2017 Rolex Kentucky Three Day Event

April 1, 2017

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Catch up on the action from the 2017 Rolex Kentucky Three Day Event. Tap the images below to view coverage from each day of competition.

Michael Jung and fischerRocana FST Win Their Third Consecutive Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event

Germany’s Michael Jung came in to today’s stadium jumping phase at the 2017 Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event with some high expectations from fans. He and his ride for this event, the 12-year-old German Sport Horse mare fischerRocana FST, had won Rolex for the previous two years. To win a third consecutively would be unprecedented (Kim Severson and Winsome Adante were the only pair to have won it three times previously, taking the win in 2002, 2004 and 2005.)

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But if Jung felt any pressure, he didn’t show it. And it was sort of hard to imagine him not winning when he entered the jumping phase with a rail in hand, around six penalties ahead of his closest two competitors, Maxime Livio of France and Zara Tindall of Great Britain.

Michael Jung and fischerRocana FST in the Lead after Cross-Country at the Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event

Michael Jung (GER) and fischerRocana FST are back on top of the leaderboard after cross-country at the 2017 Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event. It’s a familiar position for the pair, who won the competition in 2015 and 2016, but he didn’t begin today thinking he had it in the bag for 2017.

“I felt in the warmup that fischerRocana was not feeling perfect with the weather,” Jung said.”That made me a bit nervous before the start, but then she jumped everything so powerfully. It was a good feeling. Some situations are not very clear for me and the horses, but we have a very good partnership and I think that’s the most important thing in eventing: The rider knows the horse and the horse knows the rider and you trust each other.”

Dressage Wraps Up at the 2017 Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event

It was quite a shake-up on the leaderboard as day two of dressage wrapped up at the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington, Ky., for the Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event.

Beating out all the scores from day one of dressage on Thursday, Clark Montgomery (USA) and Loughan Glen threw down a nearly foot-perfect test for an incredible score of 33.6. No other horse had broken 40 to that point.

Gallery: Dressage Day One at the 2017 Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event

Before today, no one had ever ridden the new FEI 4* eventing dressage test in competition. So while the field at this year’s Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event is a combination of veterans and newbies, all of the riders were trying something new today.

Jessica Phoenix of Canada is one of the veteran competitors. She’s also one of the busiest at this year’s Rolex with three horses in contention. Phoenix rode early in the day with her first mount, A Little Romance, but had some costly errors that kept them back in the standings. But when she returned for the final test of the day, this time with Pavarotti, it was a different story.

Photos: First Horse Inspection at the 2017 Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event

Competition at the 2017 Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event technically begins on Thursday, but savvy spectators know there’s good reason to show up the day before.

The initial horse inspection is when the grooms for these equine athletes show off their skills by making their equine charges polished to perfection. The riders follow suit, temporarily trading in well-worn barn clothes for more stylish threads.

The inspection has an important function. A team of officials evaluate the horses to ensure they’re physically sound for the demanding task ahead of them.