Haven’t attended before --any brief strategies you can share? We’ll be driving in Friday, attending Sat and Sun, drive home monday.
*If we get the reserved grandstand seating, where’s the best place to be? Is this seating worth it (we’re young and ok with lots of standing)
*Hubby will be with me, so he’d have more fun if we can position ourselves near one of the xc obstacles rather than just watch them gallop by. How early sh we be on course to achieve that?
*Any hotels to avoid like the plague?
*Best BBQ joint
*Traffic times to avoid
*anything else?
TIA
Let’s see… Comfortable shoes and rain gear… :lol:
Can’t help with the seating as I’ve never had seats. The cross-country is easy, you can walk to any and all jumps and really the only one that you won’t get near without getting there super early is the water jump. No help with the hotel since I either lived there or stayed with friends. Don’t eat BBQ, sorry. Traffic? Yeah, avoid the horse park during Rolex if you want to avoid traffic… :eek:
Have fun! Rolex really is a blast - rain or shine!
PS - Bring lots of money and an extra empty suitcase for shopping!
Yeah - Hotel info would be great! I’m feeling overwhelmed! 
suggestions
for dressage try to get grandstand seating looking across the ring instead of up/down it.
for stadium pretty much all the seats are good since the seating re-do last year
for cross country go on a course walk friday night and pick a jump based on which ones your course walk leader says will be “interesting”- usually those are great. for husbands- pick a spot where he can see more than one fence and sort of walk in between them. we always go to the one that jim wofford says will be tricky- you get to see some really amazing riding
avoid the red roof inn- yuck
i am from GA so i think kentucky bbq is yucky- sorry no suggestions to give there- but theres a great sushi place!!
other suggestions:
-bring sunscreen and apply it often
- bring something to sit on
-wear comfy shoes
-dont forget to see the trade fair and get husband to buy you goodies - bring snacks and h2o
- dont break your ankle trying to see buck davidson on cross country like i did last year- that can be a real bummer although the UK medical team is stellar and will give you pain meds and then deliver you by golf cart to your friends on the xc course if you do.
- have fun and make your own traditions for every year- we do a champagne and cake pic nic after cross country and margarita night after dressage!
i think we should have a COTH BB member meet and greet somewhere!
Try to see the inspection Sunday morning. You have to get there early to get a good spot, but it’s worth it.
Hotel: We always stayed at the Hampton Inn in Georgetown. Clean, nice people, free breakfast. It’s one exit north of the Horse Park on Rt. 75. The hotel itself is situated very close to the on/off ramps for 75. There are a few eating places around there; you could walk to an italian place from the hotel.
We made it a priority to get to the horse park by 7am on cross country day. Cuts down on the traffic and you’ll get a closer parking spot (if there is such a thing).
Reserved grandstand seating is definately worth it. You’ll want someplace to sit down for a while after cross country day
Have fun!
I have camped in the campground every year I’ve gone and even in bad weather and a tent it’s not too bad. They have a nice showerhouse at the campground so you can feel pretty normal each day. The nice thing about camping is that you walk right out onto the xc course. You do need to get your tickets ahead of time for this-they check them as you go from the campground into the park. They also have shuttles running from the campground. Call soon if you need a spot that’s not primitive.
When I stay in Lexington for horse shows we stay at the Days Inn in Georgetown. Cheap with a free minimal breakfast.
I agree with the other posters about seats. Any of them are good for showjumping. On XC day my husband and I have fun booking around the course to try to see (and photograph) one rider at each jump. Then I have a photo course walk at the end to look at! Dorky I know! The big infield is also a good place to stand (where the sunken road is). There are a few jumps in the field along with the sunken road, plus a large Jumbotron to see the rest. Not as crowded as the water jumps.
I usually eat Olive Garden one night and we have a campfire on the other nights, so I don’t know about BBQ- sorry.
Comfy walking shoes and lots of money! You will have a blast!
Helen
Good tips! You guys are great. Despite what the H/J folks say. <grin>
I stayed at the Quality Inn (I think that was it) right next to the Waffle House in Georgetown–it was very nice, clean, and closeby. And I loved going to Waffle House for breakfast! (We don’t have them where I am.) Get the covered seating in the stadium because the sun is hot. I was in the covered seating, but mid way up, so my legs got burned. XC you will get bored if you stay at one fence, so plan to walk around. I always like to watch people come in at the finish line. Definitely bring water, snacks and a hat (or get a Rolex hat).
Park your husband at the Kentucky Ale tent so you can shop. I did after XC on Saturday, and my husband enjoyed sitting near the German riders.
I went the last 2 years and had a great time. I’m not going this year just because I don’t know if it can top last year’s event! so many top riders, you can’t get much better than that. I suspect that this year most of the international riders will only come out for WEG, not both.
When observing XC, when the whistle blows ensure you are NOT the one in the way of the galloping horse.
You really need seats these days for dressage & stadium. There is no other way to see it. As for hotels, Georgetown is probably a wee bit closer than Lexington, so look there (here). I can recommend good BBQ!!! Try Billy’s: http://www.billysbarbq.com/
BRING COMFY SHOES, ENERGY, AND A CAMERA ON X-COUNTRY DAY! have fun rolex is a blast!
The campground is so convenient. Coming in by flight, I am still wondering instead of hotel - if someway to rent a camper and stay there instead - maybe split with others? That’s the way to go I think. We have to rent a car when we go. No fun with all the money involved in that.
SUNBLOCK…like every hour for cross country. Lot of water too, though you can refill at the water fountains near the stadium.
We packed our lunches and brought chairs last year and were able to see nearly every jump on x-country during the day. During the lunch break, we headed to the water jump with the ducks and were able to get a front row seat because everyone else was at lunch. We had a picnic under the trees and it was very nice.
I imagine you could do the the same at the head of the lake, though we had no problems seeing the last few riders there at the end of the day.
Save your money for the trade fair- there can be some incredible deals.
If you haven’t heard, the Rolex will be part of a WEG test week. Tues. thru Thurs. will be the dressage test event, the Rolex will be the eventing test event and will be at the regular time, and the jumping test event will be Fri, Sat, and Sun evenings. Bottom line, hotel space may be hard to come by.
With that in mind, here are two websiteswhich should be helpful:
For hotels outside Lexington: http://www.rk3de.org/visitor_guide.html
For Lexington: www.visitlex.com.
One hint: there is a new hotel at the Newtown Pike Exit, #115: the Fairfield Inn. I mention it because there are probably many people who don’t know about it.
For restaurant info, let us know what you’re looking for and I’m sure someone will help you.
MONEY for the tradefair!! Raingear for sure. Comfy shoes. There is a nice holiday inn a few exits from the horsepark that is nice…we always stay there but it is about 15 min from the park…but a nice place to sit in the sauna after all the walking you will do (good place to dry out too ;))!! Have fun 
[QUOTE=lesson junkie;4586701]
Try to see the inspection Sunday morning. You have to get there early to get a good spot, but it’s worth it.[/QUOTE]
Haha, yes! Definitely get there early. I lucked out last year. We arrived maybe 20 minutes before jogs only to find a sea of people in front of us. I did some scoping and found another little roped off area almost head on with the path. Sweet. So since the other areas were roped off, too, I thought it would be okay. I started looking around a few minutes in and noticed that I was in the company of grooms, riders, parents, and other big time supporters. Whoops… :rolleyes: We did get pretty close though!
We always got seating for D & SJ days. Especially, for whatever reason, SJ always seems to be the hottest of days. Last year, we got seating in the covered for the first time. Big difference.
For crosscountry, make sure to pack/wear:
- Water/Drinks
- Little snacks (unless you plan on taking a break)
- Rain Gear
- Sunscreen/Sunglasses
- Comfy, waterproof shoes (nothing sucks more than to walk XC with squishy feet)
- Camera
- Blanket/chair for the in field (or just grab some grass)
Fences are actually really accessible. I usually start off at a less popular fence (maybe the Hammock if they have it this year) where I can still see a lot of the course, and then I’ll start moving around. I do like to see the entire course so, I’ll stop at a jump for a rider or two and move on. I can usually get around the course in plenty of time and have a couple of rides to park myself at a good complex at the end of the day. However, the only fence I’d really recommend getting to early if you want to be one of the first to see it is the Head of the Lake. Middle to late day won’t be as bad for it.
I’m another person we can’t make a good BBQ recommendation, but if you need others, I highly recommend Joe Bologna’s and the Atomic Cafe. Mmm.
Whew, this is long. Anyways, have a blast!
We plan to be there with DD and her horse in tow. Things are looking very good right now for the 4th run at Rolex for the little guy. We stay in the campground with the LQ trailer.
We bring all our rain gear and all our sun gear and hope we have the right clothes for people and horse.
I always make time for the trade fair. I Bee Back Fudge is a family favorite, that and the Bourbon fudge. I always spend a lot at Bit Of Britain too.
I don’t walk the xc until after because my heart won’t let me. Our friends like to watch in the area of the big screen TVs. There are usually a few “live” jumps to see and the rest you get to watch on the screen.
DH walks the course several times and does the measuring, then he runs the course as far as he can while DD is riding. I watch in the stabling office on a normal size TV because the jumps look really small on that size screen!
We meet up at the finish to take care of the horse and rider.
it is the most most most stressful, exciting, rewarding, time of the year.
I went for the first time last year and had an awesome time! I’ll link to my photo albums from last year so you can see what we were able to see and do.
Don’t forget to wear sunblock. I got a little red on my arms the first day, but my friend was wearing a skimpy tank top and got totally fried :eek: We brought a cooler with lunch stuff, snacks, and drinks and went back to the parking lot to picnic at lunch time. (We also got lucky and had great parking spots on the first 2 days.)
We drove down from PA overnight and arrived early Friday morning. If you are interested in really seeing dressage then get tickets for seating, it is hard to see anything from outside the stadium. We hung out by the warmup rings instead and got to see everyone up close. Dressage warmup pics: http://www.flickr.com/photos/furlong47/sets/72157617323708427/
On Friday we also spent the most time shopping and exploring the trade fair, then walked the XC. There are big groups that go out with various riders and trainers, but we chose to go by ourselves. Course walk: http://www.flickr.com/photos/furlong47/sets/72157617417555322/
After that we checked in at our hotel. Saturday, XC day, take a small bag with you and bring sunscreen, snacks, drinks, etc. Remember sunglasses and possibly a hat. We started at one of the jumps near the end of the course. We watched one or two riders at each jump and then headed to the next jump moving backward along the course. This way we got to see every rider and almost every jump. There was not a problem getting a good vantage point anywhere. People tend to spread out over the course, with big crowds only around the Head of the Lake and a few of the more complicated areas. XC pics: http://www.flickr.com/photos/furlong47/sets/72157617360158463/
Stadium - our seats were in the covered grandstand. It was worth it to be out of the sun (or rain if that were to happen) and had a great view of the arena. One jump was slightly hidden by a small pillar but I only needed to lean a little to one side or the other to see it. Stadium pics: http://www.flickr.com/photos/furlong47/sets/72157617365527905/
When you have a little extra time make sure to check out the rest of the Horse Park: http://www.flickr.com/photos/furlong47/sets/72157617453136192/ We also enjoyed just driving around the area and admiring all the gorgeous farms and horses.
Oh, we also paid for the program/book which was well worth it, there’s a lot of good information in it and I think it was like $5. By the end of the weekend our copy was pretty dog-eared from all the thumbing through :lol: And they have sheets available each day that show order of go/times so you can make sure to catch the riders/horses you want to see most.
You will want the covered seats in the grand stand, especially if it is a hot, sunny Rolex and you get fried walking XC on Saturday! (Ask me how I know this.) Be ready for any type of weather, although in my experience it has been really hot and sunny, or non-stop rain and cold. Either way it is still a really good time.
Have a shopping list or you WILL get overwhelmed by the amount of stuff for sale. It is amazing! The first year I went, I brought home lots of crap I did not need because I went into a buying frenzy when I saw all the great stuff that was available.
I hope that you have a great time!
