Sun Valley Horse Farm in Versailles Kentucky

When I was VERY YOUNG (like, 5) we owned a horse for a couple of years.  I loved it.  Her name was Speedy.  My dad has always had a farm, and he's always had an interesting mix of animals.  I remember goats, pigs, chickens, and at one time even emus.  AND for a while, we had a horse.

I like horses but, in Lexington, there are people who REALLY like them.  Horses are a way of life.

An old friend/co-worker grew up in a horse breeding family.  They tried to explain a lot of the lifestyle to me once, but I didn't get it.

AND, we have visited a couple of farms in the past....  and the experience was... well, OK at best.

Anyway, we recently heard about the horse farm Sun Valley in Versailles that is now offering tours and we thought we would check it out.

Man, did this end up being a great visit!  We had fun actually getting to see and interact with some horses, and we learned a lot!

First off, Sun Valley is a very hands on kind of place!  The horses were social and seemed to enjoy the interaction.  We were able to interact with most of the horses, including some very young ones!

We arrived a little early for our 1:00 tour and Jan Butzer (who owns and operates the farm with her husband Barry) came out to introduce herself.  She told us a bit about the family and their farm.

After a few minutes, her son Brett showed up who does the tours.  Jan actually accompanied us on most of the tour too, and Barry even came out at one point to talk about the farm.

Barry told us about his love of horses from a young age.  He explained how, early on, he might buy a horse because of a gut feeling.  Doing research on horses could get pretty complicated.  Now anyone can get online and find out all they need to know about a horse.

All three Butzers talked about the success of Sun Valley, mentioning some of their successes (a video was shown of an auction involving one of their horses).  They obviously take a lot of pride in what they have done, but they still came off as very humble.  This is a family that loves horses, and loves being involved in raising them.  They also love telling others about them.

As Brett formally started our tour, he explained (in very easy to understand language) specifically how Sun Valley operates.  In a nutshell, they have female horses that they breed.  The ponies are then sold.  They also do boarding.

Brett talked about how things happen when the babies are born.  He showed us a kit that they have with all of the needed items to help in the process.  Though Brett is in his early 20s, you could tell he has been involved in all of the aspects of the family business!

The tour involves driving to several different barns to see the many horses at Sun Valley.  Obviously, each one had its own personality.  Brett would go into the stall and guide the horses to our tour group to allow visitors to pet and interact with them.

The family lives on the property and visitors get a very nice outside tour of their old home!  History fans will love this, as there is a small cemetery.  As a fan of the Civil War I was very impressed to see the preserved original slave quarters.  Those doing the Bourbon Trail will also enjoy hearing about the Sun Valley connection to bourbon!

Near the end of the tour, we were invited into a room to watch a few videos about the farm and their horses.  Coffee, tea and hot chocolate were available (and appreciated!) on this day.

As the tour wound down, we realized our hour and a half tour was going over.  Brett and Jan told our group that they would understand if anyone needed to leave.  No one did, as you could tell everyone was having a great time!  I know we ended up spending about two and a half hours here on our visit.

This is one of those places that I am glad I found.  I can't wait to bring some out of town friends here, especially ones with kids. 

For $20 a person we thought this was a great value, and a rare opportunity to get really hands on at a horse farm.