From the moment he exited the riding ring, took in the lush grounds and made his way through the vast facilities that make up the Kentucky Horse Park, Peter Wylde knew his mind was made up.

"The first time I rode (at the Horse Park) I thought it would be a perfect place for the World Equestrian Games," the U.S. Olympic gold-medal-winning, show jumping rider said. "Because of the equine culture involved here and because of the facility, I've been a huge supporter of Lexington getting the games for the last 10 years."

After a decade of hyping the oft-proclaimed Horse Capital of the World, Wylde need wait just 44 more days to see if the rest of the equine community has been as impressed with the Bluegrass as he is.

On Dec. 6 in Bahrain, the international horse group Federation Equestre Internationale will likely choose between the United States and France as to which country will host the 2010 World Equestrian Games.

If the United States gets the nod, the games would be held at the Kentucky Horse Park, already home to the prestigious Rolex Three-Day Event.

Since the inaugural event in Stockholm in 1990, the World Equestrian Games -- held every four years -- has served as the world championships for show jumping, dressage, eventing, driving, endurance and vaulting, with reining coming on board as the seventh equine discipline in 2000.

In replacing the annual championships that had previously been in place for each discipline, the World Equestrian Games has also taken over as a leading career objective for many competitors.

"As far as equestrian events go, the WEG has become bigger than the Olympics, I think, because it's set up just for the equestrian community," said U.S. dressage rider Debbie McDonald, who won a team silver at the 2002 World Equestrian Games in Jerez, Spain. "For me, it was a really incredible highlight being part of a team that will go down in history for our country. I think the U.S. is hungry for international competition and I have a feeling that if we get the bid, the number of sales for tickets could be overwhelming."

The U.S. Equestrian Federation has made it this far before only to have its hopes crushed.

Lexington lost the bid for the 2006 games to Aachen, Germany, although many think that was due more to Aachen's powerful political standing and its centuries-old equine history than anything the federation did wrong in its bidding process.

Olympic gold medalist and U.S Equestrian Federation President David O'Connor, who has competed in eventing in all four World Equestrian Games, said Lexington already has the "top-notch" facilities and infrastructure in place to host the games.

"There is no site in the world like Kentucky to have everyone in the same place at the same time," O'Connor said.

And if the World Equestrian Games is going to truly live up to its billing, O'Connor said, the event needs to venture to a different side of the Atlantic.

"If it's really going to be a strong world event, it's time for it to come out of Europe," he said. "I think they know it needs to get out of Europe at some point, and Kentucky is sitting there willing to do it and having the backing to do it."

If the U.S. Equestrian Federation can succeed in bringing the sport's most prestigious event to American soil, many of its riders think it will prompt other international events to eventually call the Horse Park home.

"It's a facility that should host more international competitions," Wylde said. "It would be good for our country and good for our sport.