Lexington Area Recovering from Torrential Rain, More Rain Forecasted

The entrance to Kentucky Horse Park virtually unrecognizable. Photo by Courtney Carson.

With just three weeks to go until nearly 100 horses and riders gallop around cross country at Rolex, the Lexington area is warily eyeing the ground as over five inches of rain have fallen on the area in the last 24 hours.

Competitors arriving to compete at Spring Bay this weekend were greeted by torrential downpours and flooded facilities.

Photo via Jennifer Williams Finlan on Facebook.

Courtney Carson, who is scheduled to compete her horse, Bird Is the Word, at Spring Bay this weekend, anticipated the competition being turned into a CT, although the cross country is held at nearby Masterson Station Park and not the Horse Park. Thankfully today, though, it looks like cross country was given the green light to run tomorrow! Cross country is held on Sunday, and the sun is expected to be out today which may help dry the ground a bit.

With all of the rain that’s drenched the area, some of us are surely wondering how the massive amounts of accumulation will affect the cross country course later this month — especially if more rain comes down between now and then. Unfortunately at the latest glance at the forecast, the rain isn’t scheduled to abate anytime soon, save for a dry and sunny weekend. Here’s a look at the upcoming week:

Via weather.com.

Historically, the remainder of April records an average of less than a quarter of an inch of precipitation daily. We’ve been fortunate to have great weather at Rolex, for the most part, the past few years, so here’s hoping that the ground will dry and the rain will let up in time to allow the hard working crew at the Horse Park time to prepare for the arrival of Rolex.

Courtney Carson updated us this morning that Kentucky Horse Park roads are clear of water now, which is a huge relief after seeing the images from yesterday.

Photo via Jen Roytz on Instagram.

The same spot, one hour later. Photo via Jen Roytz on Instagram.

We’ll be keeping an eye on the weather this weekend, and we wish all riders competing at Spring Bay the best of luck, as well as those who live in the Lexington area. Please send us your rain updates, as we’ll continue to update our readers leading up to Rolex. You can send any tips or media to [email protected].

Stay dry, EN! Here’s a few more photos of the incredible precipitation pounding Lexington this week.