Contact: Tammy Lane • First Posted: Thursday, March 11, 2010

Creative elementary students in Fayette, Jessamine, Scott and Woodford County schools will take the reins in schoolwide contests to win tickets to this fall’s Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games.

The initiative was unveiled March 11 at Squires Elementary in Lexington.

“Ask any child, and they can identify with the Olympics and the Super Bowl. Ask them about the Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games occurring in their own backyard, and they are not as sure,” said Pearse Lyons, president and founder of Alltech. “The Alltech Creative Scholar Program is about education, creativity and fun. We want kids to understand what’s coming in less than 200 days – the ‘Olympics’ of equestrian sport.”

Schools will receive a general admission ticket allotment based on the size of their student body. The kids will come up with projects on an equine or World Equestrian Games-related topic, and their teachers will determine the distribution of tickets.

Lyons encouraged the Squires students simply to do their best.

“Create something to celebrate the Olympics of horses. It’s all about creativity,” he said. “We don’t care if you write an essay or create a horse – so long as it comes from your heart.”

Fayette County Superintendent Stu Silberman was on hand for Thursday’s announcement, along with his counterparts from the three other counties and state Education Commissioner Terry Holliday, who talked about the World Equestrian Games’ impact on the Bluegrass Region.

“It’s almost as big as the Kentucky Wildcats being in the Final Four – almost,” Holliday said with a smile. 

The Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games will run Sept. 25 to Oct. 10 at the Kentucky Horse Park, involving 600 riding competitors and 700 horses from more than 60 countries. The Games are expected to be attended by as many as 600,000 spectators and viewed on television by an international audience exceeding 460 million people. 

Photo captions:

Pearse Lyons, the founder and president of Alltech, outlined how the Creative Scholar Program will work.

Squires students greeted visitors at the front door, including Superintendent Stu Silberman.