United States Eventing Association

Lexington, Ky., April 25 - William Fox-Pitt of Great Britain concluded the Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event, presented by Bridgestone, the same way he began it-in first place. As the last rider to start on today's show jumping course, he and Cool Mountain negotiated all 16 jumps perfectly to capture the $80,000 and the Rolex Steel and Gold Oyster Perpetual Timepiece that go to the winner.

Phillip Dutton, of West Grove, Pa., also recorded a clear round on Woodburn to climb from fourth place to second, while Becky Holder, of Chattahoochee, Ga., lowered one rail on Courageous Comet to hold on to third place. Dutton also finished sixth on The Foreman.

Boyd Martin, of West Grove, Pa., completed the event on three horses, placing fifth with Neville Bardos, 11th with Rock On Rose, and 12th with Remington XXV in the record 53-horse starting field. Kim Severson, who'd been standing second after cross-country on Tipperary Liadhnan, fell to 24th with 24 jumping faults and 12 time faults.

Fox-Pitt, 41, had competed at Rolex Kentucky six times previously but hadn't won before. The 6'5" rider will attempt to win the second leg of the Rolex Grand slam next week when he rides two horses in the Mitsubishi Badminton Three-Day Event in England. (The $350,000 prize goes to any rider who can win Rolex Kentucky, Badminton and the Burghley Three-Day Event in England consecutively.)

"I came here hoping for atop-10 placing, and I kept reminding myself of that while I was in the ring today," said Fox-Pitt.

"When you come to a four-star competition like this, you never really know what will happen, but I certainly didn't expect this," he added. "Cool Mountain has come out of this a better horse, and hopefully he'll step up to the [Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games] in the fall."

Second place with Woodburn marked the eighth time that Dutton, 46, has finished in the runner-up position. He won the Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event in 2008 on Connaught, meaning that he's finished first or second in nine of the 13 CCI4* competitions run at Rolex Kentucky since 1998.

"Hopefully he'll win one of these things one of these days, but sometimes you're grateful to be second," said Dutton with a wry grin.

Woodburn was a last-minute entry at Rolex Kentucky. Dutton had planned to ride him at Badminton since he had three or four other horses entered here, but the Icelandic volcano eruption that stranded several Rolex Kentucky officials in Europe also kept Europe-bound cargo flights on the ground. The addition of Woodburn meant that Dutton would be riding four horses and required the organizers to juggle the schedule to give him enough time to warm each horse up before cross-country. He withdrew Kheops Du Quesnay after dressage and retired Waterfront on cross-country.

"I'm pleased I made the decision to ride Woodburn here, and I'm thankful to the organizers for squeezing me in," said Dutton.

Finishing third at Rolex Kentucky wasn't Holder's personal best - she finished second aboard Comet in 2008. But still she had to be extremely pleased with a fantastic performance this weekend.

"I've had a lot of experience being near the top here after cross-country, and there is a growth that happens that allows you to put all those things that distract you to the side and just go do it," said Holder, who was relieved with today's four-fault performance.

Today's attendance was 16,499. The total for the event was 61,828.

Townend Returns To Kentucky Horse Park

British rider Oliver Townend, who fell at cross-country fence 20 on Saturday, was released from the hospital on Sunday morning and watched the show jumping phase at the Kentucky Horse Park on Sunday afternoon. His horse ODT Master Rose, who had been standing in seventh place after cross-country, was not presented at the third horse inspection and was withdrawn from the competition.

To listen to an interview with Townend, go to www.rk3de.org.

The Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event

The Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event, presented by Bridgestone, is America's only four-star competition and is a member of the HSBC Classic Series. The world's best horses and riders vie for $250,000 in prize money and the coveted Rolex Championship.

The 2010 event marked the 30th consecutive year of sponsorship by Rolex Watch USA.

This year NBC has expanded its television coverage of the Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event from 60 to 90 minutes. The program will air on Saturday, May 15, from 3:00 to 4:30 EDT, just prior to the Preakness Stakes.

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From the USEF
by Joanie Morris

Lexington, KY - William Fox-Pitt put in a foot-perfect show jumping round to complete a weekend during which Cool Mountain exceed expectation and made his first CCI4* a winning one at the Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event presented by Bridgestone.

Riding for Great Britain, Fox-Pitt was the man to catch all weekend and finished on his dressage score of 42.8. But Rolex Kentucky had always eluded him so his flawless round in the Johnson Stadium at the Kentucky Horse Park made the win that much sweeter as he added a Rolex watch to his accolades as one of the most decorated eventing riders in history.

"I know my chap tries to jump the jumps," said Fox-Pitt. "He tried his heart out."

Cool Mountain, a 10-year-old Thoroughbred gelding, owned by Teresa Stopford Sackville, is royally bred for eventing - by the fantastic stallion Primitive Rising, he lived up to the hype and fulfilled Fox-Pitt's hope that he would materialize into a serious contender.

"When you come in to these things, you never really know what is going to happen," said Fox-Pitt. "I'm impressed and surprised, he didn't do anything wrong. But I didn't expect it. He's come out of this a better horse."

Phillip Dutton (West Grove, PA), was runner-up again (for the sixth time) but was crowned USEF National CCI4* Champion for the third time despite only riding for the US since 2007. The Australian expatriate was thrilled with the performance of Woodburn, the 14-year-old New Zealand Thoroughbred (owned by Ann Jones, Maurdie Faucette and Acorn Hill Farm) added to a sparkling resume. Rerouted from the Mitsubishi Motors Badminton Horse Trials because of the travel disruptions with the volcano in Iceland - Woodburn made his trip to Kentucky worth the last minute shuffle.


Woodburn is Second for Phillip Dutton


"I'm pleased I made the decision to come here and I'm thankful to the organizers for getting him in at the last minute," said Dutton.

A fantastic cross-country horse, Dutton was most impressed with the horse's show jumping this weekend. It was the strength of the final phase that moved Woodburn from fourth to second.

"He's a phenomenal horse," he said. "He's highly strung and out of the whole weekend I was most thrilled with today."

Dutton and Woodburn also finished on their dressage score of 47.7 - something only three other combinations could do.

Becky Holder (Wadesboro, NC) laid to rest her demons in the show jumping, she had been in the top spot twice going into the show jumping with Courageous Comet (in 2006 and 2008) but couldn't produce a winning result.

2010 brought a different confidence for Holder in the final phase. Her one rail kept her in third place after Kim Severson (who was second after the cross-country) had a bit of a disappointment on Tipperary Liadhnan and dropped down the placings. Holder and Courageous Comet finished on a final score of 49.2.

"I've been fortunate enough to have a lot of experience being in the top places after cross country and the unfortunate experience of having bad rides and disappointment in the show jumping," said Holder. "On the day you have to just jump one jump at a time as well as you can."

Courageous Comet, owned by Holder's husband Tom is a rangy 14-year-old Thoroughbred put three phases together when it mattered most.

Fox-Pitt was impressed with both the competition itself and the pressure from the Americans.
"To be on Cool Mountain sitting on top of Woodburn and Courageous Comet - they are fantastic horses so to pip them to the post was a real thrill," said Fox-Pitt.

Fox-Pitt won the HSBC Classics Series in 2008, and has jumped out to an early lead picking up 15 points with the win.