LOUISVILLE, Ky — The Kentucky State Fair is a celebration of all things Bluegrass, whether it’s live-stock, agriculture, food or music.
Of all the souvenirs you can bring home from the fair, perhaps there’s none more quintessentially Kentucky than what Kim and Buddy Mason have on display. “The Kentucky Derby! That’s where we got our idea!” Kim Mason tells Spectrum News.
They are aluminum, lightweight, hand-painted, color customizable lawn jockeys! Kim’s husband, Buddy, painted his first in 2018 and posted his handiwork on Facebook. It took off from there. “I started getting orders and within about two months later I had gotten maybe two handfuls of orders and I thought, maybe there is something to this and five years later here we are,” Buddy said. Before they knew it, the Mason’s had a side hustle honoring the fastest two minutes in sports. Together they created a business called, “Custom Lawn Jockeys.”
Three months out of the year, it’s their full-time job. Buddy uses a combination of spray paints and vinyl prints and other paints to make the jockeys to order. “We stay up a lot of late nights doing designs, doing paint schemes and it’s just a lot of fun,” Buddy said.
The Masons don’t know the exact number of Jockeys they’ve made, but “number 500” is within reach. And that would be enough jockeys to race 25 Kentucky Derby’s, a race the Mason’s have never actually attended. “It’s a goal,” Buddy said. “We would like to go do that. Maybe next year!?” He adds. Be sure to check out their business, Custom Lawn Jockeys, for yourself.