Tag Archives: Rolex Kentucky Three Day Event

Michael Jung Rewrites History, Crowned Winner of Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event for Third Time

(LEXINGTON, KY) – April 30, 2017 – After four thrilling days of world-class equestrian sport, Germany’s Michael Jung made history once again, claiming a third consecutive title of the Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event Presented by Land Rover, aboard his 12-year-old mare, fischerRocana FST. It was second place for France and Maxime Livio, with Land Rover Ambassador Zara Tindall (GBR) finishing in third place after a flawless clear round aboard High Kingdom.

Following Saturday’s tough cross-country ride, 39 horses headed into the final phase of the competition. The show jumping course set by Richard Jefferys, which featured a 2017 Range Rover Evoque Convertible and a 2017 Range Rover Sport, proved tricky for the field with only four competitors finishing clear within the time. Third-to-go, Zara Tindall, produced a stunning clear round aboard her 16-year-old bay High Kingdom; the echoes of cheers from the 25,000 spectators confirmed this and put the pressure on the final two competitors. Maxime Livio, who beat Michael Jung in Pau, France last year, kept his cool to ride the fourth and final clear round of the day with his partner, Qalao Des Mers. The stadium fell silent as the formidable pairing of Germany’s Michael Jung and fischerRocana FST began their round, with a fence in hand, hoping to make history once again. Despite incurring four faults, the crowd erupted as Jung pumped his fist in the air celebrating a special moment in his career to claim the coveted Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event title for a historic third consecutive year.

Jung commented on his achievement: “fischerRocana FST is a top horse; the mare fights so hard for me and our partnership is so strong. She gave me a very good feeling in the warm up ring which made me feel good entering the arena. I did not have enough power in the triple combination so I was little nervous with two jumps to go! I am so grateful for my team and really pleased with the result.”

Land Rover Ambassador, Zara Tindall, spoke of her third-place finish. “I am so lucky to be here and I am very thankful to Land Rover and Rolex to have me back here; I wouldn’t be here without their support. My horse is fantastic; all through the competition he has been amazing; he owes me nothing and I have loved riding him this weekend. I have really enjoyed being here it as it is an amazing event to be a part of.”

Olympic bronze medallist, Phillip Dutton (USA), moved up the leader-board with his Irish Sport Horse gelding, Mr. Medicott, to not only take fourth place but also the USEF Championship Trophy awarded to the highest placed American rider, a prize presented to him for a record fifth year.

“It is particularly rewarding to finish as the top US rider,” said Dutton, who also celebrated his 40th Rolex Kentucky completion. “It has been a great event and it is the perfect way for Mr. Medicott to finish his four-star career.”

Saturday’s cross-country saw Erin Sylvester produce a thrilling round aboard her 13-year-old thoroughbred mare Mettraise to win the “Land Rover Best Ride of the Day” that rewards the top U.S. rider to complete the cross-country course closest to the optimum time without jumping penalties. Sylvester was presented with a 2017 Land Rover Discovery Sport 24-month lease by Helen McDonald, Events and Partnerships Manager, Jaguar Land Rover NA LLC at the 2017 Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event Presented by Land Rover.

The optimum time of 11 minutes and 17 seconds proved difficult for the horse and rider combinations with only five out of 57 starters finishing within the time set by renowned course designer Derek di Grazia. Despite accurate clear rounds from fellow U.S. team mates, Holly Payne Caravella and Matthew Brown, Sylvester demonstrated true perfection, finishing spot-on the optimum time of 11 minutes and 17 seconds, to win the Land Rover Discovery Sport 24-month lease.

For any equestrian fans unable to attend the event, the NBC telecast of the Rolex Equestrian Championships presented by Land Rover will allow those to enjoy it from home on Sunday, May 7, from 1:30 to 3:00 p.m. EST and NBCSN on Sunday, May 28, from 3:00 to 4:30 p.m. EST.

For a copyright-free two minute highlights film, please click here.

To learn more about the 2017 Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event Presented by Land Rover, please visit: www.RK3DE.org.

Michael Jung Makes It Three in a Row at Kentucky

Michael Jung (GER) and FischerRocana FST. (FEI/Rebecca Berry)

Jung retains Kentucky crown, with Livio (FRA) and Tindall (GBR) holding on to second and third

Germany’s Michael Jung smashed yet another record when winning the Kentucky Three-Day Event for the third year running on the 12-year-old FischerRocana, a mare that may not have the biggest movement but certainly has the biggest heart.

Jung did have a jumping fence down, but his supremacy in the dressage and cross-country meant he could afford it and is second in the FEI Classics™ after three out of six legs behind the superbly talented Frenchman Maxime Livio (FRA), who finished runner-up at Kentucky on Qalao Des Mers with a clear jumping round.

“She is a really wonderful horse, a top fighting girl. She jumped wonderfully and was only a bit spooky at the white fence. I really like Kentucky – and not just because I win here! – but because I feel very welcome. You can train the horse for every phase and it’s why I like it and why I come back.” — Michael Jung (GER)

With one FEI Classics™ win each, and a second place each, Livio and Jung both have their sights firmly on the 2016/17 series title. However, only Jung is competing at Badminton next weekend, fourth leg of the series, which could be his opportunity to step up to top the leaderboard.

Both Livio and Zara Tindall, the only British athlete in the field, finished on their dressage scores. Tindall was ecstatic with her third place after a beautiful clear round on High Kingdom and it must have laid the ghost of the disappointment two years when she had to withdraw before dressage when the horse suffered a freak injury.

Matthew Brown (USA) slipped from fourth to sixth after hitting the very first rail with BCF Super Socks, so it was the super-consistent Phillip Dutton (USA), who has now completed Kentucky an amazing 40 times, who captured yet another national title as highest placed USA rider, as he moved up to fourth with a clear round on the 18-year-old Mr Medicott, a horse having his last four-star run after an illustrious career. Hannah Sue Burnett (USA) was fifth on Under Suspection.

The Kentucky three-peat was Jung’s 10th four-star win – William Fox-Pitt holds the record with 14 – and the German Olympic champion, who is only 34, looks to be catching up with the Briton. Just hours after his triumph on American soil Jung was catching a flight to England en route to defending his title at Badminton next weekend.

A record number of spectators watched the 4* Eventing action this year at Kentucky, with 34’000 attending cross country and 24000 at the jumping finale.

By Kate Green

Press contacts:

Leanne Williams
Manager Press Relations
leanne.williams@fei.org
+41 79 314 24 38

Marty Baumann
Press Chief
info@classic-communications.com
508-698-6810 x 10

Michael Jung Takes Over Kentucky Lead after Cross Country

Michael Jung (GER) and FischerRocana FST. (FEI/Rebecca Berry)

Even dual Olympic champion Michael Jung admitted cross country day at the Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event, third leg of the FEI Classics™, was a tough one with Derek di Grazia’s track posing a serious challenge. However, the German maestro is yet again in pole position on FischerRocana FST, despite finishing four seconds (1.6 time penalties) over the optimum time of 11 minutes 17 seconds and surviving a precarious moment when the brave little mare made an enormous leap into the lake.

Jung, currently third in the FEI Classics™ having led the series last year, has a fence in hand to win a record third successive Kentucky on the same horse. His nearest challenger is Frenchman Maxime Livio, current leader of the FEI Classics™ after his win in Pau, who rode a masterful round to finish exactly on the optimum time on Qalao Des Mers to rise from eighth place after dressage to second.

“Today was not our best ride, but we have a true partnership and kept fighting,” said Jung. “FischerRocana looks very well after the finish – she is a tough girl!”

The leaderboard has changed dramatically and a brilliant, committed ride by the sole British representative, Zara Tindall on High Kingdom, has propelled her from 16th to third place. A determined Matthew Brown, previously 19th after dressage, has leapt to fourth place on Super Socks BCF and is the highest placed American rider.

Demonstrating the openness of the competition, Erin Sylvester (USA), who was only 51st after dressage, is now 13th on Mettraise after finishing bang on the optimum time.

There were 26 clear rounds from the 42 finishers and six within the optimum time. Dressage leaders Clark Montgomery (USA) and Loughan Glen lost their chance of retaining their position with a disappointing refusal at a skinny brush at fence 18a.

Three other riders in contention after dressage also disappeared off the leaderboard: both Kim Severson (USA), third on Cooley Cross Border, and Jessica Phoenix (CAN), fifth on Bentley’s Best, retired after run-outs at corners and Elizabeth Halliday-Sharp (USA), fourth, parted company from Fernhill By Night at the Normandy Bank.

The jumping finale, which starts at 1pm local time, is sure to be a tense affair as the magnificent Michael Jung bids to make history – again.

Press contacts:

Leanne Williams
Manager Press Relations
leanne.williams@fei.org
+41 79 314 24 38

Marty Baumann
Press Chief
info@classic-communications.com
508-698-6810 x 10

Clark Montgomery and Loughan Glen Lead at Kentucky

Clark Montgomery and Loughan Glen. (FEI/Rebecca Berry)

Montgomery leads on 33.6 ahead of Germany’s Jung on 37.1

American rider Clark Montgomery rode a superbly smooth dressage test on Loughan Glen to take the lead in front of his new home crowd at the Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event. It’s the third leg of the FEI Classics™, a series that links the world’s six major four-star events and provides valuable cash prizes to the top three in the points table.

Montgomery, who has returned to the USA from a spell based in Britain and now lives in Kentucky State, heads the 59 starters at the USA’s premier event on the excellent score of 33.6, but there’s no relaxing when defending champion Michael Jung from Germany is only 3.5 penalties behind. Jung, the dual Olympic champion and 2015-2016 FEI Classics™ leader (he is currently third in the 2016-2017 table), is going for a record third successive Kentucky victory on the same horse, gallant little mare FischerRocana FST.

He has a habit of piling on pressure with faultless jumping performances and Montgomery and Loughan Glen, no strangers to outstanding success in the dressage arena, have a few blots on their cross-country record. However, the dressage leader, who describes that test as “beefy”, was visibly elated:

“My horse felt super. This morning he was pretty tight, but he was ‘up’ which is what we wanted. He felt good in his body, good in his mind.” — Clark Montgomery (USA)

US rider Kim Severson, who has achieved the rare distinction of winning Kentucky three times on the same horse, Winsome Adante (albeit not in succession), is in third place on her rising star Cooley Cross Border.

Speedy Frenchman Maxime Livio scored the first victory in the current FEI Classics™ series, at Pau, France, and brings that winning horse, Qalao Des Mers, for a first attempt at Kentucky. They are eighth on 44.6.

Zara Tindall, the 2006 world champion, is the sole Brit; she was near the bottom of the Badminton waitlist and decided to cross the Atlantic instead with her 2012 Olympic silver medallist High Kingdom. They are currently 16th on 46.6, just 0.3 ahead of fellow traveller Tim Price (NZL) on Ringwood Sky Boy, 17th.

Kentucky’s last home winner was Phillip Dutton way back in 2008; he’s in joint ninth on 44.8 with two of his three rides, Fernhill Fugitive and the 17-year-old Mr Medicott. The vastly experienced rider, a bronze medallist in Rio last year, has this to say about the cross-country, which starts at 10am local time: “You’ve got to keep thinking, not let the blood rush to the head and see how your horse handles the distance. It’s another great course from Derek (di Grazia, designer) and will sort everyone out.”

Press contacts:

Leanne Williams
Manager Press Relations
leanne.williams@fei.org
+41 79 314 24 38

Marty Baumann
Press Chief
info@classic-communications.com
508-698-6810 x 10

Dressage at #RK3DE – Watch Day 1 On Demand on USEF Network

Photo credit: RedBayStock.com.

The only place to catch the action-packed competition is the USEF Network live stream. Wall-to-wall coverage of each phase will be available on computers, tablets, phones, and smart TV devices. As always, the broadcast will include multiple camera angles, live athlete interviews, and analysis from professional sports commentator John Kyle with varying guest hosts.

Don’t miss the Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event presented by Land Rover broadcast on NBC Sunday, May 7, at 1:30 p.m. ET. Check your local listings for channel numbers in your area.

“It Inspires You to Be Better”: Athletes Share Memories of the Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event

Leah Lang-Gluscic
Leah Lang-Gluscic completed her first Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event in 2016 aboard A.P. Prime.

“Rolex is a spectacle, in the best way possible. You think you’re going to get there and it’s going to be this long week of waiting. But with A.P. in particular, I had such a huge fan base for him that I was occupied every single second of the entire week. It’s nice, because you don’t have time to sit and worry about how big and long the cross-country is or about how your horse might be wild in dressage. So it’s unique in that there really is something for the riders to be doing almost every minute of the competition. Personally, for me, I love that.”

Sinead Halpin
Halpin finished third in her first Rolex Kentucky event in 2011 with Manoir de Carneville, earning the pair the Rolex/USEF CCI4* Eventing National Championship.

Sinead Halpin and Manoir de Carneville (Mike McNally)

“I’ve been there a thousand times to watch, but I’ve ridden there three times. I think every time I have gone it’s been a little different. It’s truly the pinnacle of the sport, and one of the things that three-day eventing does is it wraps so many emotions and so many experiences into one weekend, right? Rolex is like that times 100.”

Elisa Wallace
Wallace first attended Rolex Kentucky as a spectator in 2008 and returned in 2014 to give a training demonstration with her mustangs. She rode there for the first time in 2015 with Simply Priceless, with whom she also finished sixth last year.

“There’s nothing that compares with going to your first Rolex. You have this weird thing of, ‘Oh my gosh, we’re here, and I don’t really believe that I’m here!’ It’s a surreal feeling. That stuck with me throughout the whole thing; I kind of felt outside my body.”

Jimmy Wofford
Olympic medalist Wofford won the Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event in 1981 with Carawich and again in 1986 on The Optimist when the event was a long-format competition. He’s also coached many riders there and regularly serves as a commentator.

“I went around the course probably 10 times. It was always a challenge. First of all, it was a challenge for everybody because it was a classic format. I never rode in the modern short format. And of course, I especially remember ’81 and ’86. The first Rolex sponsorship was in 1981; before that it had been the Kentucky Three-Day Event, even though it already took four days to put it on back in 1981. So I have the first Rolex watch that was ever won there.”

Kim Severson
U.S. Olympic medalist Kim Severson won Rolex Kentucky three times with Winsome Adante, who was owned by Linda Wachtmeister’s Plain Dealing Farm. This year she’s competing at Rolex with The Cross Syndicate’s Cooley Cross Border.

“For the years that I was with Linda [Wachtmeister], they still had the tie pinneys for your number. It was always a thing that we did: Linda tied my number for me before I went on course. That was always a special thing because it was our thing.”

Doug Payne
Payne first tackled Rolex Kentucky in 2012 with Running Order, then owned by Stone Hill Farm. This year, he returns with his 2016 mount Vandiver, a horse he co-owns with Debi Crowley and Jessica Payne.

“The first time going down the chute into the arena there for dressage was probably my most memorable moment. Of course, you can’t beat having a cross-country round and all that, but that’s what’s etched in my mind: the first time going down the chute and stepping onto that stage.”

Dorothy Crowell
Lexington native Crowell and Kentucky-bred Molokai were hometown heroes when they won the first Rolex/USEF CCI4* Eventing National Championship in 1998, the first year the event was run as a four-star. The pair finished second overall that year at a time when Rolex Kentucky was still a long-format competition.

“My main memory, the one I go to anytime I think of Rolex, would be of the first four-star in 1998. It was Molokai’s final three-day event after a pretty amazing career, and it was in our hometown. It was the only competition where every stride he took, people were cheering – the whole 14-minute course, from when we left the box. On the gallop stretches there were only a few people, and sometimes, as when we were going through the Head of the Lake, there seemed to be thousands of them.”

Lauren Kieffer and Vermiculus Dressage Test

Check out Lauren Kieffer and her Anglo-Arabian Vermiculus performing their dressage test to lead the Rolex/USEF CCI4* Eventing National Championship after Day 1. Watch Now >

© 2017 US Equestrian Federation

Behind the Scenes with Lauren Kieffer ahead of Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event

(MAHWAH, NJ) – April 21, 2017 – Land Rover North America is pleased to announce the ‘Land Rover Best Ride of The Day’ programme will return to the 2017 edition of the Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event Presented by Land Rover.

Ahead of this year’s competition Land Rover North America went behind the scenes with the 2016 winner of the prize, Olympian and U.S. Land Rover Eventing Team rider Lauren Kieffer. The 90 second copyright-free film can be viewed and shared here.

To learn more about the 2017 Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event Presented by Land Rover, please visit: www.RK3DE.org.

Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event Welcomes World’s Best Riders

(MAHWAH, N.J.) – April 19, 2017 – Land Rover North America announced it will be returning to the Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event as Presenting Sponsor and Official Vehicle for the eighth year running. The Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event is the highlight of the eventing season in North America as the USEF National Championship and only 4* FEI level competition in the U.S. The event takes place from April 27-30, 2017 at the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington, Ky.

Each year the Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event attracts the world’s best horse-and-rider combinations. Heading the list this year is Rio Olympic gold medalist, Michael Jung of Germany, who successfully defended his Rolex-Kentucky title last year on FischerRocana FST. This year the formidable pair returns hoping to make history by becoming the first horse-and-rider combination to win America’s only Four Star event three consecutive years.

Along with Michael Jung, Rolex-Kentucky welcomes back Land Rover Ambassador Zara Tindall and her 2012 London Olympic silver medal horse, High Kingdom. Tindall, granddaughter of Queen Elizabeth II, won Eventing’s World Championship in 2006.

Also returning this year is the “Land Rover Best Ride of the Day” program, which rewards the U.S. athlete who finishes closest to the optimum time on the cross-country course with no jumping penalties. Since its inception, the program has been won by legends of the sport including Olympic bronze medalist Phillip Dutton, and the 2016 winner of the prize, Olympian and U.S. Land Rover Eventing Team athlete Lauren Kieffer. This year, the winning athlete will receive a 24-month lease of a Land Rover Discovery Sport and will be presented with the keys following the cross-country competition on the Saturday.

Equestrian Events, Inc. (EEI), producer of the Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event Presented by Land Rover, has announced a prize money increase for the third year in a row, now up to $400,000. The victorious rider will receive a check for $130,000, which is the highest amount awarded at any of the world’s four-star three-day events. This reflects the growth of the competition which is now firmly established as one of the top three-day events in the world.

“The Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event is one of the most prestigious competitions in the world and we are proud to be continuing our long-standing relationship with the event and the equestrian community. We are also excited to welcome the world’s best riders, especially our Land Rover ambassador Zara Tindall,” said Kim McCullough, Vice President of Marketing, Jaguar Land Rover North America, LLC. “Kentucky is ‘the home of the horses’ and provides the perfect environment to showcase our vehicles. We look forward to what promises to be another exciting weekend.”

“We are excited that Land Rover is once again returning as the Presenting sponsor of the Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event,” said Lee Carter, EEI Executive Director. “Their support has helped create unique experiences and memories for our guests that make them want to come back to Kentucky, year after year.”

The USEF Network will live stream the Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event presented by Land Rover beginning on Thursday, April 26 at 3:00 p.m. EST. In addition, two nationally televised broadcasts will air on the following stations and times: NBC on Sunday, May 7, from 1:30 to 3:00 p.m. EST and NBCSN on Sunday, May 28, from 3:00 to 4:30 p.m. EST.

To learn more about the 2017 Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event Presented by Land Rover, please visit: www.RK3DE.org.

Rolex Rookies Madeline Backus and P.S. Arianna Grew Up Together

Madeline Backus and P.S. Arianna (Shannon Brinkman Photo)

Madeline Backus and P.S. Arianna are first-time competitors this year at the Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event presented by Land Rover, but their partnership goes back years.

“My mom’s farrier, Dennis Ackerman at Pendragon Stud in Colorado, actually bred her,” Backus said of the Anglo-Trakehner mare. “So I’ve known her for her whole life. It’s been quite an adventure.”

Backus, whose mother Laura co-owns Pendragon in Larkspur, Colo., first heard P.S. Arianna’s name when she was about seven or eight, right around the time she had attended her first Rolex event as a spectator and knew that that was where she wanted to ride someday. Little did anyone know that P.S. Arianna was the horse that would take Backus there.

“Back then, she was just a young horse at our barn,” Backus said recently of P.S. Arianna, who was foaled in 2001. “As the years went on, my mom started riding her as a young horse, and then she gave me the ride. I was really grateful for that. I was probably about nine or 10, and Ari would have been five or six years old. I was so young! She was my next horse after my first pony, and it has been incredible growing up with her. She’s answered every question we’ve given her, and it’s been great.”

Over the last decade, Backus and Ari have climbed the levels from beginner novice to CCI3*, and now they’re poised to fulfill Backus’s lifelong dream of competing at Rolex. Along the way, Backus earned her “A” rating from Pony Club, and, riding Ari, was on the gold medal-winning team at the Adequan/FEI North American Junior and Young Rider Championships presented by Gotham North CICY2* last year. Together, she and Ari also were chosen for the US Equestrian Federation’s Emerging Athlete Eventing 25 program in 2016 and 2017.

“I think we’ve both changed over time,” Backus said. “There are the different phases of each level, and you hit a certain point and your horse gets a lot fitter. She definitely changed: she got fitter and more aware of everything. So I had to learn to ride that side of her, because as a young kid with a young horse, she had been so calm. I have pictures of me going around with a loopy rein. Now she’s a lot fitter and there’s a lot more horse there! She’s a fiery little one, but I love her.”

These days, Backus works for Missy Ransehousen in Florida and in Pennsylvania. And while she’s been preparing for her Rolex debut, she’s also been baking. That’s not just a hobby; it’s also been a fundraiser to help get her and Ari to Rolex.

“A lot of people do a GoFundMe, and I set one of those up, because people were asking me about that,” Backus said. “But I also wanted to give back a little, so the baking was kind of my way to do that. I much prefer getting to see the people who are supporting me. It was wonderful and very heartwarming, because people would come up and say such nice things.

“The first time, I did it for two days at Richard and Daisy Trayford’s Exmoor Horse Trials, and then Rocking Horse also let me do it at their Winter III competition. I pretty much sold out both times. I love bread, and the cheese garlic bread was everybody’s favorite. I also did a cinnamon bread that was pretty good. My mom’s group also helped me make an assortment of cookies, and I did horse treats and dog treats, too.”

Backus says she’s grateful to everyone who has helped get her to Kentucky – and to Ari.

“It’s very special,” Backus said of her long relationship with her Rolex mount. “We’re kind of like siblings; we know each other so well. I would be lucky to have anything like that ever again. Having that bond and connection over 10 or 11 years is pretty incredible. It’s a bit of a fairytale, isn’t it?”

By Glenye Oakford, US Equestrian Communications Department

Meet Four First-Timers at the 2017 Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event

Jenny Caras with Fernhill Fortitude. (Libby Law Photography)

The USEF’s Eventing Emerging Athlete Program is an age-restricted program that identifies and cultivates talented young riders ages 18 and under and 25 and under with the potential to evolve into future United States team candidates. They’re coached by USEF Eventing Emerging Athlete Coach Leslie Law. This year, four of the program’s riders are among the entries for the Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event presented by Land Rover.

Madeline Backus

Horse: P.S. Arianna. “She’s a joy to be around and has so much personality. She’s so loving in the barn. She loves treats, and if you scratch her, she’ll groom you back. She licks you after treats. She’s super-sweet, but as soon as we need to get serious, she puts on her game face and takes on anything in front of her.”

Recent success together: 4th at 2017 Red Hills International CIC3*

Hometown: Larkspur, Co.

On Rolex: “I was a spectator when I was seven, and it’s always been a dream of mine. I’m definitely looking forward to cross-country. It will be challenging, but I can’t wait gallop up to Weldon’s Wall.”

On the Emerging Athlete Program: “It’s been really helpful not only to train with Leslie Law but to get to know the great riders that made the list. Being from Colorado, I hadn’t met the East Coast riders, so it’s great to spend training sessions with them.”

Jenny Caras

Horse: Fernhill Fortitude. “He’s an attention-seeker who wants to be the only one in the barn getting attention. Anybody could get on him and hack him around.”

Recent success together: 9th at 2016 Bramham Under 25 CCI3*, 6th at 2016 Fair Hill International CCI3*

Hometown: Marietta, Ga.

On Rolex: “I’m just looking forward to being there and doing my first 4*. The cross-country’s going to be a lot more technical than I’ve seen and a lot bigger, too.”

On the Emerging Athlete Program: “All the extra lessons and camaraderie between the riders – it all sets you up for good performances.”

Savannah “Woodge” Fulton

Horse: Captain Jack. “I know that if anything goes wrong, it’s my fault. He’s not going to let me down. He’s pretty much a pirate. He’s small and scrappy.”

Recent success together: 7th at Bromont CCI3*, double-clear cross-country at 2016 Fair Hill International CCI3*

Hometown: Finksburg, Md.

On Rolex: “My focus will be on trying to get the cross-country. It’s crazy to look at the fences… they look massive. I’m hoping when I’m there on Captain Jack they won’t look as monstrous! But I’ve prepared myself.”

On the Emerging Athlete Program: “Riding is a really easy sport to make it be about the individual and your horse, but the Emerging Athlete Program reminds you that the ultimate goal and the ultimate accomplishment is a team gold medal. It’s about what we have going forward as a potential team for the country.”

Caroline Martin

Horse: Spring Easy. “His nickname is ‘Child.’ He really is a kid, but he’s a good athlete and tries really hard. He definitely likes to joke around, but he’s a cool competitor.”

Recent success together: 2nd at 2016 Richland Park Horse Trials CIC3*; 8th at 2016 Jersey Fresh International CCI3*

Hometown: Springtown, Pa.

On Rolex: “Completion – that’s what I look forward to the most.”

On the Emerging Athlete Program: “If it wasn’t for the program, I wouldn’t be in the position I am today. It’s done more than just for my riding – it’s helped me on the business aspect, too. And to be able to build camaraderie with the other under-25 riders is great.”

The only place to catch all four days of the action-packed competition is the USEF Network live stream.

© 2017 US Equestrian Federation

What Is the Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event?

Boyd Martin and Shamwari 4 tackled the cross-country course in last year’s Rolex Kentucky (Adam Brennan – www.picturesbyab.com)

Have you always wondered what people mean when they say, “Are you going to Rolex?” They are talking about the Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event Presented by Land Rover, known as the “Best Weekend All Year” and one of the most prestigious equestrian competitions in the world. The Fédération Equestre Internationale has designated the Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event, hosted at the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington, Ky., as a “four-star” eventing competition, the sport’s highest designation, which is given only to the Olympic Games, World Championships, and six annual events around the world. The 2017 edition will also crown the 20th Rolex/USEF National CCI4* Champion.

The Basics: Eventing is the equestrian equivalent to a human triathlon, consisting of dressage, cross-country, and show jumping. This event is usually contested over three days, hence the other popular term for the discipline – three-day eventing. By performing each of these phases, horses that compete in eventing show their balance, stamina, and precision. To learn more about eventing, visit USequestrian.org.

Schedule: The 2017 Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event Presented by Land Rover will be held April 27-30. It has become such a star-studded event that competition now covers four days to accommodate a large number of participants. Dressage begins on Thursday and concludes on Friday. The cross-country phase is held Saturday and the competition concludes on Sunday with show jumping. A 2017 provisional schedule can be found at rk3de.org.

What to Do: The event also offers a variety of spectator activities, including the ever-popular Land Rover Test Drive, which was featured in the Spring 2016 edition of US Equestrian Magazine. The Sponsor Village and International Trade Fair offer designer and sport clothing and accessories, arts and crafts, jewelry, gift items, souvenirs, and more. The Rolex Kentucky visitor’s guide provides tips for how to get the most out of your experience.

Where to Watch: If you are not able to attend the 2017 Rolex Kentucky, the only place to catch all four days of the action-packed competition is the USEF Network live stream. Wall-to-wall coverage of each phase can be seen on computers, tablets, phones, and smart TV devices. New this year is Champions Live!, a Sunday morning talk show from approximately 9:30-11 a.m., featuring a U.S. equestrian champion from each Olympic equestrian sport (dressage, eventing, and jumping). As always, the broadcast will include multiple camera angles, live athlete interviews, and analysis from professional sports commentator John Kyle with varying guest hosts.

© 2017 US Equestrian Federation