We visited the Horse Park for a couple events during July and had the opportunity to tour the museums and other facilities. It was very interesting for anyone -- from those who are just interested in horses to horse experts. I would definitely allow at least full day to tour the facility. They also have a scenic trail ride and a breed demonstration. A visit to the Saddlebred Museum is included in admission too.

This is a great place to learn more about horses. Up close and personal,,,,,parade of breeds, brings out and shows each one (5) twice a day. Tells about their history and the riders. We really enjoyed that. We took the carriage ride. 35 minutes. the lady was very knowledgable. Also went on the 45 minute trail ride. was not real impressed but we have our own trail horses. Was a nice ride , horses were real gentle. no problems there. Museums are real nice also.. not a museum person so that did not thrill me. the grounds were really clean and nice. A really nice outing for the day.

We arrived on an unusually cold Easter morning, but the 40 degree weather did not deter us. My 8 year old has been taking horseback riding lessons and has since become obsessed with horses. She was not disappointed. We paid an extra $15 each on top of our admission to do the horseback riding as well. Even if you are a beginner, the horses are very well trained as trail horses so they pretty much just follow the leader and you don't have to do anything. They only walk so there is no trotting or anything. Included in regular admission is a short carriage ride around the park that shows pretty much all the things you can do while you are there. The museum and art gallery are very nice and informative. There were no events going on the day we went because it was a little early for the season but there were no lines or crowds to contend with either. We saw a few demonstrations and got to even pet and take a photo with one of the legends of horseracing. Any horse lover is sure to have a great time at the park. The gift shop is very overpriced, but what gift shop isn't? All in all, I would return on a warmer day without hesitation.

Since 1997 my mother and I have taken a weekend a year to go down to the park. Between March and October they are open seven days a week with some sort of program going on in most of their barns. When you arrive you should walk through the visitors center, see Thou Shalt Fly Without wings, and any other videos (others rotate) in the VS theater. Then venture out for your day. If you arrive early in the morning you can watch them tack up the draft horses for the horse drawn tours, if you are too late for that make sure you go through the draft and carriage barns anyway and tell Jerry The Belgian I said hi. The saddle and farrier's shops are fairly interesting, in that area is the new Secretariat Bronze sculpted by Ed Boguki. The breed barn has many different breeds of horses and during twice a day they will have a demonstration in the arena so you can see the breeds in a typical tack style. From early spring until the end of July they have a mare and foal show in the big barn, but don't take your children unless you want to hear "mommy can we buy a horse?" five hundred times. The museum of the horse should be what you do to come in and cool off after a sunny day at the park.

For horse lovers it's a dream come true.
For art lovers there are many bronze statues across the park and paintings in the museum.
For everyone else, just stick it out, you'll love it.