I am at the first competition, reining. Parking etc ran very smoothly. Tons of volunteers. Only minor levels of confusion. Tons of walking. 45 minutes from exit ramp to our seats.
Thanks to all volunteers and organizers
Event is very sparsely attended. 1 in 20 seats occupied. I’m sure it will fill in as the day goes on.
where did you park
and how early did you go??
I’ve got preferred parking, I think the dressage starts at 8, on monday, park opens at 7a, is that enough time? Did you just go in on the Ironworks Pike exit?
Are you there any next week for the eventing?
I’ll be there next week for all 4 days of eventing and would be interested to hear how the shuttles from the hotel are going, as that is our mode of transportation from the hotel to the grounds.
any last minute hotels? How is parking at KHP?
A friend and I stumbled across last-minute tickets for all four days of eventing. We’re scrambling to figure out somewhere to sleep, find get an affordable hotel (laugh), or we may just bring sleeping bags and pitch a tent on a grassy patch, or sleep in the car. Welcome any suggestions, or anyone with a grassy patch! The friend is actually a senior citizen, so trying to avoid camping/sleeping in car.
How is parking? How early can one arrive into the venue to park? What is security like? Do they frisk you down for that hidden water bottle and granola bar? Would welcome comments from anyone who is down there. Been going to Rolex for the past three years, but I suspect this is going to be different.
We got there today about noon-ish, after Mudroom, and we ended up being parked in the campground, yay!
WEG Parking
Thanks, that’s encouraging, although I suspect the days of Eventing are going to be madhouses…
Via Twitter: LexTran lines are lonnnnnnng. Foot traffic headed toward parking lot had to be diverted due to a skunk. :lol: Hotel shuttles are running efficiently.
What do you wish you’d brought that you didn’t? What did you bring that you’re SOOO glad you did?
There are hotels for less than 100 bucks a night, which is not too far off normal. Go to something like orbitz or kayak.com.
lexTran
The LexTran buses from downtown are GREAT! One $1 and drops you off at main entrance!! Volunteers were amazing and everyone has been super nice! Only let down so far has been the food. Miss the variety of food venders from Rolex plus they ran out for awhile when we tried to get dinner.
I forgot to say security was no big deal. I brought in a plastic bottle of Lipton tea and a small bag of almonds. There was just a cursory look through my purse.
When we got there yesterday just before noon, attendance seemed very sparse. It was really surprising. We decided if not for the volunteers/staff, teams and security there would hardly be anyone there! It was such a gorgeous day too, we really thought it would be busier. Just as an example, we waited in line for nothing. Not for a sandwich at the reining, not for a bourbon ale in the vendor area, not for a flight of bourbon in the Kentucky Experience. I think that pretty much says it all. By 5 it had picked up as people started arriving for the Opening Ceremonies.
The constant (and I mean CONSTANT) stream of golf carts gets kind of old. You really notice a relief when you are somewhere they are not allowed.
The Kentucky Experience was very cool, one of our favorite stops. 
The trade fair/vendor set up is across the lake in the parking lots. We had to ask as wasn’t really obvious and having walked from the campground all the way to the new indoor and back, I wasn’t wasting any more steps looking!
The signage on the grandstand is truly amazing.
It definitely changes things having the barns so off limits, ways I know to get around are now changed, that usually ends up with more walking. But all in all it was a perfect day to be out there. :yes:
Security was pretty lax yesterday, although I did smuggle in granola bars in my bra, lol. We were also smuggled back to the barns with no issue, although admittedly, we were accompanied by the Gypsy horse rider in the purple sequined jacket, so it was pretty obvious we weren’t random people off the street.
The only real letdowns were the lack of food (there was plenty; it was just incredibly hard to find it) and the lack of signage to direct us places. Strangely, being a local was a disadvantage, since everything was so completely different than it usually is when I’m there. Parking lots were vendor areas, the foot traffic routes were all strange (to us) and it was difficult to orient ourselves to all the changes. Still, it was a lovely day and attendance picked up considerably as the day wore on.
Thanks for the on the ground info!
And please keep it coming, as I will be getting there next Sat. I’m grateful for the info!
I didnt take my company shuttle today since I wanted to get there earlier than it starts. We parked at Spy Coast around 6:30 this morning and never got charged for parking.
Anyone know what the deal is with charging/not charging for parking?
what is Spy Coast?
@Jersey Fresh: what is Spy Coast? We’re going next Thurs thru Sunday. Anyone know what is the earliest time you can arrive to park at the Kentucky Horse Park? What is the parking fee? Cash only? We managed to snag a great business suite at a hotel 6 miles away from KHP that had a last minute cancellation. Didn’t pay but a handful more than what we usually pay for Rolex. The hotel appears to have a shuttle, but we don’t want to be at the mercy of someone else’s driving, and we want to be able to store our lunches in our cooler in the car (kitchenette and full size fridge in the room, minimal meal expenses, plenty of room for “refreshing beverages,” yeah!).
All the feedback from folks already there is REALLY helpful, many thanks!
Went today and it was …AWESOME!!!
Reining was great! Very full attendance and everyone was screaming. Gave me goose bumps sometimes
The grounds look Beautiful! The organizers did a great job.
Someone mentioned food: the main food area is by the main stadium, very well organized. So much better than the random stands all in one area at Rolex in my opinion. They have different options and also grab and go options, then you walk through coolers to grab drinks, enter the line to pick up napkins and such, then to the cashiers. Other food is in the rings and not much around otherwise. I guess if you are super hungry it is a hassle but it was kind of nice to have them mostly in one area.
I will say though I REALLY liked how the grounds were organized. I go to Rolex every year and sometimes it seems that booths are in the most random places. This seemed to have more flow and options to it.
As for walking. We took Lextran, highly recommend. There were lines to get on the bus in the afternoon but they had 2 buses there, and the next one arrived 10 min later. Honestly I think they realized the demand and stepped it up. We got dropped off right by the front gate so that was great. There was a lot of walking but maybe because the grounds look great, and there is a lot of things to see it didn’t seem like I was trucking it everywhere and exhausted. I didn’t think the amount of walking was bad, but be practical and wear comfy shoes.
Most of all Everyone HAVE FUN!!!
[QUOTE=barnworkbeatshousework;5121046]
@Jersey Fresh: what is Spy Coast? We’re going next Thurs thru Sunday. Anyone know what is the earliest time you can arrive to park at the Kentucky Horse Park? What is the parking fee? Cash only? We managed to snag a great business suite at a hotel 6 miles away from KHP that had a last minute cancellation. Didn’t pay but a handful more than what we usually pay for Rolex. The hotel appears to have a shuttle, but we don’t want to be at the mercy of someone else’s driving, and we want to be able to store our lunches in our cooler in the car (kitchenette and full size fridge in the room, minimal meal expenses, plenty of room for “refreshing beverages,” yeah!).
All the feedback from folks already there is REALLY helpful, many thanks![/QUOTE]
Shuttle service is worth it. I would take it. You get dropped off at the front entrance. Shuttles were standing there ready to pick up riders when we were walking out. I would totally do that.
If you do parking, it is CASH only!
Thanks for the updates…FYI, to those of you who go to Rolex regularly and know the Berea Rd shortcut that feeds you to the Campground entrance, I called the Kentucky Horse Park and spoke w/ a really help customer support person. She said the Spy Coast parking is well marked, but don’t try to access the Horse Park entrance from Berea Rd. Berea Rd will be closed off during WEG. (She knows because she usually takes that road home from the Horse Park) Saved me LOTS of double back time with that little bit of information!
FYI for 3DE participants: Horse Park grounds will open 7 am on Thurs/Fri 09/30 and 10/01. $20 cash parking at Spy Coast Farm (the official parking spot for WEG), no re-entry if you park there. Saturday 10/02 (XC), the grounds will open 6 am. It is supposedly going to be a madhouse Saturday, arrive early. Sunday 10/03 the grounds open at 8am.
Can’t wait to head out next Wednesday! Husband and friends have offered to watch the little kids, I’m taking off my “Mom” hat and ready for WEG 3DE!
Someone on the “What to wear to WEG” thread posted that once you leave parking and enter the Kentucky Horse Park with your general admissions pass, there is no re-entry into the park if you go out to your car mid-day. No re-entry? Seriously? With Rolex your general admissions pass allows you to enter and go back to your car for lunch, then re-enter for the afternoon sessions. Will call the WEG office tomorrow to confirm, but can anyone who is there now confirm this bit of confusion: can you enter the events, then come and go back and forth to your car if you need to? I’m attending with a Senior Citizen and we may have to return to the car for meds, water, snack, etc. and then re-enter the grounds for afternoon and evening events.
[QUOTE=barnworkbeatshousework;5121645]
Someone on the “What to wear to WEG” thread posted that once you leave parking and enter the Kentucky Horse Park with your general admissions pass, there is no re-entry into the park if you go out to your car mid-day. No re-entry? Seriously? With Rolex your general admissions pass allows you to enter and go back to your car for lunch, then re-enter for the afternoon sessions. Will call the WEG office tomorrow to confirm, but can anyone who is there now confirm this bit of confusion: can you enter the events, then come and go back and forth to your car if you need to? I’m attending with a Senior Citizen and we may have to return to the car for meds, water, snack, etc. and then re-enter the grounds for afternoon and evening events.[/QUOTE]
I just finished working two days on the entrance gates. It is true that there is no re-entry as a general policy. However, if there is a medical reason they will let you go out and come back in. Make sure you ask the people at the entrance gate how to do this - they will “unscan” your ticket on your way out and then scan you back in. Alternately, do not have all of your event tickets scanned on your first entry. Use the ticket for the first event, attend the event, and leave if you want. On re-entry, use your second event ticket and so on. Each event ticket allows you a separate entry.\
Hope that makes sense.
Also wanted to add that we are having a blast. The horse park looks wonderful, just about everyone coming in the gate was in a good mood and I don’t think I’ve ever talked to so many horse lovers! So glad I decided to volunteer and to attend!
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