World Equestrian Games

One from our Transylvania Gentlemen blog:


You've seen it advance-hawked on the big sign on I-64 for years now, and at last it's finally here: the World Equestrian Games opens in Kentucky on September 25.

My fellow Irishmen Ronan Tynan and Muhammad Ali will be on hand, as well as the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra and Cherryholmes. Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, ruler of Dubai, will also be there (he owns Gainsborough Farms in Versailles, KY and the global breeding operation Darley.)

But what I really want to know is, will noted equestrian and Kentucky horse farm owner William Shatner be there? (That's Bill pictured above, with his saddlebred horse All Glory.)

I'm gonna be there in the cheap seats. Want to hang out? Find me.

Murder at Lexington Green

From the Associated Press:

LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP) — A man was shot and killed Thursday in the parking lot of a busy shopping area, and the suspected gunman held police at bay for hours outside a nearby hospital before surrendering.

Witnesses told police the suspect appeared to know the man killed in the parking lot of a bookstore at the Lexington Green shopping plaza. Police wouldn't discuss further what led up to the afternoon shooting and declined to say how many shots were fired.

Toby Ray Lasure, 31, of Lexington, was charged with murder in the shooting and also will face further charges related to a chase afterwards, police spokeswoman Ann Gutierrez said.

The Fayette County Coroner's office identified the victim as Christopher Tolliver, 31, of Lexington. He was pronounced dead at University of Kentucky Hospital.

Gutierrez said after police arrived, the suspect fled in his car to the parking lot of a mental health facility about six miles away. He was holding a gun to his head while talking to negotiators on a cell phone but surrendered after a three-hour standoff, Gutierrez said. The hospital was put on lockdown for several hours.

Actor William Shatner, who owns a farm in central Kentucky, happened to be shopping at the bookstore when the shooting occurred.

"My car is here, that's all I know," he told the Lexington Herald-Leader. "I just want to get my car and go home. It happens where I come from; it doesn't happen here."

Pisgah

Pisgah is a very small spot on the map on Highway 60 between Versailles and Lexington, but there’s a lot of Kentuckiana of note here:

Happy Chandler is buried at the local Pisgah cemetery, William Shatner’s horse farm is nearby, and one of my favorite donut places in the entire universe - Doughdaddy’s - is located right next door. (Shatner donut-run sightings are rampant, not surprisingly).


But what most people are drawn here for is the famous castle overlooking Versailles Road. Known for years as “The Martin Castle,” it sat abandoned for decades and was long the subject of myth and speculation regarding its purpose and its reclusive creator, who died a few years back. Although temporarily set back by a fire, the new owner is renovating it and hopefully soon we’ll be able to do more than just peer at it through the majestic front gates and wonder.

And hey, if you find yourselves underwhelmed by all this excitement, don’t forget Keeneland racetrack is just minutes away from here as well.