My daughter and I have taken lessons and boarded our horses here for fourteen years. Nancy has…read moretaken Jayna from a three years old beginner leadline Academy rider to an accomplished show rider at Junior League. Nancy is an excellent instructor for any level of rider, whether your goal is to ride for show or pleasure. She always has a wide variety of horses suited to various disciplines. The facility offers indoor riding in inclement weather and about fifty acres for outdoor experiences. She is always personable and welcoming. Great place to ride! Check out her summer programs as well.

I came to Lexington for a month from California looking for a place that could help me learn how to…read more ride horses. I had no experience (well maybe the state fair when I was 5). I called Nancy at Brannon Stables and she was amazing. She took some time to understand what I was looking for before I made the drive to try out my first lesson. I arrived and and it was a great fit. She was patient, easy going and very good about correcting me (and understanding this was my first time on a horse). I started 4 weeks ago (from 0 experience) and today I can put the (english or western saddle on), start, trot, canter, turn (and most importantly stop). I highly recommend her.

This fine Bluegrass land was originally settled in 1774, adjoining a buffalo trace used by settlers…read moreand the Shawnee. It is now a picturesque thoroughbred farm housing many fine stallions. The roster is topped by Tapit who stands for $225,000, one of the highest stud fees in the country. Empire Maker, the grand sire of Triple Crown winner American Pharoah, is another of their top stallions with an influential bloodline. The stallions live in small barns designed to look very French village-like, with just four stalls in each. Gainesway is writing its own history in the thoroughbred industry.

Went out here today to check out the place for an event. They have a beautiful bed-and-breakfast as…read morewell as an event venue. This would be a great place for a wedding or family reunion. The lakes are beautiful and all of the horses in the pastures are the reason kentucky is so beautiful

We booked this for three nights, as we were going to see the Ark and Creation Museum. No doubt that…read morethe property is pretty but I was greeted ar the door by a lady in shorts and tee shirt and no shoes. Two dogs and a cat running around, very messy place! The "so called dining room" was three round little tables that seat two. There was a piano in the room and a huge doll house as a room divider. We were taken outside to the back of the house to look at the property and it was very cluttered and messy. Then we were shown our room which was okay but nothing as nice as the picture shows! I felt very uncomfortable and couldn't see us staying there at all. So my husband talked to the barefoot lady and she said we could pay her half of one night stay. We ended up paying for one night and got the heck out of there! I guess if you are a horse person it would be okay, or if you don't mind clutter, but it was not our cup of tea! Judy

I can't say enough good things about the second annual Horses & Hospitality event, sponsored by…read moreHorse Country. Last year all the participants gathered at Keeneland for fantastic food, networking, and learning opportunities, before venturing out to a variety of thoroughbred farms. Audra and I experienced the wonder that is Taylor Made, and although it wasn't my first farm tour, it was one I'll never forget. This year, COVID did away with the large group gathering, but the farm tours were able to take place as scheduled. The majority of farms are stud-centric, but - ironically - at Denali Stud you won't find any stallions or breeding sheds. More on that to come. Founded in 1990 by former New Jersey jockey Craig Bandoroff and his wife, Holly, Denali Stud is a 300-acre mare and foal property - i.e. a nursery - situated in picturesque Paris, KY. So what's with the name? I wondered the same. 'Denali' is a mountain range and Eskimo word meaning 'to aspire to greater heights,' and the word 'stud' is synonymous with 'farm' in Europe. Voila! The four barns, office, and other buildings on the property run almost completely on solar energy. Although the farm has produced many successful athletes, some of their most beloved clients date back to the humble beginnings of the farm. Craig, a passionate outdoorsman, has taken great care to curate a variety of trees around the property, carefully labeling many with their type and year planted. As he and his wife prepare for retirement in Lexington, their son and his wife have begun building their own residence on property. Our tour started at a large, centrally-located field full of mamas-to-be. And let me tell you, swollen bellies won't stop those ladies from stampeding toward you in pursuit of a peppermint and a good cheek scratching! From there we got to visit with mares and foals in an adjacent field, before venturing on to the foal bar - where the magic happens. Each stall was occupied by either a mare very close to (or past!) her due date, or a mother and new foal, and I mean NEW - a couple of the foals were only two days old! Pay close attention when you're walking through the barn, as you may recognize some high profile sires; I counted at least three babies by Tapit and one by Real Quiet. Another nearby barn houses some older foals with their mamas, and pregnant mares with less imminent due dates. While Denali Stud is the most recognizable farm in the family's portfolio, there are two others, both of which take their names from mountain ranges: K2, which is dedicated to maiden and barren mares, and Lotse, a 5-barn yearling division. Our guide was primarily Alexis - with additional input from Aly - and her knowledge of the industry, farm, animals, and many other business facets was really impressive. Passion and enthusiasm likes hers is what gets people excited about tourism, and I'm so glad Denali Stud participated in the event this year!

Horse Country provides access to thoroughbred farms and other related businesses to locals and…read moretourists alike who would not otherwise have the ability to experience them. This tour company has a variety of experiences to choose from at various prices and durations which can be booked online. Appointments are scheduled for you, but you must provide your own transportation. You will join other visitors while an individual from the farm walks you through the property, giving its history and showing some of the stallions that stand for breeding.

We strolled through here after dinner on the last night of our vacation in the area. It was nice…read moreand very easy to park to walk around. It was just a perfect after dinner walk.

Thoroughbred Park isn't particularly large, but it DOES have quite a number of lovely statues!…read more On the minus side, it's obviously in need of a fair amount of maintenance, and it isn't in the finest part of town... If fact, on our last visit we happened to go around the back of the fountain, and there were lots of homeless people milling about; we felt very uneasy and left the park straight away.

Megson Farms is 65 acres of beautiful rolling hills, and home to a herd of about thirty rare white…read moreand multi-colored thoroughbreds. Seeing them gallop over the hills is a beautiful thing. Mother daughter duo Berva and Valerie are the caretakers of the farm and its four legged residents. They are amiable and welcoming to guests. Events can be scheduled on the farm, a lovely backdrop to any special occasion. 121

We booked a tour and Pegasus picnic. The tour was interesting, and informative and the horses and…read moreproperty were beautiful. We were able to feed carrots to the horses! Our picnic dinner was fun, well presented and very tasty. We really enjoyed the whole evening and the time put into making this a fun visit for our family.

Beautifully maintained horse farm!read more

I've been involved with horses for every decade of my life, and I keep coming back to 3 day. It's a…read moreclosely-knit yet welcoming community of folks of all ages who really love their horses. Head trainer and owner, Tanya, is big on building strong foundations and has an excellent reputation for starting young horses or retraining difficult ones. She's also the head coach for Transylvania University's head eventing team, which is based at the farm. There's an indoor plus outdoor arena, a cross country field, and plenty of room in surrounding farmland to hack out or do interval training. Tanya especially, along with the farm and stable managers are big on barn and horse safety - this is the kind of place where you will find no sharp corners or edges, breakaway hooks on every cross tie and rope, everything up to code, well-maintained paddocks and fencing, no dogs allowed, etc. If someone is doing something that's not leading to the optimum safety and protection of their and others horses, they'll be told so. The stalls, wash rack, tack room, and aisle are kept very clean. Quality is valued in every lesson beginner to advanced, and in horse care. Stall-care horses are fed twice per day, with pasture-care horses brought in by staff for daily feedings for a reasonable added fee as needed. 12 stall barn, 5 big pastures, and smaller paddocks for overflow/quarantine horses. They throw good hay in the winter and provide up to 2 scoops per day of high quality Hallway feeds grain for pasture horses, included in the price of board. The unofficial barn farrier & barn vet are top-notch and preferred in their fields by sport horse owners. Plus, the barn cats are AWESOME. They have their own Instagram @catsofthreedayfarm .

I can't say enough great things about Tanya and the staff. A happy friendly atmosphere. Great…read moreriding amenities and a beautiful farm.