This year’s Land Rover Kentucky Three-Day Event presented by MARS Equestrian has already begun in dramatic fashion, with a snowstorm blanketing the Kentucky Horse Park the night before the first horse inspection. Now, the snow has melted, the spring flowers are out, and we are set with 63 combinations ready to canter into the Rolex Arena for the CCI5*-L, and 46 combinations in the CCI4*-S, after all horses passed the first inspection.
Jessica Phoenix and Jim Phillips’ Wabbit will be the first down the centerline in the CCI4*-S at 7:59 a.m. today. The division will see 21 horses this morning and will break after Lauren Lambert and her own and Team Fantastique’s Fantastique ride at 11:10 a.m. The CCI4*-S division will reconvene on Friday at 7:45 a.m. with 25 horses left to go.
The first 30 horses in the CCI5*-L will complete dressage today, kicking off with New Zealand rider Jonelle Price and The Grape Syndicate’s Grappa Nera at 12:23 p.m. The last combination in the arena today will be reigning champions Oliver Townend and Cooley Master Class, the 16-year-old Irish Sport Horse gelding owned by Angela Hislop. The pair from England won the Land Rover Kentucky Three-Day Event CCI5*-L in both 2018 and 2019, and they’re looking to add a third victory to their resume this year. The rest of the CCI5*-L will complete dressage tomorrow, beginning at 12:15 p.m. with Boyd Martin and his and the Turner family’s On Cue.
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Did you miss yesterday's horse inspection? You can re-watch it here:
Being spontaneous has paid off for Kevin Keane and Sportsfield Candy. “I bought him on a Wednesday and showed him on a Thursday,” Keane recalls about his first event with his Irish Sport Horse gelding, then 9 years old, at Plantation Field Horse Trials (Unionville, Pennsylvania) in September 2016. “I owned him for part of a day, and the next morning I showed up at a CCI and jogged him up for a two-star, and we went clean and clean and clean.”
THANK YOU to everyone who has already entered the USEF/USEA Recognized CDCTA Spring Horse Trials scheduled for Sunday, April 9 in Berryville, VA. We will continue to take late entries through Friday, March 24 using USEA’s Xentry system. If you still want to come compete, please enter! The late fee has been waived through Friday, March 24.
The U.S. Equestrian Federation announces the appointment of long-term US Equestrian employee Hallye Griffin as Director of FEI Sport. Griffin will assume the duties of former Director of FEI/High-Performance Sport, Graeme Thom, who has chosen to step away from his role to attend to personal matters.
The United States Eventing Association, Inc. (USEA) is thrilled to announce that Sidelines Magazine will not only be returning as a “Media Partner of U.S. Eventing,” but they will also be supporting the Association as a “Contributing Level Sponsor of the USEA Emerging Athletes U21 Program” and a “Prize Level Sponsor of the USEA American Eventing Championships.” Sidelines Magazine will give the USEA additional promotion and exposure through their printed and digital media products, while also providing prizes for participants at the AEC and EA21 clinics.