As the first major addition to the Kentucky Horse Park’s International Museum of the Horse since its opening in 1978, the new Arabian horse galleries are expected to open in the summer of 2009. The 8,000-foot expansion, funded by the Purebred Arabian Horse Trust and American Arabian horse community, will increase the Lexington museum’s permanent exhibition space by nearly 30 percent.
As part of the donation, the museum will also receive the outstanding collection of art, artifacts and library and archival material from the Arabian Horse Trust and an equally significant collection of art and artifacts from the Arabian Horse Owners Foundation.
The new galleries will feature state-of-the-art exhibit design and use interactive exhibits to engage all visitors, especially children and young adults. They will tell the story of the arrival of the first horses in the Near East and the evolution of the Arabian horse from the earliest times through the present day.
A special exhibit in 2010, A Gift from the Desert: The Art, History and Culture of the Arabian Horse, will be featured in the museum’s changing galleries. Running from June 1 through the Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games (Sept. 25-Oct. 10), it will be the most comprehensive exploration ever of the significance of the horse, and particularly the Arabian horse, on Near Eastern cultures. The 2010 Games at the Kentucky Horse Park mark the first time the event has been held outside of Europe.
The International Museum of the Horse is an affiliate museum of the Smithsonian Institution. (www.kyhorsepark.com)
Courtesy of leisuregrouptravel.com
