Horse Jewelry

Mark your calendars for the 2026 KAFHS Convention at the Galt House in Louisville, Kentucky.

 

The Kentucky Association of Fairs and Horse Shows will host its 77th Annual Convention January 8–10 at the Galt House Hotel in Louisville, Kentucky. Join us as we celebrate and recognize the top exhibitors from the 2025 Kentucky County Fair Show Circuit.

 

All Louisville winners, members, non-members, and guests are encouraged to attend both the horse show forum and the awards dinner. Additional details on the forum and the High Point Awards Dinner will be shared as they become available. Among the honors presented at the banquet is the prestigious Bill Munford High Point Award, named for a cherished friend of this magazine and a tremendous contributor to the American Saddlebred community. County Fair winners serve as the primary pipeline to the Kentucky County Fair classes at the World’s Championship Horse Show and play a vital role in sustaining our industry.

 

The Kentucky County Fair Pageants will take place Friday and Saturday, January 9–10, 2026. Separate tickets are required for this event. Notably, the pageant counts 1999 Miss America, Heather French Henry, among its past winners.

 

This well-orchestrated weekend is led by Association President Marty Fulkerson of the Hardin County Fair. The convention opens Thursday evening with a welcome party sponsored by the Kentucky State Fair, featuring presentations of the Kachler Scholarship winners and both live and silent auctions benefiting the scholarship fund.

 

Family and individual membership forms for participation in the 2026 High Point Series are available online (no longer mailed) at www.kafs.net, where you may also purchase tickets and register for the convention. When booking your room directly with the Galt House, please mention KAFHS to receive the special rate.

 

Plan to spend several days at the Galt House Hotels in downtown Louisville—the gateway to the South and the birthplace of the American Saddlebred breed. The ASB traces its foundation to John Breckinridge Castleman, born at the famed Castleton Farm in Lexington. Castleman was a statesman, politician, businessman, co-creator of the Louisville park system (alongside Frederick Olmsted), civic leader, and author.

 

Relax in the Galt House atrium, where you can look south down Fourth Street or north toward the Ohio River and Jeffersonville, Indiana. There you’ll see the historic former prison later transformed into the massive Colgate-Palmolive factory, which closed in 2007. Now a national monument, the site is under consideration for redevelopment as a hotel or other public venue. Its iconic clock—once the world’s largest working clock—is a landmark in its own right, second in size only to the company’s clock at its New Jersey headquarters.

2025 UPHA American Royal

National Championship Horse Show