Lights, cameras, action! The first formal horse inspection (which some might informally refer to as "the jog") at the 2024 Defender Kentucky Three-Day Event (DK3DE) takes place this afternoon at the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington, Kentucky. While this part of the event is a fan-favorite historically based on the impeccable turnout of the horses and the stylish and forward fashion choices of the riders (we are looking at you Boyd Martin in hopes that you bring back the American flag suit circa 2022), it serves a very important purpose: ensuring that each horse is fit, sound, and ready to compete at the five-star level.
This year's five-star Ground Jury consists of President Robert Stevenson (USA), Xavier Le Sauce (FRA), and Judy Hancock (GBR), as well as the FEI Veterinary Delegate Debbie Williamson (USA), and Assistant Veterinary Delegate Anne Baskett, DVM (USA).
All 36 pairs entered in the five-star at Kentucky will present before the Ground Jury and Veterinary Delegates for an assessment. Horses will either pass, be sent to the hold box for further evaluation and then potentially representation or be "spun," which means that they did not pass the inspection and cannot compete.
Want to know more about the process of a horse inspection? Check out this handy video featuring former USEA President Max Corcoran from the 2018 FEI World Equestrian Games.
The CCI4*-S will only have one horse inspection throughout the duration of the competition which will take place on Sunday, April 28, prior to show jumping. The five-star field will also present again on Sunday morning before the final phase to assess their soundness after the first two phases of the competition.
Today's horse inspection takes place at 2:00 p.m. EST at High Hopes Inspection Lane at the Kentucky Horse Park.
Here is what you need to know to follow along today:
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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.
Off The Record decided not to let Michael Jung be the only record-breaking entry at the Defender Kentucky Three-Day Event this week and delivered a career-best score in the Cosequin Lexington CCI4*-S on Friday morning. He and Will Coleman delivered a test that received a score of 21.8, not only marking a personal best for the horse but also securing their position at the top of the leaderboard going into cross-country tomorrow.
Boyd Martin and the 12-year-old Holsteiner gelding Commando 3 were the last pair to go in the Defender Kentucky CCI5*-L field on Friday afternoon and were warmly greeted to the bluegrass with an impressive downpour that outshined anything the other horse and rider pairs had to combat throughout the day. But that didn’t stop this pair from putting their best foot forward and impressing the judges enough to earn them a score of 26.0, just 0.2 points ahead of second-place pair Tom McEwen (GBR) and Brookfield Quality.
Please always remain vigilant when it comes to sending any personal communications via email or text. Every year we receive reports of members and leaders of our sport receiving phishing attempts both online and by phone. These are often communications disguised as being sent from USEA staff or other leaders. As the years go on, the phishing attempts appear to be more directed and tailored.