Friday Fences - Fields of Gold

Back in the spring I shared quite a few photos of this riding stable/farm in eastern Jefferson County.  Recently  went back to see how it had changed with the summer and found the pastures surrounded by "fields of gold."  Still the classic Kentucky black-painted wooden fence and--even better--Spotted Pony was still in the field.

Linking to Friday Fences at Life According to Jan and Jer .

InSPIREd Sunday - Cowboy Church

( Since this is Derby weekend in Kentucky and all about horses, decided to share this post from 2008 for today's InSPIREd Sunday meme.  The prompt for this particular '08 Fun Monday meme was to look for a sign that caught your attention and post a photo of it.  I saw this one from the road just outside of Paris, Kentucky.)



I spotted this sign for the Blue Grass Cowboy Church as I was traveling on the Paris Pike between Lexington and Paris. This is a very scenic highway lined with old dry stone fences and miles of brown and white wooden fencing for the many thoroughbred horse farms on either side of Paris Pike. Wherever you look there are scenes worthy of a Kentucky tourism catalog--beautiful horses in the pastures, barns that would rival most of our homes. Scenes like this:

~Photo credit:  not mine sadly!  It may be James Archambeault's, a well-known Kentucky photographer ~

Central Kentucky, or the Blue Grass Region, produces the foals that grow up to run and win the great races like the Kentucky Derby here in Louisville. The equine industry is the backbone of our state's agriculture and tourism. Many people are employed on these horse farms and related agriculture operations. A significant number of workers are Hispanic because of the skills they have in caring for, handling, and training the high strung thoroughbreds.

For a horse-centered town like Paris, KY to have a Blue Grass Cowboy Church isn't surprising, if you think about it. When immigrants settled in an area, many community organizations made--and still do-- the effort to serve their need for belonging. Churches would be interested in that role certainly. Many Hispanics work on the horse farms for years, living apart from their families and in need of this support.

So, the cowboy church invitation is to "Come as you are, boots and hats are welcome, and share in a night of down home country worship centered on the New Testament with live Bluegrass Gospel music and fellowship with folks who like the cowboy culture." Something for everyone--even church services at a stockyard!


 Linking to InSPIREd Sunday , a new meme celebrating places of worship and their unique architecture and history.  Thanks to Sally and Beth for hosting.

 

Barn Charm - Horses on a Spring Day

I spotted this riding stable and horse barn in eastern Jefferson County, not 20 minutes drive time from downtown Louisville.  It was a windy, sunny spring day and the horses were enjoying the weather as much as I.  Here are a few more views:

Linking to Barn Charm at Bluff Area Daily .

Mosaic and Macro Monday - Kentucky Horses

~ click on mosaic to enlarge ~

Here are some up close and personal shots of some very friendly horses at a riding stable in eastern Jefferson County, a short drive from Louisville.  The spotted pony was especially photogenic:

And how about this handsome horse's rear?  Not something you expect to say very often!

And here the wind makes for a really bad hair day:

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Linking to: Macro Monday and Mosaic Monday

Friday Fences - More Kentucky Horse Farms

I may be over-estimating your interest in Kentucky thoroughbred horse farms, but on my recent drive along Old Frankfort Pike the photo ops were just too good to pass up.  Today I'll share some examples of classic dry stone wall and plank fencing that is used throughout this area.  Oh, and a couple of equine comedians as well.

Like this redheaded flirt:

Good fences make good neighbors, we're told.  Apparently good butt scratchers as well:

Along Old Frankfort Pike you'll see many handsome gates for the horse farms.  This one had a really nice view of the winding road leading to the barns:

On either side of  the gate you could get some closeups of the dry stone walls that are over a hundred years old--built by slaves and Irish immigrants using stones wrestled out of this prime farmland.  Today the walls are preserved as an important part of the historical landscape:

Now to see more Friday Fences, or add your own, go to our host Janis' site at Life According to Jan and Jer .

Macro Monday and Barn Charm - Call a Meeting

Photos in this post were taken on Old Frankfort Pike, smack in the middle of some of the most beautiful Kentucky thoroughbred horse farms. These guys were grazing peacefully when they saw me at the fence and. . .

as if they heard "the meeting is about to begin" all five started straight for the fence where I was waiting with the camera.

Ready for the meeting!

They got really close and, as you can see, this one hadn't shaved that morning. :-)

Meet "Sweet Talker". I know that's his name because. . .

His name tag said so!

As with any other meeting, there was a lot to chew over.

Yet another gorgeous barn on Old Frankfort Pike, site of this meeting.

For more closeups from all over, or to enter your own macros, be sure to check out Lisa's Chaos here every Monday. And for photos and stories of charming barns go to Tricia's Bluff Area Daily . Hope our two lovely hosts won't mind my making one post do double duty this week. Busy time of year.

Old Frankfort Pike - a Drive through Kentucky Horse Country

This is Old Frankfort Pike, a narrow two lane tree-canopied road between Midway and Frankfort, which winds through some of Kentucky's most beautiful horse country.  Last week my friend Sherry and I took this road home after a lunch with another friend in Midway.  I had warned Sherry that there would be many stops because I was looking for photo ops.  She very gamely became a crack scene spotter, even though she feared for her life when I frequently swerved off the road and jumped out of the car with camera at ready!

Old Frankfort Pike runs past some of Kentucky's grandest horse farms and every place you passed was a postcard worthy shot with the horse barns, grazing thoroughbreds, classic wooden fences and dry stone walls.  I was just thrilled with the photos I got, even though most were taken quickly because of the traffic danger.  I'll try to ration them out over the next week or so to not "over-estimate" your interest on horse farms and Kentucky tourism. :-)

This is just one of many imposing gates that limit public access to valuable thoroughbred horses:

Here's a typical horse barn with gabled and spired roof.  Horses were peacefully grazing in the farm pastures:

And here you have two views from the entrance to Darley, a Dubai Millennium Farm--yes, Middle Eastern sheiks love Kentucky thoroughbred racing:

Old dry stone walls first built by slaves and Irish immigrants and stained horse fencing lined the pike:

And finally, meet Olivia M.  She came over to the fence to chat with me and allowed this photo.  I was just thrilled at these gentle creatures.  Without any bribes on me, they just ambled over to the fence every time we stopped, all friendly and curious.

I hope you've enjoyed this little country drive.  If so, come back all this week for more.

Barn Charm - Bluegrass State

Here are a couple more fancy digs for thoroughbred race horses in Kentucky's Bluegrass Region.  I spotted these two from U.S. 60, a designated scenic highway between Frankfort and Versailles.  In the second photo notice that even the ducks have an upscale "barn"!

Now if you'd like to participate in the Barn Charm meme, or just see some interesting "barnery" from many different places, just go to Bluff Area Daily .