relocating with horse (Lexington, Covington, Richmond: house, travel, employment)

[tracker01]

Hello all, my husband and I are considering relocating to Kentucky. We like to fourwheel with our samurai and dirt bikes. I have a horse as well. I wondered if anyone could suggest an area that is centrally located for the sports mentioned. Right now, where we live, we have to travel 4-10 hours to four wheel. I can ride my horse on the roads around the house here, and trailer to a county park about 15 min away with approx. 20 miles of trails. We have been on several trips to Kentucky over the past two or three years (I absolutely fell in LOVE with the state immediately) mainly along the I75 corridor from Covington down to Berea and around Lexington within a 50 mile radius or so. We know where the fourwheeling parks are, but I only noticed one place that had some horse trailers pulled off in a parking area. I didn't see ANYONE riding on the roadsides at all. Why Not? Obviously, we would need to be within commuting distance for employment as well. Any info would be appreciated. Thanks in advance.

[Toria]

Hi, Tracker....a couple reasons that you don't always see people riding on the roads is that many people own enough of their own land to ride on, or they board at barns which have extensive trails and acreage. Some of the barns allow you to haul in and ride. Dressage, hunter/jumpers, etc are big in central KY, so many of the barns/arenas cater to that and not as much to western disciplines - however, there are plenty of people who do trail ride !
There are two wildlife management areas that I know of offering trails for riding, one near Richmond, the other in Nicholas County (just northeast o Lexington) - it's over 5000 acres. There may be other WMAs with riding that I'm not aware of. There is a 400 acre place near Georgetown which lets you haul in and ride for a low fee....and Shaker Village near Harrodsburg has over 30 miles of gorgeous trails for a small fee. I know that Masterson Station park in Lexington has an indoor arena open to the public, too. And of course, Daniel Boone National Forest and Cave Run Lake offers thousands of acres of riding on most of their trails. If you want to go a little further, Mammoth Cave national park, Taylorsville Lake, Land Between the Lakes all allow riding, too.
Hope this helps....

[tracker01]

Wow Toria, thanks for all the info. It surely is appreciated.