kentucky Standardbred nursery to auction its yearlings on the premises. The "Big Barn" is 476' long and 75' wide with fifty-two 13' x 16' stalls. It remains one of the largest wooden horse barns in the world.