Equestrian:

The 2016 Special Olympics Kentucky State Equestrian Competition was held on Saturday, Sept., 17.  The event is currently held at the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington. We had 62 riders from 8 delegations from across the state compete for top honors in trails, equitation and showmanship!

SOKY offers both English and Western style riding in the following classes:  Trails, Equitation, Dressage, Showmanship, Relays, Prix Caprilli, Pole Bending, Barrel Racing and Figure 8 Stake Race.

Within each class, ability levels are offered.  There are classes for beginner riders or those of lower skill levels such as:  CS=walk/supported or BS=walk & trot/supported.  There are also classes offered for the more skilled or accomplished rider:  BI=Walk & Trot/Independent or A Class = Walk, Trot & Canter.

Bowling:

The Special Olympics Kentucky Bowling season just wrapped up with our largest State Bowling Tournament to date. We had over 1,600 bowlers from 78 delegations compete at Fern Valley and Kingpin Lanes in Louisville on Dec. 3 and 4.  Our 2016 state bowling numbers were up over 100 bowlers compared the 2015 State Bowling Tournament. The State Bowling Tournament is SOKY’s largest standalone event!

The SOKY Bowling Program offers several formats of competition:  singles, doubles and unified (Special Olympics athlete paired with a partner without an intellectual disability).

Artistic Gymnastics:

This was the sixth year the State Artistic Gymnastics competition has been a  standalone event. The competition was held Saturday, Nov. 19, at Legacy Gymnastics in Lexington. To kick off the day we had a special exhibition performance from the STRIDE Polliwogs Young Athletes group from Winchester. We had 28 gymnasts from four delegations compete for top honors in the men’s and women’s all-around events.

Flag Football

More than 300 athletes on 27 teams from around the state competed in the 2016 State Flag Football Tournament, held on Saturday, Nov. 5, at Lexington Catholic High School. It was the first time the school — a longtime supporter of Special Olympics Kentucky athletes — had  hosted a Special Olympics competition.

State Champions were crowned in eight divisions at the Tournament.

It was the second year that the Flag Football Tournament had been held as a standalone competition. The newest team sport on the Special Olympics Kentucky calendar, flag football’s state championship had been held as part of the State Summer Games before being moved to the more traditional fall slot.