By Joy Priest

As the elaborate Gallopalooza sculptures popped up around Lexington signaling the start of the World Equestrian Games, you probably chose a favorite, but a new one has arrived and this one takes the cake literally.

Jumpstarting the World Equestrian Games opening weekend is the newest addition to the Lexington Gallopalooza horse family – a 975-pound cake construction downtown in Lexington Center. Leigh Sipe and Geraldine Kidwell of the non- profit organization, International Cake Exploration Societe (I.C.E.S.) felt the World Equestrian Games were the perfect place to promote the art they’ve dedicated their lives to – cake decorating.

“Leigh has been talking about it [the World Equestrian Games] for two or three years,” Kidwell said. “So, I measured the size of a Gallopalooza and took the dimensions of a real horse and we got started.”

I.C.E.S. partnered with Midway College, among many other sponsors, to purchase the 10 batches of icing, 350 pounds of dry ingredients (flour, sugar), 927 eggs, 90 pounds of margarine, 309 cups of water, and nearly 16 pounds of black licorice that went into the special cake. The frame of the horse made of plywood, styrofoam and metal rods, was transported to the Lexington Center on Thursday. The building of the cake began Saturday morning as cake was placed onto the frame. On Sunday morning, the horse was being iced for the public to see.

Sipe, a licensed commercial baker and the state representative for I.C.E.S. and Kidwell, the program chair and an internationally renowned culinary artist, have been baking cakes for 39 years. Kidwell was also a judge on the Food Network Cake Challenge in 2005.

“Like all women…my children were small and wanted something special for their birthdays,” Kidwell said. “I think it’s a kind of artistic endeavor, and whenever it’s completed you just get a sense of satisfaction.”

“It’s a family affair,” Sipe said. “Everyone helped with this one, my husband and friends…the structure sat in my garage with a dehumidifier for months.”

The I.C.E.S. international convention will be held in the same venue as Sipe and Kidwell’s latest creation, at Heritage Hall in the Lexington Center during August 8 – 11, 2013, attracting over 2,000 decorators from all over the world.

“Something like 500 to 1,000 cakes will be flown in, some people actually buy a seat on the plane for their cakes,” Sipe said.

Until then the edible Gallopalooza horse will stand proudly on display for the public to see for the next 16 days until the close of the Games.