The Kentucky Horsemen (known as the Lexington Horsemen from 2003 to 2009) was an indoor football team based in

Lexington, Kentucky Lexington is a city in Kentucky, United States that is the county seat of Fayette County, Kentucky, Fayette County. By population, it is the List of cities in Kentucky, second-largest city in Kentucky and List of United States cities by popul ...

. The team played its home games at

Rupp Arena Rupp Arena at Central Bank Center is an arena located in downtown Lexington, Kentucky, United States. Since its opening in 1976, it has been the centerpiece of Central Bank Center (formerly Lexington Center), a convention and shopping facility o ...

. The organization began as a 2003 expansion member of the

National Indoor Football League The National Indoor Football League (NIFL) was a professional indoor football league in the United States. For their first six years, the league had teams in markets not covered by either the Arena Football League or its developmental league, A ...

, where they were successful. Following the 2004 season, where they defeated the Sioux Falls Storm to win

Indoor Bowl The Indoor Bowl was the main championship game of the National Indoor Football League (NIFL). In 2001, it was played between the top two teams who survived the eight-team playoff format. Since 2002, it has been played between the Atlantic Conference ...

IV, the Horsemen and other NIFL teams joined the new

United Indoor Football United Indoor Football (UIF) was an indoor football league in the United States that operated from 2005 to 2008. Ten owners from the National Indoor Football League, including one expansion (the Dayton Warbirds, which never played a game in UIF ...

(UIF) as a charter member, where they made the playoffs. They lost to the Sioux Falls Storm. They made the playoffs again in 2006 and advanced to

United Bowl United Bowl may refer to: * The championship game of the former United Indoor Football league from 2005 to 2008 * The championship game of the Indoor Football League, which acquired UIF, from 2009 to the present * The proposed name of the 2009 U ...

II where they lost to the Sioux Falls Storm. From 2008 to 2009, the Horsemen played in the

AF2 The AF2 (often styled as af2, and short for arenafootball2) was the Arena Football League's developmental league; it was founded in 1999 and played its first season in 2000. Like its parent AFL, the AF2 played using the same arena football ru ...

. The team announced intentions to compete in the new

Arena Football League The Arena Football League (AFL) was a professional arena football league in the United States. It was founded in 1986, but played its first official games in the 1987 season, making it the third longest-running professional football league in ...

following the dissolution of the AF2, but instead ceased operations in October 2009.

History

During the 2007 season, the Horsemen finished with an 8-7 regular season record and then advanced through the playoffs to United Bowl III. They faced the undefeated

Sioux Falls Storm The Sioux Falls Storm are a professional indoor football team based in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. The Storm joined the original Indoor Football League as an expansion team in 1999 as the Sioux Falls Cobras, and first took the field for the 2000 ...

and lost the game 62-59 after Collin Barber missed the potential game-tying field goal. The game was Head Coach Mike Zuckerman's final game. The team's official mascot is Spike, a hero-like horseman.

The end, but then a new beginning

On August 22, 2007, Horsemen owner Lennie House announced that the Horsemen had played their final game. He cited poor attendance and lowered revenue, a fate not unusual for UIF teams. However, on October 16, 2007, House opted to remain in operations by announcing that he changed his mind and the Horsemen would be playing the 2008 season in

arenafootball2 The AF2 (often styled as af2, and short for arenafootball2) was the Arena Football League's developmental league; it was founded in 1999 and played its first season in 2000. Like its parent AFL, the AF2 played using the same arena football ru ...

, where they would have an in-state rivalry ("The War on I-64") with the

Louisville Fire The Louisville Fire was an arena football team that played its home games at the Brown-Forman Field in Freedom Hall in Louisville, Kentucky. They were a 2001 expansion team of the af2. Their owner/operator was former Pro Bowl lineman and Louisvi ...

. The Horsemen adopted new jerseys that included a slight change in their blue color scheme.

Changes in 2009

The Horsemen saw numerous changes occur after the 2008 season. Most notably, ownership changed hands from the House family to the newly formed non-profit Horsemen Charitable Foundation. The foundation was spearheaded by former Horsemen general manager Brian Boehm in an effort to keep Central Kentucky from losing yet another professional sports team.

The end of the franchise

Just when they were about to play in the new

in 2010, the team shut down operations due to financial situations. However, on the team's official website, a newly designed logo is shown with "Don't count us out yet!" underneath, possibly hinting at the team making a comeback.

Season-by-season

, - , colspan="6" align="center" , Lexington Horsemen (NIFL) , - , 2003 , , 9 , , 6 , , 0 , , 2nd Atlantic Eastern , , Lost Round 1 (

Ohio Valley The Ohio River is a long river in the United States. It is located at the boundary of the Midwestern and Southern United States, flowing southwesterly from western Pennsylvania to its mouth on the Mississippi River at the southern tip of Illinoi ...

51-42) , - , 2004 , , 10 , , 4 , , 0 , , 1st Atlantic North , , Won Round 1 (

Atlantic City Atlantic City, often known by its initials A.C., is a coastal resort city in Atlantic County, New Jersey, United States. The city is known for its casinos, Boardwalk (entertainment district), boardwalk, and beaches. In 2020 United States censu ...

54-25)
Won Atlantic Semi-Final ( Houma 70-63)
Won Atlantic Conference Championship (

35-34)
Won

IV (

Sioux Falls Sioux Falls () is the most populous city in the U.S. state of South Dakota and the 130th-most populous city in the United States. It is the county seat of Minnehaha County and also extends into Lincoln County to the south, which continues up t ...

59-38) , - , colspan="6" align="center" , Lexington Horsemen (UIF) , - , 2005 , , 11 , , 4 , , 0 , , 1st South , , Won Round 1 (

Evansville Evansville is a city in, and the county seat of, Vanderburgh County, Indiana, United States. The population was 118,414 at the 2020 census, making it the state's third-most populous city after Indianapolis and Fort Wayne, the largest city in S ...

55-50)
Lost Semifinals (

62-58) , - , 2006 , , 13 , , 2 , , 0 , , 1st East , , Won Semifinals ( Rock River 47-34)
Lost

II (

72-64) , - , 2007 , , 8 , , 7 , , 0 , , 3rd East , , Won Round 1 (

River City ''River City'' is a Scottish television soap opera that was first broadcast on BBC One Scotland on 24 September 2002. ''River City'' follows the lives of the people who live and work in the fictional district of Shieldinch. In November 2017, a s ...

48-33)
Won Eastern Championship ( Bloomington 67-49)
Lost United Bowl III (

62-59) , - , colspan="6" align="center" , Lexington Horsemen (af2) , - , 2008 , , 9 , , 7 , , 0 , , 3rd AC Midwest , , Lost AC Round 1 ( Green Bay 65-37) , - , colspan="6" align="center" , Kentucky Horsemen (af2) , - , 2009 , , 10 , , 6 , , 0 , , 3rd AC South , , Won AC Round 1 (

South Georgia South Georgia ( es, Isla San Pedro) is an island in the South Atlantic Ocean that is part of the British Overseas Territory of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands. It lies around east of the Falkland Islands. Stretching in the east� ...

66-63)
Lost AC Semifinal ( Wilkes-Barre/Scranton 82-49) , - , Totals , , 79 , , 42 , , 0 , colspan="2", (including NIFL, UIF, & AF2 playoffs)

Highlights

;First game * On March 29, 2003, the Horsemen played their first game in front of a crowd of 10,004 in Rupp Arena. They lost to the

Lake Charles Land Sharks The Lake Charles Land Sharks were an indoor football team. They were a charter member of the National Indoor Football League (NIFL). They played their home games at the Sudduth Coliseum in Lake Charles, Louisiana. Despite having pretty good succ ...

41-50. ;Indoor Bowl IV * In their second season (2004), the Horsemen beat the

in Sioux Falls 59-38 to win the Indoor Bowl Championship. ;United Bowl II * Under first year QB Eddie Eviston, the Horsemen lost to the undefeated Sioux Falls Storm 64-72 in United Bowl II. The Storm still retain that streak as of July 22, 2007 ;Road to United Bowl III * After leaving the team to play for the

Cincinnati Jungle Kats The Cincinnati Jungle Kats were an arena football team based in Cincinnati. The Jungle Kats were members of the Midwest Division of the American Conference of AF2. The Jungle Kats played its home games at the U.S. Bank Arena. Their only year in ...

of the

quarterback, Eddie Eviston returned to play in a July 22, 2007 playoff game against the

River City Rage The RiverCity Rage were a professional indoor football team. They played home games at the Family Arena in Saint Charles, Missouri, part of the metropolitan area of St. Louis, Missouri, in past seasons, played in the Scottrade Center in downtown ...

. They won the game 48-33 and advanced to the Eastern Conference championship with home field advantage. * In the same game, running back

Rayshawn Askew Rayshawn Askew (born March 28, 1979) is a former American football running back. He has played for the All American Football League, United Indoor Football, Canadian Football League, Continental Indoor Football League and the National Indoor Foot ...

tied

Hall of Fame A hall, wall, or walk of fame is a list of individuals, achievements, or other entities, usually chosen by a group of electors, to mark their excellence or Wiktionary:fame, fame in their field. In some cases, these halls of fame consist of actu ...

NFL The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the major ...

wide receiver

Jerry Rice Jerry Lee Rice (born October 13, 1962) is an American former professional football wide receiver who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 20 seasons. Known primarily as a member of the San Francisco 49ers, winning three championshi ...

for most touchdowns by a professional football player with 208. The following week in the eastern conference championship Askew broke the record on a touchdown catch from Eddie Eviston. The Horsemen won and advanced to the United Bowl.

Former head coaches

* 2003 – Tony Franklin * 2004–2005 – Bob Sphire * 2006–2007 – Mike Zuckerman * 2008–2009 – Mike Harmon * 2009 – Tommy Johnson

Notable players

-RB *

Dusty Bonner Dusty Bonner (born October 27, 1978) is a former American football quarterback. He was a standout Harlon Hill Trophy winner in 2000 and 2001 while playing for Valdosta State University, and was signed as an undrafted free agent in 2002 by the Atl ...

-QB * Eddie Eviston – QB * Jason Hunter – LB * Antonio Hall-OL/DL *

Derek Homer Derek Homer is an American football player who played for the University of Kentucky and the Baltimore Ravens in the NFL High school Homer won the Kentucky "Mr. Football" Award at Fort Knox High School in 1996. At graduation he was the most pr ...

-RB *

Dennis Johnson Dennis Wayne Johnson (September 18, 1954 – February 22, 2007), nicknamed "DJ", was an American professional basketball player for the National Basketball Association's (NBA) Seattle SuperSonics, Phoenix Suns, and Boston Celtics. He was a c ...

-OL/DL * Anthony "Champ" Kelly-WR/DB * J. T. Haskins – DB *

Craig Yeast Craig Nelson Yeast (born November 20, 1976) is an American gridiron football coach and former player. He is the head football coach at Kentucky Wesleyan College, a position he has held since December 2018.He now is the head coach of the Mercer Cou ...

– WR/DB *

Jared Lorenzen Jared Raymond Lorenzen (February 14, 1981 – July 3, 2019) was an American football quarterback and administrator who played in the National Football League (NFL) for four seasons with the New York Giants. He played college football at Kentucky ...

– QB * Bryan Stallings – OL * Shoebox Johnson – K * William Mulder – DB * Courtney White – DL

Notes

External links

Horsemen on ArenaFan.com

Horsemen on OurSports Central

Horsemen's 2005 Stats

Horsemen's 2006 Stats

{{Af2 Defunct Defunct Arena Football League teams Horsemen American football teams in Kentucky Defunct af2 teams American football teams established in 2003 American football teams disestablished in 2009 2003 establishments in Kentucky 2009 disestablishments in Kentucky