Tag Archives: Tim Price

*Featured/Spotlights, Eventing/H.T., Kentucky Three-Day, Show Jumping

Michael Jung Claims Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event with 1st and 3rd Place

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Michael Jung and Fischerrocanna FST.

Lexington, USA, 26 April 2015 – Michael Jung (GER) reigned supreme at the Kentucky Horse Park in front of a packed crowd to take both first and third place in the Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event on his two horses Fischerrocana FST and La Biosthetique – SAM FBW. The overnight leader going into the final day’s show jumping, New Zealand’s Tim Price, took second place with Great Britain’s William Fox-Pitt finishing in fourth and USA’s Phillip Dutton in fifth.

Jung had the advantage of going into the stadium early with 13 to go on Fischerrocana FST instead of third as he was lying in both second and third place overnight going into the final day. Excitement was in the air for the 23,500-plus spectators that filled the Rolex Stadium under the brilliant sunshine and clear blue skies.

Price was last into the arena and the whole stadium fell completely silent. If Price was to claim his first Rolex Kentucky Three-Day victory he would have to go clear and also within the time. Despite skillfully guiding his horse Wesko around the first nine fences, and with just four obstacles to go, he just brushed a pole on fence 10 and that handed the title to Jung.

Speaking of his victory, Michael Jung said, “You always have pressure on yourself going into the competition. You always do the best dressage you can, a clear round in the cross-country and show jumping. This is what we train for at home and prepare everything – but you are always thinking what you can do better so that is always the reason why you have pressure on yourself. Of course after my clear round on Fischerrocana FST I was a little bit more relaxed, but also I stayed focused and was concentrating on my second horse. But then I was a little bit too fast into the combination and this was the reason because of my first horse who she needs more gallop and a little bit more speed – I then did a little bit the same with Sam and this was my mistake.”

Tim Price and Wesko
Tim Price and Wesko

Course designer Richard Jeffery from the UK set a formidable course over 13 fences with a total time allowed of 91 seconds, meaning riders had to maintain a healthy speed of 375 metres per minute. All the jumps were previously used at the 2010 Kentucky World Equestrian Games and were staged to thrill the crowd and global TV audiences. The final day of the competition saw 41 starters with riders representing six nations, with just eight double clears and also featured five riders riding two horses in the final show jumping phase.

Jung could have also won on his other horse, La Biosthetique – Sam FBW, the horse who he also guided to become world champion in the same venue back in 2010. Uncharacteristically, ‘Sam’ had two poles down and this moved him down from second to third position. Last year’s Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event winner, William Fox-Pitt, a true veteran of the sport, knew he could not catch Jung, but that did not affect his ride. To the thrill of the crowd who were willing him over each fence, Fox-Pitt delivered another impeccable clear round with an almost standing ovation from the delighted fans.

The win for Jung was his first Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event title and it now puts him on course for the $350,000 Rolex Grand Slam of Eventing prize with one step towards claiming the new Rolex Grand Slam of Eventing Trophy, which was officially unveiled earlier in the week by Rolex Testimonee Zara Phillips.

Staged over four days with riders representing nine nations, the 2015 Rolex Kentucky Three-Day event was another huge success with the Kentucky Horse Park thrilling over 75,000 spectators. This was the 35th consecutive year that Rolex Watch USA has sponsored the Kentucky Three-Day Event.

TOP 5 PLACINGS AFTER THE FINAL DAY, SHOW JUMPING

1st   Michael Jung (GER), Fischerrocanna FST, 39.3
2nd   Tim Price (NZL), Wesko, 40.3
3rd   Michael Jung (GER), La Biosthetique – SAM FBW, 44.7
4th   William Fox-Pitt (GBR), Bay My Hero, 46.9
5th   Phillip Dutton, (USA), Fernhill Cubalawn, 54.1

For full results, please visit: www.rk3de.org/results.

Michael Jung and La Biosthetique - SAM FBW
Michael Jung and La Biosthetique – SAM FBW

THE ROLEX GRAND SLAM OF EVENTING

When Rolex was inspired to link the three foremost eventing competitions in the world into a Grand Slam in 2001, it was immediately apparent that it would require a series of outstanding performances from a remarkable athlete to complete the challenge.

Kentucky and Badminton – the British horse trials on which the modern sport of eventing was founded – run two weeks apart in the spring, and Burghley, in the east of England, is the autumn highlight of the global sport. All three have stunning settings and attract vast crowds over the four days of competition.

To date, only one rider – Rolex Eventing Testimonee Pippa Funnell – has won this most prestigious series. In 2003 the much-medalled mainstay of British teams for many years took the Rolex Kentucky crown on Primmore’s Pride. She progressed to Badminton a week later and won there on Supreme Rock, her double European Champion, and added the Burghley title that autumn on Primmore’s Pride – beating Zara Phillips into second place on her four-star debut at the same time. Pippa Funnell immediately joined the ranks of sporting greats, respected by her peers and the media alike as an exceptional athlete.

Since then, two of the three legs of the Rolex Grand Slam of Eventing have been won by four riders: the Australian Andrew Hoy, Britain’s William Fox-Pitt and Oliver Townend, and the New Zealand hero of six Olympic Games and current live Rolex Grand Slam contender, Andrew Nicholson. None of these top-class riders have yet succeeded in triumphing over the series and winning the final element of the Rolex Grand Slam.

ABOUT ROLEX

Leading brand of the Swiss watch industry, Rolex, headquartered in Geneva, enjoys an unrivalled reputation for quality and expertise the world over. Its Oyster watches, all certified as chronometers for their precision, are symbols of excellence, performance and prestige. Pioneer in the development of the wristwatch as early as 1905, the brand is at the origin of numerous major watchmaking innovations, such as the Oyster, the first waterproof wristwatch, launched in 1926, and the Perpetual rotor self-winding mechanism introduced in 1931. Rolex has registered over 400 patents in the course of its history. A truly integrated and independent manufacturing company, Rolex designs, develops and produces in-house all the essential components of its watches, from the casting of the gold alloys to the machining, crafting, assembly and finishing of the movement, case, dial and bracelet. Rolex also actively supports the arts, sports, exploration, the spirit of enterprise, and the environment through a broad palette of sponsoring activities, as well as philanthropic programmes.

Website:
www.rolex.com

Revolution Sports + Entertainment
Merrick Haydon
merrick@revolutionsports.co.uk
+44 77481 868 33

Eventing/H.T., FEI, Kentucky Three-Day

Price Just Holds the Advantage after Cross Country Thriller

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Tim Price (NZL) and Wesko, who just hold the advantage after a thrilling Cross Country day at the Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event (USA), third leg of FEI Classics™ 2014/2015. (Anthony Trollope/FEI)

Lausanne (SUI), 26 April, 2015 – The scene is set for a gripping finale to the Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event (USA), third leg of the FEI Classics™ 2014/2015, after New Zealander Tim Price just managed to hold off the challenge of his joint Dressage leader Michael Jung (GER) by a mere 0.4 of a penalty after a challenging day of Cross Country.

Price’s round on Wesko was a masterpiece of accuracy and fluency, but he was held on course for about nine minutes while a fence was repaired. Although he had to stand around getting soaked in the pouring rain, the delay ultimately played to his advantage as he finished four seconds inside the optimum time of 11 minutes 6 seconds with a fresh horse that is known to shine in the Jumping stadium.

Jung’s Cross Country riding on his old friend La Biosthetique Sam FBW, the horse that gave him European, World and Olympic titles, was breath-taking for its boldness and commitment. He finished just one second over time, but, so harmonious is this partnership, it’s hard to see where he could have saved it.

The 32-year-old German is also in third place, within a Jumping fence of the leader, on his first horse, FisherRocana FST, having finished free of time penalties when the ground was at its best at the start of the day.

“I think the hold was a benefit because with a horse like mine you can just pick up and go. He jumped really well and dug deep when required,” said a delighted Price. “I couldn’t be happier with the horse. After last year in Normandy [at the Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games™] when we didn’t finish the course, it’s nice to come here and get this one under our belt.”

Jung, returning to Kentucky for the first time since winning the world title in 2010, was visibly elated to have the 15-year-old Sam back in action after a layoff in the second half of last season. “I feel so safe on him,” he said.

“He was wonderful and gave me such a good feeling, still galloping very well at the end. The ground was wet but not too deep because the course had been prepared so well.”

With major thunderstorms expected, Cross Country was brought forward and horses run at three-minute intervals in an attempt to beat the weather. It still rained very heavily, though, and four of the six riders to achieve the optimum time went in the earlier part of the day.

William Fox-Pitt (GBR) predicted that his 2014 winner Bay My Hero, which is not full Thoroughbred, might struggle with the time if the ground became wet. They had a beautiful round, with Fox-Pitt masterfully finding the best going for his horse, but their 8.4 penalties has dropped them a place to fourth.

A determined Bill Levett (AUS) bucked the trend when he ran near the end of the day on Improvise and, despite a couple of erratic moments early on, managed to finish within the time to rise 14 places to fifth.

Old friends Boyd Martin (USA), on CCI4* first-timer Master Frisky, and Phillip Dutton (USA), riding Mighty Nice, brought the day to a stirring finish with two fantastic rounds and they are now in sixth and seventh places. Dutton is also ninth on Fernhill Cubalawn.

Will Coleman (USA), riding Obos O’Reilly, leapt from 31st to eighth with a clean sheet and earned himself the use of a Land Rover for a year as the American rider finishing nearest the optimum time.

Colleen Rutledge (USA) gave a brilliant display of pathfinding on her experienced horse Shiraz, rising from equal 49th after Dressage to 14th. Later on, she rode an equally proficient round on her home-bred Covert Rights, dropping from fifth to 10th place with 12 time penalties.

There were 46 finishers from the 71 Cross Country starters; they produced 33 clear rounds and some brave displays of riding in the testing conditions.

Kentucky first-timer Elisa Wallace, who has risen 10 places to 12th on Simply Priceless, was particularly impressive. “I knew I would have to ride my butt off at my first four-star, but I felt my horse and I were a good team and attacking the course,” she said. “We eventers don’t melt! We have to ride in the rain and suck it up.”

Five of the top 10 after Dressage departed from the scoreboard. Mackenna Shea (USA), sixth, had a fall with Landioso at the double of corners (fence 21) and Laine Ashker (USA), seventh, had a refusal with Anthony Patch at the angled brush at Fence 9b.

Lauren Kieffer (USA), eighth, retired Veronica after a glance-off in the Head of the Lake and Marilyn Little (USA), ninth, retired after an early stop at fence 5 on RF Demeter. Jessica Pheonix (CAN) withdrew LLC Pavarotti.

Will Faudree (USA), who is in 20th place on Andromaque, hit the open corners at fence 21 and became the first CCI4* rider to incur 11 penalties for breaking a frangible pin under the new rule.

Britain’s Francis Whittington (GBR), currently 16th, was lucky to avoid the same fate when Easy Target slid across the corner at the Land Rover Hollow and comprehensively demolished it. Fortunately for his score, it was not a pinned fence; the pair continued quite unscathed and the fence-repair team did an admirable job to rebuild it so quickly.

Course Designer Derek di Grazia should be pleased with his day’s work; his track earned plenty of plaudits, exerted the right influence and produced a great day for the sport, despite the awful weather. Now, though, all thoughts turn to the final Jumping phase and the intriguing question of whether Tim Price can continue to hold off the phenomenal Michael Jung.

Follow all the action live for the Jumping, which starts at 1pm Kentucky time on www.feitv.org with live results on www.rk3de.org and see the Cross Country review on FEI YouTube here: https://youtu.be/3ovg_vK2E6E.

Use hashtags #FEIClassics and #Eventing.

By Kate Green

Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event Media Contact:

Marty Baumann
marty@classic-communications.com
+001 5088782394

At FEI:

Grania Willis
Director Media Relations
Grania.willis@fei.org
+41 78 750 61 42

Ruth Grundy
Manager Press Relations
ruth.grundy@fei.org
+41 78 750 61 45

*Featured/Spotlights, Eventing/H.T., Kentucky Three-Day

Tim Price Takes the Lead at 2015 Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event after Day 3 Cross-Country

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Tim Price and Wesko.

Lexington, USA, 25 April 2015 – New Zealand’s Tim Price put in a perfect performance on his horse Wesko with a superlative ride in the cross-country on his first time competing in the Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event, with a clean double clear, keeping him in first place going into tomorrow’s final show jumping phase. Germany’s Michael Jung, the joint overnight leader, is in both second and third place on his two rides, with Great Britain’s William Fox-Pitt in fourth.

Despite the challenging conditions on the course with heavy rain throughout the morning, the riders from nine nations delighted the 31,500 fans that attended the Kentucky Horse Park for the cross-country phase.

Michael Jung was the first to go of the top three placed riders on his horse Fischerrocana FST, and gave another impeccable ride completing one of only six double clears. This set the bar high for the other chasing riders. Price was the next of the top placed riders to go mid-morning and he was thrilled with his ride finishing within the optimum time, despite being held out on-course due to a fence needing repairs.

Last year’s Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event winner, William Fox-Pitt, was the 65th rider out on course and yet again he showed his world class with a clear round, but picked up 8.4 time penalties dropping him down one place into fourth position. Jung was 67th to go out, and under the now testing conditions, he guided his Olympic and World Champion horse La Biosthetique – SAM FBW to a clear round with just 0.4 of a time fault. This could cost Jung dearly in tomorrow’s final show jumping phase if Price can go clear and claim his first Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event title – it will also put him on course for the $350,000 Rolex Grand Slam of Eventing prize.

TOP STATISTICS

71 horse and rider partnerships started the cross-country phase; 46 finished; 15 were eliminated; 10 retired and only six went double clear.

TOP 5 PLACINGS AFTER DAY 3 CROSS-COUNTRY

1st    Tim Price (NZL), Wesko, 36.3
2nd   Michael Jung (GER), La Biosthetique – SAM FBW, 36.7
3rd   Michael Jung (GER), Fischerrocanna FST, 39.3
4th   William Fox-Pitt (GBR), Bay My Hero, 46.9
5th   William Levett (AUS), Improvise, 48.6

For full results, please visit: www.rk3de.org/results.

RIDER QUOTES

Tim Price: “That was good, I think! I came home clear and in the time so that’s always the primary task. [I went the long way on fences 8 and 9] the last couple of years he has been a very honest horse – when he was coming up through to advanced level he had a couple of blips at little questions like that so I just thought it was one place to mind myself a little bit as it’s early on; he was fresh and can catch them out a little bit at the hollow – I just had a bit of a gut feeling and he’s very quick on the long way round; he’s tight on his turns and still had plenty of gas in the tank.”

Michael Jung and La Biosthetique - SAM FBW
Michael Jung and La Biosthetique – SAM FBW

Michael Jung, speaking after his ride on Sam: “I am very happy – he was really wonderful. He had a long break; he was finished after Aachen. My feeling here in the cross-country was very good. He was a bit looking also like my other horse at the hollow but on the other fences he was very, very good. He was galloping very well in the end – I was a little bit too easy and a little bit too slow but I am very happy about my round.”

William Fox-Pitt: “I am delighted with him. I was worried about the ground for him today; going at the end of the day the ground had really deteriorated – he is not a thoroughbred horse and hasn’t got the scopiest gallop and so I knew it was going to be hard work. He really worked hard all the way – he was fab; I was chuffed to bits with him; he was perfect over the fences working really hard all the way. Hopefully he will be feeling good tomorrow and he’ll jump well!”

THE ROLEX GRAND SLAM OF EVENTING

When Rolex was inspired to link the three foremost eventing competitions in the world into a Grand Slam in 2001, it was immediately apparent that it would require a series of outstanding performances from a remarkable athlete to complete the challenge.

Kentucky and Badminton – the British horse trials on which the modern sport of eventing was founded – run two weeks apart in the spring, and Burghley, in the east of England, is the autumn highlight of the global sport. All three have stunning settings and attract vast crowds over the four days of competition.

To date, only one rider – Rolex Eventing Testimonee Pippa Funnell – has won this most prestigious series. In 2003 the much-medalled mainstay of British teams for many years took the Rolex Kentucky crown on Primmore’s Pride. She progressed to Badminton a week later and won there on Supreme Rock, her double European Champion, and added the Burghley title that autumn on Primmore’s Pride – beating Zara Phillips into second place on her four-star debut at the same time. Pippa Funnell immediately joined the ranks of sporting greats, respected by her peers and the media alike as an exceptional athlete.

Michael Jung and Fischerrocanna FST
Michael Jung and Fischerrocanna FST

Since then, two of the three legs of the Rolex Grand Slam of Eventing have been won by four riders: the Australian Andrew Hoy, Britain’s William Fox-Pitt and Oliver Townend, and the New Zealand hero of six Olympic Games and current live Rolex Grand Slam contender, Andrew Nicholson. None of these top-class riders have yet succeeded in triumphing over the series and winning the final element of the Rolex Grand Slam.

ABOUT ROLEX

Leading brand of the Swiss watch industry, Rolex, headquartered in Geneva, enjoys an unrivalled reputation for quality and expertise the world over. Its Oyster watches, all certified as chronometers for their precision, are symbols of excellence, performance and prestige. Pioneer in the development of the wristwatch as early as 1905, the brand is at the origin of numerous major watchmaking innovations, such as the Oyster, the first waterproof wristwatch, launched in 1926, and the Perpetual rotor self-winding mechanism introduced in 1931. Rolex has registered over 400 patents in the course of its history. A truly integrated and independent manufacturing company, Rolex designs, develops and produces in-house all the essential components of its watches, from the casting of the gold alloys to the machining, crafting, assembly and finishing of the movement, case, dial and bracelet. Rolex also actively supports the arts, sports, exploration, the spirit of enterprise, and the environment through a broad palette of sponsoring activities, as well as philanthropic programmes.

Website:
www.rolex.com

Revolution Sports + Entertainment
Merrick Haydon
merrick@revolutionsports.co.uk
+44 77481 868 33

*Featured/Spotlights, Dressage, Eventing/H.T., Kentucky Three-Day

Michael Jung Dominates Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event on Day 2 Dressage

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Michael Jung and La Biosthetique – SAM FBW.

Lexington, USA, 24 April 2015 – Michael Jung stamped his class on the 2015 Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event on Day 2 of the dressage phase by taking the joint lead on his second ride of the competition on La Biosthetique – SAM FBW. Jung also lies in fourth position on his other horse Fischerrocana FST, who was yesterday’s overnight leader. Jung is tied in first place with New Zealand’s Tim Price and Great Britain’s William Fox-Pitt is in third.

Unfortunately just minutes before Rolex Eventing Testimonee Zara Phillips was due to compete in her first Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event in the dressage phase, Phillips had to withdraw due to her horse High Kingdom being lame, having picked up a minor injury earlier in the morning.

Jung has happy memories of the Kentucky Horse Park, having become World Champion there in 2010 and now has a double chance of claiming the Rolex title with both his rides going into the cross-country phase tomorrow in top form. However, Great Britain’s William Fox-Pitt who has won the Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event title three times – in 2010, 2012 and 2014 – is in a strong position lying just 2.2 points behind Jung on his Bay My Hero, and is ready to defend his title.

The competition is extremely tight with 37 horse and rider partnerships within just one cross-country fence penalty so everything is to play for.

TOP 5 PLACINGS AFTER DAY 2 DRESSAGE

1st=   Michael Jung (GER), La Biosthetique – SAM FBW, 36.3
1st=   Tim Price (NZL), Wesko, 36.3
3rd     William Fox-Pitt (GBR), Bay My Hero, 38.5
4th     Michael Jung (GER), Fischerrocanna FST, 39.3
5th     Colleen Rutledge (USA), Covert Rights, 42.3

For full results, please visit: www.rk3de.org/results.

RIDER QUOTES

Michael Jung: “I feel very happy; both my horses have done a wonderful job. Sam was a little bit nervous but everything works well. It was a very big atmosphere and we are only at the beginning of the season and I am very happy about it.”

Tim Price and Wesko
Tim Price and Wesko

Tim Price: “I was very aware that it was a very strong field this year and that made the challenge quite serious – I came to do what I did today because he is a very capable horse and I just wanted to put my best foot forward. The preparation prior to the test over the last three days – just the suppleness of the horse and when we got into the ring today and the atmosphere gave him the lift and the extra dynamic I think to use to our advantage.”

Great Britain Performance Manager, Yogi Breisner, talking about the withdrawal from the competition by Zara Phillips riding High Kingdom: “Basically he is fine; about an hour before he was starting his warm up for the dressage test he kicked in the stable and split the skin (in his fetlock) so he had a wound which we tended to immediately straight away, but as Zara started to warm up it was quite clear that the horse was not 100% so we made the decision to withdraw him which was very very sad for Zara.”

ZARA PHILLIPS UNVEILS ROLEX GRAND SLAM OF EVENTING TROPHY

The first ever Rolex Grand Slam of Eventing Trophy was officially unveiled today by Zara Phillips at the Rolex Kentucky Three Day Event. The magnificent silver trophy standing 60cm was specially commissioned in London and features four stars at the top, with three handles, each representing the three legs of the Rolex Grand Slam of Eventing made up of Kentucky, Badminton and Burghley.

THE ROLEX GRAND SLAM OF EVENTING

When Rolex was inspired to link the three foremost eventing competitions in the world into a Grand Slam in 2001, it was immediately apparent that it would require a series of outstanding performances from a remarkable athlete to complete the challenge.

William Fox-Pitt and Bay My Hero
William Fox-Pitt and Bay My Hero

Kentucky and Badminton – the British horse trials on which the modern sport of eventing was founded – run two weeks apart in the spring, and Burghley, in the east of England, is the autumn highlight of the global sport. All three have stunning settings and attract vast crowds over the four days of competition.

To date, only one rider – Rolex Eventing Testimonee Pippa Funnell – has won this most prestigious series. In 2003 the much-medalled mainstay of British teams for many years took the Rolex Kentucky crown on Primmore’s Pride. She progressed to Badminton a week later and won there on Supreme Rock, her double European Champion, and added the Burghley title that autumn on Primmore’s Pride – beating Zara Phillips into second place on her four-star debut at the same time. Pippa Funnell immediately joined the ranks of sporting greats, respected by her peers and the media alike as an exceptional athlete.

Since then, two of the three legs of the Rolex Grand Slam of Eventing have been won by four riders: the Australian Andrew Hoy, Britain’s William Fox-Pitt and Oliver Townend, and the New Zealand hero of six Olympic Games and current live Rolex Grand Slam contender, Andrew Nicholson. None of these top-class riders have yet succeeded in triumphing over the series and winning the final element of the Rolex Grand Slam.

ABOUT ROLEX

Leading brand of the Swiss watch industry, Rolex, headquartered in Geneva, enjoys an unrivalled reputation for quality and expertise the world over. Its Oyster watches, all certified as chronometers for their precision, are symbols of excellence, performance and prestige. Pioneer in the development of the wristwatch as early as 1905, the brand is at the origin of numerous major watchmaking innovations, such as the Oyster, the first waterproof wristwatch, launched in 1926, and the Perpetual rotor self-winding mechanism introduced in 1931. Rolex has registered over 400 patents in the course of its history. A truly integrated and independent manufacturing company, Rolex designs, develops and produces in-house all the essential components of its watches, from the casting of the gold alloys to the machining, crafting, assembly and finishing of the movement, case, dial and bracelet. Rolex also actively supports the arts, sports, exploration, the spirit of enterprise, and the environment through a broad palette of sponsoring activities, as well as philanthropic programmes.

Website:
www.rolex.com

Revolution Sports + Entertainment
Merrick Haydon
merrick@revolutionsports.co.uk
+44 77481 868 33

Dressage, Eventing/H.T., FEI, Kentucky Three-Day

Top Names Jostle for Pole Position at Kentucky

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Tim Price (NZL) on Wesko (pictured) is now joint leader with Michael Jung (GER) on La Biosthetique Sam FBW after Dressage at the Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event (USA), third leg of FEI Classics™ 2014/2015. (Anthony Trollope/FEI).

Lausanne (SUI), 25 April 2015 – A fascinating competition is assured at this weekend’s Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event (USA), third leg of the FEI Classics™ 2014/2015, with three of the biggest names in the sport heading the leaderboard after the Dressage phase.

New Zealander Tim Price, riding Wesko, and Germany’s Michael Jung on the 15-year-old La Biosthetique Sam FBW are tied in first place on a score of 36.3. Last year’s winning combination, a beaming William Fox-Pitt (GBR) on the handsome Cult Hero gelding Bay My Hero, is less than two penalties away in third on 38.5.

Jung is also in fourth place on the 10-year-old mare FisherRocana FST, on which he was second at Luhmühlen CCI4* last year and won world team gold and individual medals.

The pair set the standard on the first day and the German maestro predicted that Sam might find it difficult to beat her excellent mark of 39.3. But the 15-year-old bay gelding presented a delightful picture of lightness and softness to thrill a capacity audience.

“I have very good memories of Kentucky,” said Jung, who is returning here for the first time since he won the world title here on Sam. “It’s a really nice place with good conditions for the horses and the cross-country fences are friendly and clear for the horses.”

Wesko, a white-faced Dutch gelding bred for Jumping on which Price scored his first CCI4* victory, at Luhmühlen (GER) last year, is one of the most elegant horses in the business and the up-and-coming New Zealander one of the most accurate riders; the pair presented an attractive picture scored highly for smart trot work and flying changes.

Colleen Rutledge (USA), a regular competitor at this level on Shiraz, is best of the home riders in fifth place on Covert Rights, a first-timer at this level, just ahead of CCI4* debutant Mackenna Shea (USA) (Landioso) who, at 22, is the youngest of the 75 starters.

“I tried not to think of this as any different from any other show,” said Shea. “This is the biggest atmosphere we’ve been in before but he was really good. He’s a calm and collected horse so I just tried to trust him and do my best.”

Fellow Americans Laine Ashkar (Anthony Patch), 2014 runners-up Lauren Kieffer and Veronica, and Marilyn Little (RF Demeter) are in seventh, eighth and ninth places, separated by just 0.4 of a penalty.

Swedish rider Jennie Jarnstrom had the misfortune to be eliminated when her horse Cape Town repeatedly reared and resisted in the Dressage arena and there was huge disappointment when Zara Phillips (GBR), paying her first visit to Kentucky, had to withdraw minutes before her Dressage test on High Kingdom because the gelding had struck into himself in the stable.

Cross Country Course Designer Derek di Grazia (USA) says he has given the Kentucky track “a new twist”. He adds: “Some of the old favourites will be jumped in a different order and therefore could ride in a different way to before. I hope riders use their brains out there. The big issues will be time management and knowing their horse.”

The first serious question comes at fence 4 on undulating ground, where riders will encounter a big spread followed by five strides to a rail where the ground drops away and then another five strides to a narrow brush fence.

Fence 7 is the first of the three water complexes on the course, with a drop into the water and then a large table on the other side of the pond. The famous Head of the Lake at 13 only involves one passage through water this time, but it features a couple of skinny brushes.

The keyhole combination at fence 16 and a difficult line to the ‘c’ element, a corner, at the Land Rover Hollow (fence 18) will both have riders thinking hard. And there will be no relaxing for riders on the home stretch. There’s an oxer-corner complex at 24 which has a deceptively tight line and a final water at 26 (which was the fifth fence last year) with a huge carved duck.

Trainer and former Olympian Jimmy Wofford, who won at Kentucky in 1981, gives his verdict on the course: “This is not a course you can skip round. If you want to do well at Rolex 2015 you will have to ride forward.”

Follow all the action with live coverage of Cross Country and Jumping on www.feitv.org, live results on www.rk3de.org and interviews on FEI YouTube. Watch Dressage roundup on FEI YouTube: https://youtu.be/PDTD1whdu-4.

*NB: Cross Country will now start 15 minutes earlier than scheduled, at 9.45am Kentucky time.

Use hashtags #FEIClassics and #Eventing.

By Kate Green

Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event Media Contact:

Marty Baumann
marty@classic-communications.com
+001 5088782394

At FEI:

Grania Willis
Director Media Relations
Grania.willis@fei.org
+41 78 750 61 42

Ruth Grundy
Manager Press Relations
ruth.grundy@fei.org
+41 78 750 61 45

*Featured/Spotlights, Eventing/H.T., FEI, Show Jumping

New Zealand Finds a New Hero at Luhmühlen

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New Zealand’s Tim Price and Wesko finished on their Dressage score to claim the honours at the German CCI4* at Luhmühlen (GER), presented by DHL Paket, the fifth leg of the FEI Classics™ series. Photo: www.eventingphoto.com/FEI.

Lausanne (SUI), 14 June 2014 – New Zealand rider Tim Price is enjoying a purple patch of form and he produced an outstanding display of Jumping to win his first CCI4*, at Luhmühlen (GER), presented by DHL Paket, the fifth and penultimate leg of the FEI Classics™ 2013/2014.

Riding the Wesko Syndicate’s Wesko, an 11-year-old Dutch-bred gelding by Karandasj, Price was the only competitor to finish on his Dressage score, of 43.8, in a thrillingly tight finale.

The Cross Country leader, Michael Jung (GER), looked the picture of concentration as he had fischerRocana FST jumping on springs, but a groan from the crowd signalled that a pole had fallen – the first part of the double at 12a – and that it was not to be a German victory.

Price was evidently thrilled to win, but he was quick to acknowledge the host nation in a gracious acceptance speech, in which he dedicated his victory to the young German rider Benjamin Winter (GER), who died as the result of a fall on the Cross Country yesterday.

“I would like to dedicate this win to Benjamin. It was a very sad day yesterday,” he said. “And I’d like to thank the organisers at Luhmühlen for making us all so welcome. I first came here as a visitor eight years ago and I’ve been waiting ever since to ride here.”

Instead of a lap of honour, the leading riders, all wearing black armbands in honour of Winter, were escorted quietly from the arena.

Boyd Martin (USA) proved to the American selectors that he is fully recovered after breaking his leg in the spring by finishing in with third place on new ride Shamwari 4 and 15th on Otis Barbotière.

Martin picked up just one time penalty to rise four places from seventh on Shamwari 4. This exciting prospect was bought from Swedish rider Ludwig Svennerstal by a syndicate during the winter, but this was Martin’s first opportunity to try out the horse at an international competition.

Oliver Townend (GBR) hit fence 10 on the 13-year-old Black Tie, but he remained in fourth place and left the ring with a broad smile on his face.

Indeed Townend has plenty to smile about: this was the second time this year that he has been the highest-placed British rider at a CCI4*, having finished as runner-up at Badminton on Armada. As a result, he has now leapt into second place in the FEI Classics™, just 10 points behind William Fox-Pitt (GBR), which means that the series will go right to the wire at Burghley in September.

Elaine Pen (NED) must be delighted with her first CCI4* performance. She rose three places to fifth on her former Young Rider horse Vira with just one rail down.

A four-fault round was good enough to move Andreas Ostholt (GER) and So Is Et up five places to sixth, while the USA’s Phillip Dutton (Mighty Nice, seventh), Germany’s Bettina Hoy (Designer 10, eighth) and Australia’s Bill Levett (Improvise, ninth) all dropped down the order with three rails down each.

The up-and-coming Belgian rider Lara de Liedekerke, riding Quella Langonnaise, enjoyed her second 10th placing at CCI4* level this year, following an excellent Badminton debut.

Tim Price found Wesko “by chance at the end of a long, cold day” in a Jumping yard where he was being competed by British rider Siobhan Edmonds. The white-faced bay gelding proved “flawless” in his early Eventing competitions and went on to win twice at three-star level, at Blair Castle (GBR) CCI3* last year and at Tattersalls (IRE) CIC3* a fortnight ago. The pair contested Badminton, but took an early ducking in the Lake.

“I’m thrilled for my horse. This is his first four-star completion, and my first visit here, and I certainly didn’t expect to be standing here as the winner,” he said.

New Zealand has provided the winners of eight CCI4*s since Sir Mark Todd set the ball rolling at Badminton in 2011. Now this tiny country with such a huge legacy of horsemanship has another hero to salute.

About the winner

Tim Price, 32, grew up on a farm near Canterbury in New Zealand’s South Island and began his riding career in Jumping, up to FEI World Cup™ level, before deciding that most of his horses were better suited to Eventing.

He paid for his first trip to the UK by selling a good horse, Vortex; they were later reunited and competed at CCI4* level together, finishing 20th at both Badminton and Pau in 2009.

This year he was ninth at Badminton on Ringwood Sky Boy and a member of the winning New Zealand team in the FEI Nations Cup™ at Houghton (GBR).

He is now based in Wiltshire in the UK with his wife Jonelle (nee Richards), another South Islander, and a yard full of horses; Jonelle was a member of New Zealand’s bronze medal team at the London 2012 Olympic Games and finished 12th (Classic Moet) and 16th (The Deputy) at Luhmühlen.

Full results on www.luhmuehlen.de.

See full standings here.

Prize money

At the end of the FEI Classics™ 2013/2014 season, the five riders with the highest number of points collected across the six FEI Classics™ events will share a total prize fund of US$120,000 split as follows: 1st – US$40,000 (Series Champion); 2nd – US$35,000; 3rd – US$25,000; 4th – US$15,000; 5th – US$5,000.

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By Kate Green

Media Contacts:

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Friederike Stüvel-Huck
+49 171 5382900
media@luhmuehlen.de

At FEI:

Grania Willis
Director Media Relations
Grania.willis@fei.org
+41 78 750 61 42

Ruth Grundy
Manager Press Relations
ruth.grundy@fei.org
+41 78 750 61 45