Fifty-seven of Eventing’s best horses passed the veterinary inspection and are ready to begin competition in America’s most thrilling equestrian competition - the Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event, presented by Farnam at the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington, KY.
The Event is hosting many of the world’s top horse-and-rider pairs as they compete for one of the most coveted purses in equestrian sports and one of the most prestigious championships in the sport of Eventing.
Competition at Rolex Kentucky begins with the dressage tests, which take place from 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Thursday and Friday, April 27 and 28. The cross-country jumping phase begins at 9 a.m. on Saturday, April 29. The final test of horse and rider, show jumping, will be held from noon-3 p.m. Sunday, April 30.
Heading the list of U.S. entries are four of the five riders on the United States’ Bronze Medal team from the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens. Led by Individual Silver Medalist and Rolex-Kentucky defending champion Kim Severson of Scottsville, VA, the team included Darren Chiacchia of Ocala, Fla.; Amy Tryon of Duvall, WA; and John Williams of Southern Pines, NC (team member Julie Richards of Atlanta, GA, is not entered at this year’s Rolex
Kentucky Three-Day Event).
Severson, Tryon and Williams were also part of the United States’ 2002 Gold Medal World Championship Team.
Severson, who has won Rolex Kentucky three times on Winsome Adante, will be riding another horse, Royal Venture, an Australian-bred Thoroughbred who placed fourth at the Luhmuhlen (Germany) CCI**** in 2005. Chiacchia will compete Windfall II, a German-bred Trakehner who is fresh from a win at The Fork CIC-W*** April 6-9 in Norwood, N.C. Tryon is riding her 2004 Olympic mount, Poggio II, a U.S.-bred Thoroughbred who was fourth at the 2004 Rolex Kentucky. She also will compete Woodstock, another U.S.-bred Thoroughbred. Williams will be aboard Sloopy, a U.S.-bred Thoroughbred who was second in two advanced outings at Pine Top, GA, and Southern Pines, NC, this spring.
Five-time Olympian and six-time Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event champion Bruce O. Davidson, Sr. of Unionville, PA, and three-time Olympian Karen O’Connor of The Plains, VA, another Rolex Kentucky champion, also return for this year’s event. Davidson, whose skillful riding never fails to thrill fans, will be aboard Little Tricky, a U.S.-bred Thoroughbred who was seventh at the 2004 Rolex Kentucky Event. O’Connor, another crowd favorite, is riding Upstage, a New Zealand-bred Thoroughbred who was 12th and sixth respectively, at his two Rolex Kentucky outings in 2003 and 2004 (modified
division). Other Olympians entered are Stephen Bradley of Leesburg, VA (Brandenburg’s Joshua and From); Mara Dean of Round Hill, VA (Nicki Henley) and Nina Fout of Middleburg, VA (3 Magic Beans).
Several international stars are also entered including Olympic veterans Stuart Black, formerly of Canada but now a U.S. citizen; Andrew Hoy of Australia; 2004 Olympic individual Gold Medalist Leslie Law of Great Britain; two-time Team Gold Medalist Philip Dutton of Australia; and William Fox-Pitt of Great Britain.
The 2006 Rolex Kentucky is a United States Equestrian Federation (USEF) Selection Trial for the Eventing World Championships Aug. 20-Sept. 3 at the 2006 World Equestrian Games in Aächen, Germany. For the first time, Rolex Kentucky is being run under the “without Steeplechase” (short) format, consistent with requirements for FEI Championships. Many of the horses and riders at Rolex Kentucky will go on to the World Championships in Aächen in
August.
Cross country course designer Mike Etherington-Smith of Great Britain, in his 14th year at Rolex Kentucky, has added two
new features this year and modified some obstacles on this year’s course, changes that will help prepare horses and riders for what they will face at the World Championships. A water feature has been added to the Lexington Bank, now called the Banks & Splash, and the course now features a true Normandy Bank.
The Kentucky Horse Park was chosen as the site for the FEI Games World Equestrian Championships in 2010. This will mark the first time the Games, which feature World Championships in seven equestrian disciplines, will be held in the United States, which has created a buzz about this year’s Rolex Kentucky.
The Rolex Kentucky Three Day Event is one of only five annual competitions in the world with the CCI**** classification and the only CCI**** in the United States. There are four levels of competition in Eventing, designated by stars (one star through four stars). The more difficult the competition, the greater the number of stars. An event rated “four star” presents the most challenging competition existing for horses and riders.
Rolex Kentucky is one leg of the $250,000 Rolex Grand Slam of Eventing, which consists of Eventing’s most challenging competitions. Only one rider, Pippa Funnell of Great Britain in 2003, has won Eventing’s Grand Slam: the Rolex Kentucky, Mitsubishi Motor Badminton and Land Rover Burghley Four Star Events in succession. William Fox-Pitt of Great Britain won the Land Rover Burghley CCI**** in England in September 2005, which began the Rolex Grand Slam series anew. He will be seeking the second leg with a victory at the Rolex Kentucky.
Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event organizer, Equestrian Events, Inc. (EEI), is a non-profit charitable corporation created in 1975 to stage the 1978 World Three-Day Event Championships, the first time those championships had been held outside of Europe. Following the success of those World Championships, the U.S. Equestrian Federation asked EEI to organize an annual Three-Day Event in the spring and the Kentucky Three-Day Event was born.
For more information on the 2006 Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event, presented by Farnam, please visit the Rolex Kentucky website at www.rk3de.org. Advance ticket sales are now closed, but general admission tickets will be available at the Rolex Kentucky ticket booths at the Kentucky Horse Park beginning Thursday, April 27. Reserved grandstand seats and a limited number of Patron Club, Patron Plus and Equestrian Club subscriptions may be purchased at the Event Ticket Tent upon entry into the Horse Park.
You must be logged in to post a comment.