Lexington, KY - April 15, 2016 - Defending champion and Olympic gold medalist Michael Jung of Germany heads an impressive list of entries for the 2016 Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event, Presented by Land Rover. Known as the "Best Weekend All Year," the Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event returns to the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington, Kentucky, April 28-May 1.
The starting field features 71 riders from nine countries including Australia, Brazil, Canada, Great Britain, Germany, Ireland, Mexico, New Zealand and USA, with some riders entered with up to three horses. Joining Jung are some of eventing's most famous names including Sir Mark Todd and Blyth Tait of New Zealand and U.S. Olympic veterans Phillip Dutton, Boyd Martin, Kim Severson and Will Coleman.
At stake is $350,000 in prize money, a $50,000 increase from last year, as well as a shot at the $350,000 Rolex Grand Slam of Eventing, which is awarded to any rider who wins theRolex Kentucky, Mitsubishi Motors Badminton and Land Rover Burghley 'Four Star' Events in succession. As winner of last fall's event at Burghley, Jung is looking to add the second leg of the Rolex Grand Slam (Rolex Kentucky) to put him in position to becoming only the second rider (along with Pippa Funnell of Great Britain in 2003) to win the Grand Slam, when he rides at Badminton the week after Rolex Kentucky.
This year's Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event has added importance as it is also a qualifying competition for riders seeking to be part of the Land Rover U.S. Eventing Team for the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro this summer.
Defending Rolex Kentucky champion Jung is entered on Fischerrocana FST, the horse he rode to victory last year. Last year the duo completed on their dressage score of 39.3 penalty points to claim the $100,000 winning purse along with the Rolex timepiece that goes to the winning rider. Jung, the world's leading event rider, also took third place aboard his Olympic mount La Biosthetique Sam FBW. He is the first event rider ever to hold the Olympic, World and European titles simultaneously, winning the Individual gold medal at the 2010 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games™ (WEG) and double gold medals at the 2012 London Olympic Games along with three consecutive European Championships.
New Zealand will be represented by a particularly strong line-up of riders, including two of the sport's all-time legends. Two-time Olympic gold medalist and six-time Olympian Sir Mark Todd will be competing NZB Campino, the horse he rode at the 2012 Olympic Games in London where they won a Team bronze medal. Voted the "Equestrian of the Century" by the International Equestrian Federation (FEI) in 2000, Todd has won almost every Four Star three-day event in the world, although thus far the Rolex Kentucky title has eluded him despite his attempts in 2014 and 2011. Blyth Tait, a four-time Olympian who won the individual Gold Medal in 1996, is a former World Champion and was the Rolex Kentucky Champion in 2000. He will be riding Xanthus III.
Among those entered to compete in this year's Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event are:
In addition to these veterans of international competition, many more of the sport's leading riders from the U.S. and abroad are entered to compete. The full list of entries is available on line at the Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event website at www.RK3DE.org/accepted-list/.
"With the Olympic Games taking place this summer, this year's Rolex Kentucky is especially important and the equestrian world will be eagerly watching the results," said Lee Carter, executive director of Equestrian Events, Inc. (EEI), organizer of the Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event. "We're welcoming some of the very best names in the sport of eventing; -- these are the world Olympians you'll be hearing about at Rio. It's going to be a must-see competition this year!"
The Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event is the nation's premier Three-Day Event and one of the most prestigious equestrian competitions in the world. The Fédération Equestre Internationale (International Equestrian Federation - FEI), the world's governing body of equestrian sports, has designated the Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event as a 'Four Star' eventing competition, the highest designation, which is given only to the Olympic Games, World Championships, and six annual events around the world. "Rolex Kentucky" is the only Four Star event in the Western Hemisphere. The 2015 event hosted more than 75,000 attendees over the four days of competition with 31,000-plus cheering fans on cross-country day alone.
Equestrian Events, Inc. is a non-profit charitable Kentucky corporation that was established initially to produce the 1978 World Three-Day Event Championships at the Kentucky Horse Park. Following the success of those championships, EEI established an annual event that evolved into the Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event Presented by Land Rover.
For more information, or to purchase tickets to the 2016 Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event Presented by Land Rover, please visit the Rolex Kentucky website at www.RK3DE.org.
The countdown to the 2024 United States Eventing Association (USEA) American Eventing Championships (AEC) presented by Nutrena Feeds is getting shorter and the tentative schedule is officially set! For the second year in a row, the AEC returns to the iconic Kentucky Horse Park from August 27 through September 1 and will offer 26 divisions, including brand new Starter divisions and all levels of recognized evening up through the $60,000 Adequan USEA Advanced Final.
What’s a Hunter Pace? The Sherwood Forest Equestrian Center's Hunter Pace is a cross-country-style course around Sherwood Forest over various natural obstacles/terrain. The course ends with a final treat for riders to take in stunning views of Mt. Hood with a loop through the old Far Hill Farms field. The beginning of the course will first start with a warm-up loop around show jumping obstacles in the outdoor ring at Sherwood Forest and then riders will continue directly onto the course. Sign up as a solo rider, pair, or team.
Claire Allen remembers when she was 11 years old, having just made the switch from the hunter/jumper ring to three-day eventing. She told her new eventing trainer that her goal was to one day compete in the United States Equestrian Federation’s Eventing Young Rider Championships.
As he was finishing tacking up his horse in preparation to navigate the cross-country course at the 2024 Twin Rivers Summer Horse Trials, James Alliston expressed concern about navigating the 101 Freeway. That’s because as soon as he crossed the finish line aboard Intermediate level winner Addyson (Ampere x Nickerbocker) at 10:38 a.m. on Saturday—his fifth cross-country round of the morning with three at Preliminary and two at Intermediate—the West Coast-based five-star rider had to drive 185 miles on the 101 Freeway from Twin Rivers Ranch in Paso Robles, California, to San Francisco International Airport to catch a 4:35 p.m. flight to Frankfurt, Germany.