Dedicated to the Dream

Well, if you are friends with either James or myself on Facebook you have already seen our news. If not, then you're in for a surprise! Here's a little hint: we have a lot of party planning to look forward to and this has been a long time coming (eight years to be exact, eternity if you believe in fate).

So, the purpose of this post is two-fold: first, to show and tell you just how amazing our Kentucky thoroughbred farms can be and second, to announce our engagement! 

Let me walk you through a glorious October day in Versailles, Kentucky. James had told me that he thought some of the thoroughbred farms had the availability to give tours and we had discussed getting a few of these scheduled so that we could continue to add to our Authentic Kentucky experiences (but if we keep opening up distilleries, at this rate we will never run out of blog fodder!). As it turns out, he has a friend who knows someone who was now the Maintenance Manager at one of the biggest and best race farms in Versailles. We had already planned to spend the day bettin' on the ponies at Keeneland Racetrack so it just made sense that we would stop by for a tour of their homes on the way! Throughout the week I kept asking James about the tour: Are you sure we can go? What time is it? Who's this guy again? The entire time I got the same vague answers. Finally, on Thursday, James let me know that his connection would be at the farm on Saturday and had obliged to let us come and take a little drive through on our way to the races. I was thrilled!

These are the kinds of "farms" that take your breath away. Imagine a postcard of Kentucky. They probably took that photo here. James explained to me that we may not even get to see any horses this day, because he didn't know what the "tour" consisted of. I didn't care, seeing the land alone left me in awe.

We started our day with some Heine Bros. coffees where I commented on a pumpkin sticker they had given me. "Look at that! Your first surprise of the day..." he quipped. I brushed it off without much thought because, to me, the tour alone was going to be full of surprises!

We sipped our lattes as we drove the long and winding back roads toward Lexington. We didn't know what we were looking for, but James told me "Charlie said we'd know it when we saw it". I kept my eyes open for a large farm with a green and white star and something that would let me "know". When we pulled up... we knew.

The view of the office as you pull up to the main gates of Winstar Farm.

When you arrive you pull through large gates adorned with stone pillars and topped with horse statuettes. From behind the gates you can see a massive stone and glass building perched atop a rolling hill, overlooking lakes and pastures - this is the office. The horses watch you as you drive past.

We parked and got out of the car to meet Gerry, who showed us the office first. Immediately when you walk in you notice the massive trophy case, and there, in front, is the large, gold, Kentucky Derby trophy (estimated worth over $90,000.00 in raw materials alone). It took me several minutes before I could break my gaze from the famous award, but when I did I was shocked.

I begged James to hand me his phone so I could start taking pictures and as he did.. he was shaking. It was quite chilly that day, so again... I brushed it off.

After my eyes adjusted to the light I could see a large open room with plush chairs, a massive stone fireplace, and gigantic paintings of horses. Gerry told us a little about each horse, pictured and walked us through. I could have stayed the entire day just asking about items on the walls and on display in these rooms, and I can only imagine the conversations that take place at the tables.

But, there was much more to see... We were whisked away in Gerry's truck as we drove through the 2,400 acre farm. There are over 26 miles of roadways winding from barn to barn, over 24 residences for owners, trainers, veterinarians, etc. and over 130 miles of the iconic black four board fencing.

The owner's home.

We drove past house after house, barn after barn. We learned about the original farmhouse built on the 200 year old farm, the birthing stables, the paddock routines, and everything else.

Finally, we arrived at the Stallion Barn. I peeked over the dashboard at another, equally as impressive stone and brick "barn". Gerry barely blinked when he told us we had to stay within arms length of the horses... because it isn't so much our worry about your fingers getting bitten off as much as we are worried about a horse choking. We pulled up in awe of the building, filled with 180 million dollars worth of horse (that's approximately 20, by the way).

I practically burst through the doors. James had told me we might not even get to see horses and here we were standing in the presence of some of the winning-est horses in the sport! We walked into the atrium, a large and open center room used to view the conformation of each horse. Then we slowly walked down the side aisles, stalls on either side, with horses poking their heads out of each opening to see who was coming. 

We passed some of the greats: Distorted Humor (daddy of 3 triple crown winners), Tiznow (the only horse in history to win the Breeder's Cup twice), Gemologist, Bodemeister, Paynter to name a few... and, the winner of the glorious Kentucky Derby garland and trophy: Super Saver.

Distorted Humor

Super Saver

After we gawked back and forth at each other (the horses and I) for quite a while we walked out of the barn together. There, in front of us, laid out like a quilt, were acres upon acres of rolling pasture. Horses lazily walked past, glancing up from their grass occasionally. The morning mist was just lifting from the fields and all you could see was everything you imagined a Kentucky Horse farm to be. It was picturesque. It was perfect.

So there, while we were posing for a photo, with the Stallion Barn behind us and Kentucky before us, James dropped down to own knee and pulled out the most beautiful ring I have ever seen in real life.

Of course I said yes... when I, eventually, could speak.

I wish I could give you more details, a play by play of the moment, but I was so surprised that I can't remember exactly what was said. Everything was spinning and I was giddy and thank goodness Gerry was there to take pictures or I would have a hard time remembering what happened at all! I can tell you that I honestly had not suspected a thing or even had an inkling of an idea that anything was going to happen remotely soon, which made it that much better.

I can tell you that as soon as he stood up we hugged, kissed, and he told me that this was not the first time he had been to the farm... He and Gerry had been in cahoots for over a year. And for the first time that day, I saw his accomplice smile.

We laughed and hugged and our secret audience in the barn came running out with congratulations all around. After I finally caught my breath we were bustled back into the truck to finish our tour. 

I'll be honest... the next few barns, the practice track, the fields: they were all a blur. A big beautiful blur. I remember discussing the state-of-the-art treatment facility and some of the resources the farm had available to the horses, such as a giant, horse-sized jacuzzi and water aerobics. Understandably, I was a little distracted.

After we left the farm James and I sat in the car. I ogled my ring and gushed over everything. I had a million questions! Did my mom know? Yes, she helped pick out your ring. Did you ask my dad? Yes, he's terrible at handling serious situations. Were you nervous? Of course. And the list goes on...

I could not even begin to show my gratitude to Gerry, Larry, Charlie and everyone who had a hand in the coordination of our visit. And I definitely need to thank everyone I know who was able to keep a secret! This was an amazing experience, something I never expected, and the tour alone was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

If I had written down, exactly what I imagined a perfect engagement to be... this would have surpassed in every aspect. Everything was so well planned, so thoughtful, and so perfectly "us". Much like our relationship in general, James never ceases to amaze me. 

Before we left, Gerry made sure to drive us past the "old stallion barn". They just so happened to be setting up for their own wedding...

Saturday's Derby preview day date

My friend and her coworker came down this past weekend to run in the Derby mini-marathon. Go them! I am not all about the running, but I do appreciate the coming and going of the races as one of the major events leading up to... the Derb. That's right. We're so close that I have a nickname for it now.

Since Erin had moved from Louisville, things had changed. The city has been developing some different areas of town, and building them up to be more appealing. Butchertown is one of those areas.

So after their race they headed over to my house and we decided to find something to do. I suggested we go over to Butchertown and hit a few of the cutesy little shops and bars before we went out for dinner. It turned into the best little girly day date I have ever had!

We first stopped by the Butchertown market building, where we headed to Work the Metal. This shop is full of just about everything imaginable. They have great jewelry that is super affordable. They have homegoods and housewares that are both ironic and awesome. They have candles, foods, paintings, etc. The only problem is... I WANT IT ALL! I cannot walk two feet in that store without wanting to buy at least one thing I see. I have several pieces of jewelry from there and I have a few pillows, too. One has a big green bee and is made out of burlap. I love it.

It is absolutely the most adorable shop you will ever peruse. If you are from Louisville and haven't been, yet, go. If you are from out of town, put this on your list of places to visit. I am dead serious. I love bringing people here, especially out of towners, because I think it does such a good job of wrapping everything that Louisville is all about up in one nice little bow.

I ended up getting some ingredients for the Derby Brunch I will be hostessing on Saturday. Some bourbon smoked sea salt. Yum. It smells like smokey heaven. I want to rub it on my steaks. I also got some bourbon barrel aged vanilla. Uh. Yea. This is going in just about everything I am going to bake from now until I run out and have to buy another bottle. It is amazing. It smells so fantastic that I want to drop some in every corner of my house so I can just smell it everywhere I go. Um... new idea? Bourbon Barrel Vanilla Perfume? Make it happen.

We shopped and shopped in Work the Metal, then we wandered over to the Cellar Door chocolate shop that connects to it. Mistake. They have a whole case of different kinds of bourbon balls and truffles. They have chocolate horses, chocolate fleur de lis, chocolate jockeys, chocolate roses, chocolate turtles. I like all of these things. So, of course, I left with several different kinds of bourbon balls. My favorites so far are the pecan, brown sugar and honey varieties.

After we bought our jewelry, accessories, bourboney things and chocolate, we left the market and walked across the train tracks to the Blind Pig. I have written about the pig before, if you do recall. It is where James and I had visited before we saw Wicked.

Well, this time we were just stopping in for a beer. Celebratory post-run beers. Or, for me, just a beer. They were spectacular. We all tried something different and one beer turned into two... you know how it goes. We drank our beers and chatted about the upcoming weekend and everything that went with it. Erin is coming back this weekend for the Derby and we started making plans.

It was a perfect kickoff day for the week of Derby and just made me so excited about this coming weekend! There is still so much to be done- especially with my move going on at the same time, but if there is anything I know, the Derby comes whether you are ready or not, so saddle up!

Ferdinand's Ball!

As I have mentioned before, I occasionally convince James to put on a suit and traipse around town with me. We have a few favorite events we hit up every year and one of these is Ferdinand's Ball.

It's my favorite time of year: Derby time, which can only mean one thing - the Ball is right around the corner! Now, it just so happens that a good friend of mine co-founded this particular derby gala. All the more reason to support it. However, Ferdinand's Ball is for a great cause, and one that I fully support.

The Ball supports Old Friends, which is a thoroughbred retirement farm. Some Derby newbies might not realize that most of the horses they are watching race, are under 3 years old - just lil' baby horsies! Wouldn't it be nice to retire by 5? When the racehorses retire, it can sometimes be hard to find permanent retirement farms for them. Some of our other friends actually own retired race horses and use them for trail riding and pets, but the bulk of retired racehorses aren't that lucky. By "not that lucky" I mean that some of the retired racehorses, even the superstars, are sent overseas... where they are eaten.

It isn't a fairytale end for these ponies. So that's where the farm steps in. Farms, like Old Friends, are permanent homes for these guys and gals, and what's even better is that you can go and visit them there! Imagine being able to pull up to a house with all of the old reality TV stars in it, and being able to hob nob and hang out with these pseudo-celebs. That's kind of like visiting the farm would be for me.

So Ferdinand's Ball donates their proceeds to the Old Friends, which gives a nice, loving home for all these retired horsies. I love the message. Especially around Derby time. The horses are the real reason we have this huge celebration that lasts 2 weeks long, and they deserve to be treated like the super stars that they are!

Now, the Ball is a great cause and everything... but it is also a great party. James and I love attending. There are so many things to do and see, and it is always in an amazing venue.

Photo taken by the one and only - Jacob Zimmer, Zymage, LLC.

We dress up, eat, drink, dance to some jams, bid on silent and live auction items, watch a painting done live, mess around in the photo booth, and even get to walk the red carpet (which James loves... he would never admit it, but he is totally a glamourpuss).

I am super excited about this year's Ball, especially since one of our own Cardinals is hosting (Peyton!). I can't wait to get all gussied up and hit the town, photogs all over, and have a great time.

This is just one of the many Derby events James and I will be hitting up this year. It is so much fun to attend and I love being able to see everyone there. We meet jockeys, owners, celebrities and new friends. Our pictures are splattered all over the society pages in the Louisville magazines - one even used a picture of James and I kissing in their lead story! He would die if he knew...

May 2nd is the night! I'll put up some of our undoubtedly awesome pictures from this year's ball soon after.