United States Eventing Association

2025 K3DE Rider Talk: What Are They Saying About Cross-Country?

Riders in both the Cosequin Lexington CCI4*-S and the Defender Kentucky CCI5*-L are sharing similar sentiments about this year's cross-country courses: course designer Derek di Grazia didn't play around this year. Here is what some of the riders across both divisions had to say about the tracks they will aim to conquer on Saturday.

CCI5*-L Competitors

Michael Jung | FischerChipmunk FRH | 18.6

"It's a bit of a twisty course this time I think, so we will see. For the cross-country, I'm really happy to have Chippy though. He's a big horse with a big stride, so for sure, it would be better for him to gallop more strides. I've walked the course two times, and it's going to be very important to find a good line through the turns, so you don't slow down, and you can keep the rhythm. You need to trust your horse and have a good rhythm and take a little bit of risk to gallop. It's a tough course, but I think it's really nice and straightforward."

Boyd Martin | Commando 3, Luke 140, & Fedarman B | 26.0, 27.9, & 29.8

"It's pretty juicy. It looks quite challenging. Big course, relentless the whole way around. There's a couple of alternates that aren't that expensive time wise, so a bit of strategy might come into play to see how it all pans out."

Tom McEwen | Brookfield Quality | 26.2

“I think it’s a great course. As we are always fully aware here, this course is never easy, there’s plenty of places to cash out, for example for me, the bounce step up to the hedge, I actually think that’s a really tough question. But all the way around, I think it feels like a true championship test, and at the same time, a proper five-star.”

Libussa Lübbeke | Caramia 34 | 27.1

"It looks amazing! I think we're just pretty motivated to do it, and it will be a fun day tomorrow."

Tim Price | Falco, Jarillo & Happy Boy | 27.8, 28.4, & 29.1

"The course is the course. It's funny, I've just had one casual walk, and with three horses here, you kind of default to the horse you've done the most with, and that's Falco. I'm cruising around, and I'm thinking "this is going to be fine," and "he can pick up this big distance," then it dawned on me at the last water that Happy Boy won't, and my stomach went tight, and [Jarillo], I don't know what he's going to be, and it's a whole different job. The course is a proper five-star course and it's going to draw out a lot of challenges everywhere for us to deal with, and for me, it's three totally different horses, so I'm really happy to go out on Jarillo first, because he's a bit of an unknown quantity. He's only done one five-star, but this is a pretty decent five-star with all the undulation and all the challenges out there, so I just hope he can go out there, stay with me, and keep on the job."

Clarke Johnstone | Menlo Park | 28.4

"It's big and difficult and beautiful and long and all the things we expect it to be at Kentucky. I've never ridden a Derek di Grazia course before, I don't think, so I'm excited about that. Everyone says that he's certainly one of the best, so I'm looking forward to tackling, and hopefully, answering all the questions."

Monica Spencer | Artist | 29.3

"There's a lot to do out there. We'll have to be switched on the whole way around, but we're looking forward to the challenge."

Jonelle Price | Hiarado | 30.0

"I had a walk around yesterday, and as always with the first five-star of the year, it's like "welcome back to five-star," and it looks kind of intimidating at first walk. It looked quite busy, I thought, and it's a bit sort of twistier than normal. You have the early "S" bend around the coffin line, so I think time is going to be very influential. Here, I would have said historically that your big galloping horses have always really enjoyed it, whereas almost you need something a bit more economically on the turns this year. It looks like a really good track, and as always, the park looks fantastic!"

Calvin Böckmann | The Phantom of the Opera | 30.2

"I think you can't really compare it to last year. There are quite a few difficult combinations, and it's going to be very exciting."

Sharon White | Claus 62 | 32.3

"As usual, I love Derek's courses. It looks amazing! There's a lot to do, so you feel kind of sick to your stomach, and think "oh god, I hope we can do this," but I can see everything happening. It will be done really, really well, so I just hope I'm one of the ones that does it really, really well."

Lucienne Bellissimo | Dyri | 33.7

"I've just got to ride it well, be positive, and not be unrealistic if he starts to feel tired. He might have to do a couple of the alternates, and I think the weathers going to play a fair bit. He's not a horse that tends to finish pulling, so I've just got to use my brain and feel what he's saying a little bit."

Caroline Pamukcu | She's the One & HSH Double Sixteen | 35.3 & 39.7

"It's not a dressage show, and that's why I came into the dressage arena with zero nerves. There's a lot to do out there, and tomorrow is a whole different day. There'll definitely be a big mix up on the leaderboard, so it'll be exciting to watch."

Jessica Pheonix | Fluorescent Adolescent | 36.8

"The cross-country course looks like a true five-star. It is going to be a huge test, from the jumps to the way their situated on the terrain, and the fitness that's going to be involved. We run uphill for basically six minutes, so it's going to be a true test of horsemanship and the horses' fitness."

James Alliston | Karma | 37.3

"I'm nervous. Obviously, it looks really, really hard, and it's five-star, so it's going to look like that, but hopefully, I get more comfortable the more I walk it."

Katherine Coleman | Monbeg Senna | 38.2

"Each jump and each combination look really good and really jumpable. They're all really straight forward and nice and easy for the horses to read. I think the real test is going to be that there's so many combinations, and it's a really long, really intense course, so I think the horses are going to be physically and mentally exhausted by the end."

Emily Hamel | Corvett | 38.6

"There's definitely a lot to do. It looks tough enough. I've only walked it once, but I'll obviously walk it a lot more. I think if you hold your lines and you're brave and committed, you'll be good to go! I think it's nice [to have the options], because if you have a problem, you'll still be able to get around, I think. There's some really good options out there."

Cassie Sanger | Redfield Fyre | 38.6

"I feel good. I've walked around a couple of times now. I'm going to go out either two more times [today] and maybe tomorrow morning, but it looks good, it looks doable from everything I’ve seen so far. I’m just going to keep establishing a plan, but I have some ideas of the lines I want to take, so I’m really going solidify that tonight and obviously watch quite a bit tomorrow.”

Ema Klugman | Bronte Beach Z | 39.6

"I'm glad that I've been around it once with her. It's definitely pretty different than the last, so it will have a different feel, but I think it's fair and pretty big, but it's a five-star, so that's what we expect."

Mary Bess Davis | Imperio Magic | 39.8

"I feel good about it, as good as you can. It's long, so you've just got to protect them and make sure you don't run out of gas early, but I feel like it's well within his capabilities, and I'll just have to make sure we have enough gas in the tank to get home."

Shannon Lilley | Eindhoven Garette | 39.8

"When you come to this and it's your first one, the second fence had gotten so big in my head, but it's different this year, so that's good! I really like what Derek did. It's tricky, it's hard, but it's a five-star, so of course it's going to be all those things, but each place, if you think on your feet, you have a way out. If something goes wrong, you have a way out, and I think he's fairly brilliant in that way where he's very fair to the horses and the questions are that where it might take a bit longer, but you always have a way. I went around it and thought "well, we can do all this," so that's good, and we'll see if we can do it all within the time!"

Matt Brown | Alderwood | 41.0

"I think it looks great. Initially, there was only two things that I thought looked impossible, which is usually pretty good for walking Kentucky. I've walked it four times now, and it's starting to look pretty doable, and honestly, if I just trust him, he's fine."

Buck Davidson | Sorocaima | 42.1

"It's good, but it's not easy. I don't think it's maybe as big as it's been in the past, but it's certainly tricky for sure. I think there's sort of options at the end if things aren't going perfect that you can do something. I mean, Derek knows what he's doing, and we trust that it's all going to work. I have a great cross-country horse!"

Arden Wildasin | Sunday Times | 44.6

"I actually love everything that's out there! Derek di Grazia does a fantastic job. I would say, and it's more of a perspective thing, that the single fences look big, as in, wide. The face looks fantastic, I can gallop down and see two strides out that it's going to be fantastic, but you kind of question it, even though [Sunday Times is] such a fantastic cross-country horse. I'm actually really looking forward to it with that horse. Every single jump and combination, it's a victory being here. Whatever happens Saturday, no matter if I have to pull up for the best of the horse or I'm able to finish because he's full of running, I can't take it as a lose because he's unbelievable!"

CCI4*-S Competitors

Phillip Dutton | Possante & Denim | 23.1 & 25.6

"Obviously, you come here, and it's a bit hard to get prepared for a course like this because it's so big and there's a lot of brush, which makes it also taller still. It's a very unique cross-country. I think all you can do is come in here with very confident horses, and horses that trust you, and let it all rip out there."

Chris Talley | FE Marco Polo | 26.8

"I walked it once yesterday, because I didn't want to get too far ahead of myself, make sure I give myself plenty of nights to sleep, but I like it. It's big, it's bold, and you've got to be attacking from the beginning, but like I said, he's a really catty horse. He looks for the lines, and if he's a little off, he'll right himself. I've never really had a horse put himself back on the line like that, especially being so green. I want to give him a really positive run. If he feels like he needs it, I'll slow down. If he's on it, we'll give it our best shot!"

Ariel Grald | Diara | 27.3

"I feel good. It's a lot, but you don't come here expecting it to be easy, you expect it to be basically a five-star short, like an Aachen or something like that. She didn't really do much last year, so it's a big step up from what we've done this spring, but she's been great at the outings we've had, and I think she's ready to sort of kick it up another notch, and it will be a good gauge of where we are at for planning for the rest of the season. As always, Derek sets a beautiful track. It's big, it's beautiful, and I think one of the genius things Derek does is that we as riders, we're trying to figure out how the horses are going to read things and react, but Derek is always spot on. It will look nearly impossible sometimes and the horses will just nip right through it. At the end of the day, you've got to trust your horse, trust the design, know your plan, and go get it done."

Tamie Smith | Kynan | 28.8

"It's serious. I think it's the hardest Kentucky four-star track I've seen, and I've been here pretty much since they first started doing it. It's big and it's really technical, and no real margin for error, so it'll be a real test. I'm excited to get out there on him and see how he handles it all."

Mia Farley | Invictus | 29.3

"I've walked once; I don't really want to walk it again! We'll see what happens. He's really brave, I just have to get him everywhere in a good place in a good spot for him. I think for myself, I prefer more gallopy courses for all the horses, so we'll see. He's only nine, so I'm still learning what suits him and what doesn't."

Allie Knowles | Morswood | 30.3

"It looks really good. It looks very fair, but it is going to be no walk in the park. It's not going to be a given just because I've done so many five-stars on him. I'm still going to have to work for that. I'm still going to have to show him where he needs to be, so that he can do his job. I'm going to still have to be on the ball, but it looks beautiful. It looks like it's right there. Derek's done a great job of making it possible if you're having a bit of trouble, you have options, but the direct routes are very there if you're brave enough. I think it's going to be a very good day!"

Tommy Greengard | That's Me Z | 31.6

"It looks great. Kind of my running joke is that my seeing eye dog, Josh, isn't going to run, so Z is going to take a stab at it and away we go! He's prepared for the job, and I think it's been really well set. All you can do is prepare and see where the cards will land."

Olivia Dutton | Sea of Clouds | 32.8

"It looks good, it looks tough. I think there's some big jumps out there, but it goes it a similar way that we did last year, and I'm looking forward to it. I've only walked it like one and a half times, so I need to get out there more and get to the details, but it looks great!"

Allison Springer | No May Moon & Vandyke | 32.8 & 44

"I really like the way the five-star looks. The four-star looks like a five-star short, again, so it's pretty intense because it's in a shorter amount of time and a lot of questions, but I think you need to set out tomorrow on those first couple of gallop jumps with your intention to attack and nail that first combination. That's going to be really important, because this isn't a place to take a walk in the park, not with these jumps, so attacking on both horses is what I've got to do!"

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