Today was an amazing first day in Lexington, Kentucky! This is my second trip to Lexington, and I am so excited to finally have time to explore! My first trip to Lexington was with the Texas A&M Horse Judging team in college. We had the amazing opportunity to tour quite a few of the gorgeous Thoroughbred Farms and Breeding Facilities in Lexington. It was truly an amazing experience to have the opportunity to visit so many of the prestigious farms.
This time around I am in Lexington for an Equine Photography Workshop and decided to come in a day early so that I had some time to explore. I started my day at 7:00 am when I headed to Keeneland to watch the morning exercise rides. It was truly amazing. It was so peaceful and quiet on this foggy morning. It was truly like a little piece of heaven on earth. Each jockey that rode by was also so friendly, and most give me a friendly “good morning” as they passed by. After spending a few hours photographing the horses, I headed over to the Kitchen at Keeneland for some breakfast. I just have to warn you, the biscuits and gravy are heavenly. You should probably order a few. After Keeneland I took a trip down some back roads and made my way over to the Kentucky Horse Park.
Growing up the first barn that I rode at was Cypress Equestrian Center, back in its glory days, and I had the amazing chance to get to know many of the race horse trainers at the farm. I also learned so many important and valuable lessons from the race horse trainers there. I will never forget the first time I rode one of their horses, that we later ended up buying, her name was Devil’s Time Zone. The words still ring in the back of my head to this day when I ride, “You look at the ground, and thats where you are going!!! Don’t you dare look at the ground again!!” Growing up and learning to ride around race horses meant we also spend a lot of nights at Sam Houston Race Track watching horses race from the farm.
Race horses will always have a special place in my heart. There is something so special about the fire they have in their eyes when they are going to do their job. I absolutely love being able to photograph race horses. If you are a race horse trainer or owner and are interested in having you horses photographed email me at equine@test.karindak.com or give me a call at (832)598-8715.
