As if running his own farm wasn’t enough.  Additionally he is involved in another business that something near & dear to every horse lover’s heart - a tack shop.  He runs the Quillin Leather and Tack store that is located at 1929 S. Main Street in Paris Kentucky.  There you can find a wealth of products from farm necessities to things like horse blankets, grooming supplies - and of course: TACK!

Congratulations to Ralph Quillin for his efforts in promoting farm advancements in the Bluegrass state!

The license plates cost $44.  [It requires a $28 deposit to be sent in along with the application to the World Games 2010 Foundation.]  Once the 900 applications for the license plates has been received, the deposits will be cashed, and the Department of Motor Vehicles will begin production of the plates.

Once the license plates have completed production, persons will be able to visit their local county clerk to pick up their World Equestrian Games license plates and pay the remaining $16 balance owed.  Annual renewal costs is expected to be approximately $30.

This year marked the 2nd annual tour for this event.

The Fayette Alliance promotes a comprehensive smart growth real estate development plan that would enhance existing infrastructures like sewers, and drainage, while preserving the historic Lexington KY horse farms and agriculture properties in the area. Its members are composed from all walks of life including real estate developers, neighborhood associations as well as farmers.

The tour began Saturday at 9:00 am - 10:30 am with various buses leaving during those windows of opportunity, and lasted approximately 3 hours. Pick up was at the Cox Street parking lot which is located behind Rupp Arena. The cost was $15 per person. If you would like more information on the Lexington Kentucky horse farms tour, and to purchase tickets, please call (859) 281-1202.

The tours this year were broke down into 3 choices: Western Fayette County, Northern Fayette County, or Eastern Fayette County. On each tour, visitors went to 2 horse farms, as well as 1 general agriculture farm.

If you are able to make plans to attend next time, please try to do so. Getting up close to some of the Lexington Kentucky heritage that we are known for - is something for everyone to experience at least once.

All is not lost however.  A local Shelby County Kentucky resident named Mike McIntosh has plans that call for building a possible alternate space located off of Dover Road that may potentially be able to be utilized for Kentucky Cutting Horse Association events.  He’s already proceeded to acquire a conditional use permit for the construction of the proposed facility.  The real estate is currently zoned for agriculture.  The Board of Adjustments & Appeals has granted its approval for the plans to move forward.  Some of the proposed improvements include an arena - which the KHCA would be able to utilize for its events.

The permit is expected to be approved at the final hearing to be held late this month.

If the proposed construction of the facility is approved, they may be able to get the facility together and ready for one of the big KHCA regional horse shows in August.  Hopefully, things will go well.  Good luck!

The 6 4-H Horse Clubs in Kentucky that received the grants are as follows:

Bullitt County, Calloway County, Fayette County, Oldham County, Washington County, and Scott County.

The kits help the team members prepare for the upcoming competitions that test their knowledge of all things equine including horse physiology, health care, maintenance, etc for our equine friends.

A historical note: Fasig-Tipton was founded in 1898 and conducts numerous auctions across the country including Lexington Kentucky, Saratoga Springs New York, Timonium Maryland, Miama Florida, and Grand Prairie Texas. Fasig Tipton has been led by the Hettinger family since 1991. It has been stated by the Hettinger family that the Fasig-Tipton name must adhere to the reputation, integrity, and service that has been created and is attached to the name for any sale of the company to be acceptable.

Synergy officials have stated that they do not intend to make any changes at present, and that they will be retaining all personnel and staff within the organization.

In my opinion, this purchase makes a lot of sense for the Dubai company. At just the November 2007 Fasig-Tipton sale, Sheikh Mohammed purchased Round Pond for $5.75 million, and Octave for $4 million. So, almost $10 million just on 2 horses at 1 sale that was being put on by Fasig-Tipton. By the time you figure in the fees that the Sheikh paid - it makes a lot of sense to just purchase the company outright.

One criticism, albeit minor, is the potential for a conflict of interest between the interests of Synergy, and a rival horse bidder against Sheikh Mohammed, is the Coolmore group. Quite often, the Sheikh and Coolmore end up bidding for the same horses and it can become quite competitive. But officials within the Fasig-Tipton organization are quite confident that there isn’t a conflict as if its a good horse that comes up for bid, people will want to bid on it regardless of who is hosting the auction in the first place.

It will certainly be interesting for the Lexington horse auctions coming up to see how all this plays out. Hopefully, the tradition and heritage that Fasig Tipton lends will continue to endure under its new owners.

The former director for the Hungarian State Stud at Babolna, Tamas Rombauer is going to be the chief speaker at the event.  His goal is to bring the need for helping this rare breed to the public light.

Horse breeders across the country and even the world are coming to the event.  200-300 persons are expected to be in attendance.

One of the main topics of concern is the possible closing of the Babolna horse breeding facility by the government of Hungary.  This facility was started by Empress Maria Theresa in the 1700s.

Buck Creek Stables is located in Finchville Kentucky, and its owner, Darlene Steven is playing host to the event.  There are currently 7 Shagya Arabians at the facility, and 5 foals are expected this spring.  Darlene has had Shagya Arabian horses for 25 years.

A tremendous variety of events are being hosted during this clinic.  The public is invited to attend.  Children are free, and adults are asked for a donation toward helping the plight of this rare horse.

For more information, call (502) 834-0139 or (502) 419-7638.

To give some background, Ronald Sladon was an attorney, a manufacturer, as well as a thoroughbred horse enthusiast for a great portion of his life.  He was originally from New York and some of his experiences that he enjoyed were running Tantara Farm, which is a thoroughbred breeding/racing/boarding facility in Clark County.  He was in charge of that farm from 1984-2000.

But, Ronald Sladon’s legacy of work really came to shine when he began as part of the new management group that was heading up to resolve Calumet Farms problems in the early 1990s.  He assumed the position of secretary and treasurer for Calumet Farm Inc., and oversaw the horse farm as went into bankruptcy and was sold off to other persons in the industry.  The bankruptcy of Calumet Farm is the largest for the thoroughbred industry.

Ronald Sladon was recognized by the horse industry for his efforts in 1992 when he received the Kentucky Thoroughbred Media’s Ambassador of Racing Award.

After retiring from the horse industry and horse farms businesses, he went to Florida (which is where he spent some time growing up as a teenager), and was a practicing attorney for the Florida Department of Transportation.  He retired from that position in the summer 2007 last year.

He was a great person, and he helped Calumet Farm - which many believe to be the pinnacle of the Kentucky horse farms industry, during its darkest hours.

Currently, Churchill Downs and Del Mar Thoroughbred Club located near San Diego California are vying to be the hosts for the world class event.

As I’m sure everyone is already aware, the Breeders Cup Board chose Santa Anita Park & the Oak Tree Racing Association as the host for the 2009 championship (which are also the hosts for this year’s 2008 season which are set to be October 24-25 2008).  For reference, the 2009 Breeders Cup will be held November 6-7 2009.

Churchill Downs last hosted the Breeders Cup in 2006.  Then the track officials stated that they did not feel that the revenues generated from the championship were not appropriate given the expense of the cost of hosting the event.  As a result of the event not being hosted in Kentucky for 2009, a tax break incentive that was put into place for the organization has now expired for the Breeders Cup.  Even so, Churchill Downs has hosted the event more than any other track with a record 6 times of the event being held there.

Community economic impact estimates place the value of the Breeders Cup in the $20 million range for the hosting city.

And some additional incentives to get it back to Louisville Kentucky include that when the event has been held at Churchill Downs, that the Top 5 Breeders Cup attendance records were set here.  The Louisville and Lexington KY horse enthusiasts want the event back!  Kentucky horse farms are known the world over and it makes sense to have the Breeders Cup World Championship back where it belongs.  Hopefully the issues between the organization itself and Churchill Downs can be resolved and things can be back the way they should have been all along.

It runs from February 13-16, 2008 and admission is FREE!  [Though, there is a small fee of $5 for parking.]

Regardless, its a great opportunity for many ky farms to get out and see what the latest and greatest is in the industry.  300000 persons are expected to be in attendance for this years event.

The show is open from 9:00 am - 6:00 pm each day.

One of the big highlights is always the tractor pull.  The tractor pull begins at 7:30 pm east day (with a show also at 1:00 pm on Saturday).  Tickets are pricey though at $31 each.  But even with the steep prices, the Friday night and Saturday evening shows are already sold out.  If you want tickets, call 1-800-487-1212.

If you just want more information on the National Farms Machinery Show, call 502-367-5004.

Attending this event is nearly a must for anyone thats a serious farmer, and is even of use to those persons that have an interest in becoming a farmer.  Lots of high tech toys and tools are out there.  And even if you have a smaller plot of land, there will certainly be something there that should interest you.  Besides, its FREE.  We’ll see you there!