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Great Balloon Race: Local man pilots balloon years after watching race as child

A local man is at the controls 20 years after seeing his first Great Balloon Race as a toddler.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WHAS11) – Max Lambert saw his first Great Balloon Race when he was 5-months-old.

“When I was two, I went up in my first air balloon,” he said.

It left a lasting impact.

“I didn't care about my birthday, I didn't care about summer for getting out of school, I didn't care about anything else. I just wanted the balloon festival to get here, that was my favorite time as a kid," Lambert said.

An important community, especially since Lambert dealt with bullying.

"I always had someone to turn to, I always had a family here because we are family."

And now 20 years later, Lambert piloted his own balloon this year.

Credit: WHAS-TV

The Hare and Hound race started with the BB&T sponsor balloon taking off first. Then the hounds, the rest of the balloons took off after the hare. Heading eastward.

The initial balloon drops down wherever they choose and lays out a large X, then the rest of the balloons try and drop markers. The marker closest to the X wins.

When you can't really steer a balloon, it makes this entire process unpredictable. Something the pilots live for.  

"That's part of the fun of ballooning. If we knew where we were going to go all the time, it wouldn't be near as fun as it is," he said.

The BB&T balloon came down in a field at the U of L Shelby Campus.

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