Hello,
In the interest of full disclosure, I’m not knowledgable at all about horse event so thats why I need help. My 13 year old daughter loves riding and horses and has been riding 5 years. We would like to take her to the Rolex as a birthday present (her bd is that weekend). I viewed the event website and I’m so confused! Do we need to buy Patron tickets to have a chance of really seeing the event live or are we watching it on a big TV inside a tent? Should we buy the Kentucky package for Saturday? If we don’t buy these packages, should we choses covered or uncovered seating? I would hate to travel to the event and then find out that the seating in the stadium doesn’t really allow good views due to people standing etc? Any advice would be so helpful. I realize some of the better seats are sold out. I’m willing to spring for the $1k for patron seats (yikes) if its really worth it? Thank you in advance for any help!
What a great birthday present! You don’t generally have to buy Patron or Kentucky ticket packages to see the event, but if the bleacher seats sell out for show jumping on Sunday (and they go fast), Patron honestly is likely to be your best bet (possibly your only bet) to see the Sunday show jumping. It looks like arena seating is already sold out. Two other reasons to buy Patron or Kentucky ticket packages are 1) if you want to make sure you’ve got a place to sit or stand in the rain in case of bad weather and 2) if you just want a bit more of a special feel to the trip for your daughter. The Patron and Kentucky packages come with some perks (you can see them on the RK3DE.org website) and some added convenience, but they are pricier. If you’re looking for a less spendy ticket and don’t mind getting caught in the rain and parking farther out, then I’d suggest grabbing bleacher seats as quickly as possible for Sunday’s showjumping and getting the multi-day admission package; if you’re planning to attend Thurs or Fri dressage, it looks like stadium seats are still available. If you miss the Sunday bleacher seating, I’d probably bite the bullet and get Patron just so your daughter can get a good ringside view–if you haven’t got seats of some kind on Sunday, it’s pretty much impossible to see anything in person (you can watch it from the big screens in the trade fair without buying a seat, but that’s obviously not the same experience). Those are my two cents, and I’m interested to hear what others’ experiences are!
Thank you so much Moodles…ok the confusion continues. There are uncovered platinum plus seats available on Sunday for $75 each, I presume these are in the arena? There are also Sunday west bleacher seats available for $35. Should I grab the uncovered platinum plus? Not sure what the platinum plus means - ?
Also still confused about Saturday. I don’t see any seating except the Kentucky Club tickets. Does that mean its all sold out or does it mean the cross country is not performed in the arena?
Thank you!
I’m cheap. The West Bleachers are fine, and since both are uncovered, IMO you won’t get much for the extra $40.
Cross country is not in the arena; it’s all over the facility. If you want to sit in a tent and watch a video screen, go for the Kentucky Club. Otherwise, like the vast majority of people, you’ll wander around the course looking at various jumps. They do have bleacher seating at some of the jump complexes, like Head of the Lake, but I haven’t heard that they were charging extra for those bleachers. If you are going to watch some of the dressage, I’d personally recommend either Section 103 or 104 for uncovered, or 203 and 204 for covered. If you go up in the covered section, beware that there are large pillars that can obstruct your vision.
I’d think she’d rather watch in the flesh than by video monitor. I know I do. Just be prepared for miles of walking, especially on XC day.
Saturday XC is general admission, so all you need is the ticket to get you into the horse park.
For stadium, I’m not sure what platinum plus is, but if it’s an assigned seat, it’s for stadium. They have some temporary bleacher seat across from the main stadium, so those might work just as well for you if you don’t need to visit the bathroom much. The jumping course is set up at a 45 degree angle, so you can see the course well from any angle. I’m not sure if they are true bleacher or seat with back rests. If I could not get covered seats, I would personally save the $$ and get the bleacher seats. Isn’t there a floor plan that shows where the pp seat are?
On Saturday you just need a grounds admission ticket, you will get to see lots of live action walking around the course - bring a folding chair with you, or sit on the ground if you need a break. Cross country is not performed in the stadium.
On Sunday, you will see live action if you have a stadium or bleacher seat. You will also need a grounds ticket. The grounds ticket gets you into the horse park, then the seat gives you admission to the stadium (or bleacher) to see the live action. As long as you are willing to weather the weather, the outside bleacher seats should be just fine. (This is also the same for Thu/Fri.)
No need to spend a bunch of money on fancy packages if those tickets are still available, unless you are looking to make a special occasion.
This is all so helpful!
The ticketing is offering 110 for uncovered seats for Friday and 105c for stadium seating on Sunday as best avail seats. Seems like uncovered is closer to the action?
There is a small map of the venue but its very difficult to ascertain where you are compared to event. Its really not a good depiction to be able to choose seats. I’ve searched the web for a better image of what the whole event looks like and can’t find much thats helpful.
Well if anyone has comments about covered vs uncovered I’d appreciate it. Thanks for clarifying everything.
Section 105 would be a very good seat in the stadium, center of the arena close to the action. The 200 sections are covered and a little higher up. Covered vs. uncovered is a crapshoot because you can’t predict the weather. On a beautiful day, sitting close to the ring in the uncovered seats would be fantastic. On a rainy day, you would rather be in the covered seats. My group opts for the covered seats in one of the 200-level sections because you still have a good view and it doesn’t matter what the weather is. We don’t bother with the Patrons tickets or the hospitality because the only day it would be useful in our view is Sunday, and that’s a short day (stadium jumping lasts around 2 hours). Saturday you will wander all over the cross-country course, and we only go to one dressage day and we spend a lot of that day shopping at the vendors!
If you need a hotel reservation and have not already booked it, that’s the other thing that you need to do ASAP. THe Marriott Griffin Gate and the Embassy Suites are very close, but also the most expensive as a result. But at this point it will be a question of what’s available - lots of people book rooms way in advance!
Enjoy, it is tons of fun!!
Ok so thankful for all these quick replies, I get it now. Is Sunday worth buying a ticket for? We need to fly back that day, don’t know how much of a loss it would be if we attend Friday and Saturday? Thank you again for all the info!
Yes, going Sunday is definitely worth buying a ticket for. Depending on what happens on XC, you could have a nail biting finale. This is Olympic year, so your daughter will get to see most, if not all, of the Olympians in North America at Rolex. And she’ll only be able to see them “all together” on Sunday. If you have to leave Sunday, SJ will be over before 3, because that’s when the awards ceremony is scheduled to start.
You’ll also need to plan for horrible traffic getting into and out of the HP.
Sunday is the grand finale, so would definitely be a bit of a bummer to skip it. Try to go if you can get a later flight!
Get Sunday tickets, for sure! And responding to an earlier thought about the bleacher seats, they don’t have backs (unless they’ve changed from last year). But you do get a good view of the show jumping course from there. Stadium seats do have backs. For cross-country on Saturday, prepare to walk–the best fun of the whole event is getting to stand up near the big fences as the horses go soaring over, and your daughter will love that. 
One thought is that Cincinnati is a bigger airport with more flights than Lexington Bluegrass. You could fly into and out of Cincy and rent a car. Cincinnati only about 60 or 70 miles from Lexington.
Louisville is about the same distance as Cincy and is a SWA hub. That or Cincy offer more options. Rent cars are are lower and there are more of them as well. Lex is a small airport with limited mainline service, mostly via Atlanta, and lots of 50 seater RJ connection carrier flights.
Book one of the other cities and enjoy a lovely hours drive to the KHP.
BTW,OP? You asked earlier if the XC was in the arena? No, it’s over a very long outside course, difficult to see anything but what’s right in front of you. You can move around but popular vantage points can be crowded. No need to buy anything except General Admission on that day unless you go for the VIP package, eating and drinking in a tent in front of a big screen. Probably the best way to see most of the trips. Especially if it rains.
Typically it will rain at least one day so covered seating for Dressage and Stadium Jumping isn’t a bad idea.
Unless things have changed dramatically the bleacher seats have no seat backs. Dressage day if you can sit through all the rides, you’ll be amazing. I spent more time at the warm up arenas before the riders went in. It’s sometimes very educational.
CC day is a lot of walking from the time you park your car. As said it can be fun to watch from the vantage point of different jumps.
Stadium usually starts later in the day, and can definitely alter placings.
Locating the pp is very important to some people.
Even if you can can only find a motel at a distance, there are a bunch down by Winchester Rd, at the hour you’ll e heading out to KHP traffic will be minimal, but do get there early as there is a slow progression from highway to parking place.
we are flying SWA and are flying into Dayton, OH because the flights were MUCH cheaper, for whatever reason. I have to go through BWI either way from where I am. I don’t remember Louisville being a SWA hub - I have flown more than a million air miles on Southwest and I have never been to the Louisville airport, but almost every flight I take goes through BWI.
When I’ve gone to Rolex I’ve always bought the three-day general admission (Fri-Sat-Sun) and reserved covered seats for stadium on Sunday (uncovered or bleacher seats should have a fine view too, you just have the risk of rain. Bring rain coats or ponchos. You will want them anyway in case it rains on Saturday.) That’s it for tickets. If you plan to go Thurs you would need a general admission ticket for that day too, and if you want to watch the actual dressage competition live on Thurs or Fri you would need reserved seats for that.
Everyone has their own system based on what they want to see personally. I go Friday, watch some of the dressage warmup rings, visit the trade fair, and walk the XC course. There are organized walks with riders that you can sign up for, or you can do it on your own. This way you can figure out where the jumps are located, which ones you most want to watch, where good vantage points might be, etc.
Saturday on XC day my personal way of doing it is to start near the end of the course and walk backwards toward the beginning. This way if you watch 1 or 2 horses per jump and a few more at all the major complexes, you can see all the jumps and theoretically all of the horses (unless they retire or are eliminated before they reach your current point). I also try to time it so I’m near the entrance at lunch break and can go out to my car and get food from a cooler rather than wait in lines. Then come back in and start at Head of the Lake for the second half.
Some people start at the beginning and walk toward the end. Some skip around to a few key jumps. Some find one vantage point where they can see several jumps and stay put all day. Or some get there early to snag a prime seat at Head of the Lake or another favorite jump and stay there.
Staying for stadium is definitely worth it. This is the big finale, decides the winner, and can really get exciting if it is close. It should be done early enough to catch a flight home afterward. (I always drive home which takes 8-9 hours after, so I can’t imagine any flight within the US that would take longer than that. Unless you live in Alaska or Hawaii.)
Bring rain gear, comfortable shoes, sunscreen, portable chairs for XC if you want them (I just sit on the ground if I want to sit), some water and snacks and a backpack to tote it around.
Lodging-wise I’ve stayed in Lexington and in Georgetown and found Georgetown to be easier.
I am truly impressed by this group and your helpfulness and kindness in answering all my questions. In a matter of two days I feel like I know what I need to do at the event, what kind of tickets etc. Thank you so much to all who replied.
Ok my last (hopefully) questions:
1)We are planning on flying into Louisville on Thursday night and flying out Sunday night at 6p from Louisville. Thats the latest flight I can get that doesn’t cost a small fortune. When (if at all) would there be a good time to visit the horse museum? Or is this not doable this trip?
2) I like the idea of doing the cross country course backwards! What if we just did this till lunch time and then went to the museum? Or would we be missing too much?
3) How long does it take to walk from parking into the event. The preferred parking is sold out so we’ll go with whatever we can get. Is parking guaranteed or could it happen that all the spots in even the “unpreferred” parking are sold out?
Thank you so much!
Hate to rain on the fun parade, but the child is 13. She’s not going to sit through a day of dressage happily, nor are the non-horsey parents. Ask me how I know! How about a general admission ticket to XC day - all-day fun for everyone at bargain prices and NO stadium ticket for Sunday (horrors!) and take advantage of the Jumbotron in the vendor village for an hour or two ? IME, that’s plenty for non-horsey/young spectators.
OP, no matter what option you choose, be sure to ask LOTS of questions of fellow spectators to learn about the sport. Eventers are friendly folk and will quickly bring you up to speed on what your seeing.
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I would recommend doing the museum Friday. Unless you’re really into dressage, it’s honestly not that exciting to watch every single ride. We usually pick our favorites and maybe plan to watch them. The way it’s usually done is small segments of 4-5 riders with small breaks between each segment and a longer lunch break in the middle. If there was only one rider we wanted to watch in a segment, sometimes we just skipped it and stayed near the trade fair. I’d recommend using Friday as your dressage/trade fair/museum day. We saw the museums the first year we went and other than the Hall of Champions (we go to that every year) we haven’t done any of the actually KHP stuff since the first year.
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if you want to see all or at least the majority of the different jumps you’re probably going to need the whole day just for that. There might be time after xc is over to go to the museums before they close.
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I’ve been going since 2007 (minus last year) and it honestly varies day to day. I’m not fond of the company they use for parking. We’ve gone early some days and they start parking back to front, and the next day park front to back. There seems to be absolutely no organization for the parking team (don’t count on parking close if you’re the first ones there and they decide to start in the very back, and don’t count on them repeating that the following day or you’ll get stuck in the back again). You could be spending anywhere from 10-30 minutes walking from the entrance to the KHP to your car. One thing we’ve learned to do is IF we go back to the car at any point during the day we always scout out a closer spot that someone has vacated to move our car to so we have a shorter walk at the end of the day! You will probably be doing a lot of walking!
Have fun!
