2010 World Equestrian Games

The Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games is seen by many horsemen as the premier equestrian event, bigger and better than the Olympics which follows two years later.

The games now hosts 8 equestrian sports and for the first time ever they are being held in the US, in a packed fortnight of action from September 25 – October 10 in Lexington, Kentucky, at the hallowed, sprawling 1,200-acre Kentucky Horse Park.

The Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games feature thousands of riders and runners, drawing together reportedly the biggest collection of man and beast since World War II – 57 countries, with 800 athletes, the largest horse sporting event in the US, ever.

It’s the first time the Fédération Equestre Internationale (FEI) (the international governing body of equestrian sport) has staged the event outside Europe since the first Equestrian Games started in Stockholm in 1990, when the seven equine events were brought under one umbrella event. Beforehand, show jumping, dressage, eventing and the non-Olympic disciplines of driving, endurance and vaulting all endured their own separate championship. In 2010, Kentucky got the nod to host an eighth event – the inaugural para-dressage section.

Kentucky Horse Park, America’s premier equine venue, has built a new 6,000-seat climate-controlled arena for the games, and a new outdoor stadium capable of seating 30,000 people.

Some 600,000 tickets are up for grabs, from $25 a go (£15).

Did you know? Most horses are right or left-handed just like us people. They have a good side and a bad side.

For more info: www.alltechfeigames.com and www.kyhorsepark.com.