Townend and Cooley Master Class were sitting in third after cross-country behind Jung and Christopher Burton. But it was close. And when Townend was the only rider of the top three to go double clear, he secured his first Land Rover Kentucky Three-Day Event victory.

“Obviously it’s a fantastic feeling,” said Townend “I had to do a bit of arm-twisting to get the horses here as there was no funding from Britain to come here this year. The owners gambled on me to win their money back, and I’m pleased the horses have come through with great results and that I’ve repaid the owners’ gamble on me.”

Townend had a second top ten finish with MHS King Joules, who ended the weekend in seventh place.

With this victory, Townend earned a shot at the Rolex Grand Slam of Eventing. He won the Burghley Horse Trials last fall, and will compete at next week’s Mitsubishi Motors Badminton Horse Trials. A win there would make him the third rider in history to win the Grand Slam.

Michael Jung and fischerRocana had just one rail down on the stadium course, but it was a costly mistake, moving them down from their usual position on top to second place.

“My mare tried hard, and it was a good round, only one down, but it was one down too much,” said Jung. “But it was a very nice week here in Kentucky. I really like this event, it’s beautiful and I’m happy to be here.”

Marilyn Little and RF Scandalous had a double clear round, which moved them up to third place. As the highest placed American pair, they also earned the Land Rover/USEF National CCI**** Championship. Little says her horse, who is known as Kitty around the barn, can be tough to deal with on the ground, but she’s more than proven herself up to the tough task of four-star eventing.

“She has an incredible sense of the moment and loves performing for a crowd,” says Little. “She’s a real princess, which was a concern early on, as we wondered was she too delicate and fragile and careful for eventing? But she’s become a courageous horse, and she gives you 150 percent of all she has.”

Phillip Dutton turned in a double clear round with four-star debutante, Z, to move up from eighth place to fourth at the end of competition. Lauren Kieffer and her Anglo-Arab, Vermiculus, also had a double-clear round to jump from tenth place to fifth in their second Kentucky attempt.

2018 Land Rover Kentucky Three-Day Event Final Results

1. Oliver Townend and Cooley Master Class (GBR)
2. Michael Jung and fischerRocana FST (GER)
3. Marilyn Little and RF Scandalous (USA)
4. Phillip Dutton and Z (USA)
5. Lauren Kieffer and Vermiculus (USA)
6. Lynn Symansky and Donner (USA)
7. Oliver Townend and MHS King Joules (GBR)
8. Sharon White and Cooley on Show (USA)
9. Christopher Burton and Nobilis 18 (AUS)
10. Buck Davidson and Copper Beach (USA)

Leslie Potter is a writer and photographer based in Lexington, Kentucky. www.lesliepotterphoto.com

The post Scenes from Stadium Jumping at the 2018 Land Rover Kentucky Three-Day Event appeared first on Horse Illustrated Magazine.

Three-time champion Michael Jung and fischerRocana FST started the day in second place but went clear and fast to add just 0.4 penalties to his score to move into the top position.

“The gallop track changed from last year, and my feeling was it was much better,” said Jung. “FischerRocana was really wonderful to ride. She was nice galloping and she gave me a really good feeling.

The pair had some trouble at one of the course’s water complexes, but their long history together made it possible to overcome the difficultly with minimal damage to their standings.

“I just tried to keep her straight over the fence, and in the end she tried to not really jump but go over,” said Jung. “I think in the end this is what you need in a partnership is the other one is fighting for you, and she was really fighting for me in this situation. That makes me proud that she also never gives up…It’s nice to feel when the horse really fights for you and gallops fast and jumps well. It’s good to feel when your horse has great function in a top course like this.”

Australia’s Chris Burton moved up a spot from third to second with Nobilis 18.

“It’s easy to be happy when you’ve had a good run, isn’t it?” said Burton. “The team and I are delighted…The course designer I think has a lot of feel and it’s a great track, and the weather was nice. What a great day for eventing.

“Since we had such good conditions, we were all able to enjoy it,” Burton added. “My horse has gotten a bit stiff as he’s gotten older and it’s taking a lot of work to manage him and get him here and I was delighted that he came home as well as he did. He’s all heart and he looks through the flags really nicely and I really had a great time out there.”

Great Britain’s Oliver Townend finished cross-country day sitting in third place with Cooley Master Class and tied for fourth place with MHS King Joules.

“This is the first time at this level [for Cooley Master Class] and I’m happy with him,” said Townend. “He’s not quite so confident, not quite so used to the crowds, and holding his breath a little bit. He grew in confidence as he went and I think that again is a very good sign from a course design point of view…We had very little preparation due to the horrifically crap spring that we’ve had in England and so I couldn’t be happier with both horses.“

Joules provided a bit of a different experience on the course.

“King Joules is notoriously strong which is possibly why I’ve got the ride,” said Townend. “There’s no question that there’s a huge amount of talent and a huge amount of abilities there but trying to stop him and even slow him down sometimes is quite a problem. I got basically run off with for 11 minutes. He was exceptionally honest and put himself between the flags and basically spent my whole round saying whoa, whoa and just steered him.”

Townend and Joules are tied for fourth with Lynn Symansky and Donner, who are currently the leading American horse-and-rider pair, making them the leaders in the Land Rover/USEF CCI**** National Championships.

“I don’t have many complaints on my horse today,” said Symansky. “He takes a little bit to get in the groove of a course, especially the crowds. But i’s like clockwork, and I think that’s a tribute to knowing the horse so well and having a great partnership with him. He tries his heart out and he’s very efficient. I thought it was a great track. It rode according to plan and I was really happy with the way he came home. This was his 9th four star. He’s a little bit older—15 this year—and I think it’s actually a little bit easier on him knowing the horse so well and not having to ride quite as hard as you do a few years earlier in the partnership.”

Leslie Potter is a writer and photographer based in Lexington, Kentucky. www.lesliepotterphoto.com

The post Scenes from Cross-Country Day at the 2018 Land Rover Kentucky Three-Day Event appeared first on Horse Illustrated Magazine.

“She gave me a great ride today,” said Little. “She was a little bit excited by the Friday afternoon atmosphere, which, we all know is part of the Kentucky event. I was excited to go on Friday afternoon and I’d hoped she’d handle it well. She did. She was very businesslike and gave me a great ride. She was really looking to please and she did her job.”

There are high expectations for Jung and Rocana. If they win this year, it would be an unprecedented fourth Kentucky victory. The pressure is on, but this pair seems at home in the Bluegrass.

Jung says he always feels some pressure to do well in competition, but his longtime partnership with Rocana makes the experience a little bit easier.

“I know her,” said Jung. “I know how I have to prepare her. I get a bit more experience from every competition…I had two good competitions before here, and that also makes me a bit more relaxed.”

Sitting in third after dressage, Australia’s Christopher Burton is a top contender with Nobilis 18.

“I was very delighted with him,” Burton said after his dressage test. “He stayed relaxed. Of course there will always be things I wish I could do better but I’m really happy with my horse and as we know with horses it can always be worse.”

America’s Kim Severson is currently in fourth place with Cooley Cross Border. Severson is no stranger to Kentucky, having won the event three times with Winsome Adante in the early 2000s.

Oliver Townend of Great Britain rounds out the top five with Cooley Master Class. Townend is eyeing a shot at the Rolex Grand Slam of Eventing, which requires consecutive wins at Kentucky, Badminton, and Burghley. Townend won Burghley in the fall of 2017. He’s back in Kentucky for the first time in 2010 when a tough fall on cross-country ended his Grand Slam bid that year.

Cross-country begins at 11:00 a.m. ET on Saturday, April 28.

Leslie Potter is a writer and photographer based in Lexington, Kentucky. www.lesliepotterphoto.com

The post Scenes from Dressage at the 2018 Land Rover Kentucky Three-Day Event appeared first on Horse Illustrated Magazine.

The first horse inspection is a chance for the veterinary crew to assess the equine athletes to determine if they’re sound for the tasks ahead of them. It was a bit of a roller coaster as the ground jury held a total of seven horses for re-inspection. Joe Meyer of New Zealand opted to withdraw his horse, Johnny Royale, after being held. Erin Sylvester’s horse, Mettraise, did not pass after the second inspection. Fortunately, both riders are still in the competition with other mounts.

The first horse inspection is always a unique opportunity for attendees to see horses and riders up close and looking their best. Here are a few of the horses and riders from today’s jog.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Leslie Potter is a writer and photographer based in Lexington, Kentucky. www.lesliepotterphoto.com

The post Scenes from the First Horse Inspection at the 2018 Land Rover Kentucky Three-Day Event appeared first on Horse Illustrated Magazine.

In late April of every year, North American eventing fans make their way to Lexington, Kentucky, for the western hemisphere’s only 4* three-day event. In 2018, attendees of the event will also have the opportunity to watch some high-level show jumping with a CSI3* $225,000 Invitational Grand Prix at the Kentucky Three-Day Event.

The new addition is a partnership between Equestrian Events, Inc. (EEI), which produces the Kentucky Three-Day Event, and Split Rock Jumping Tour, which currently hosts jumper shows in Kentucky and Ohio.

The Grand Prix will take place in the Rolex Stadium at the Kentucky Horse Park following the completion of cross-country on Saturday afternoon. There will also be a 1.45m FEI ranking class in the stadium on Friday after the eventers complete their dressage phase.

The announcement comes amid other changes in the Kentucky Three-Day Event, most notably the end of the longtime title sponsorship from luxury watchmaker Rolex. Additionally, Kentucky’s status as the only 4* three-day event in America may have an expiration date on it. Fair Hill International in Maryland has earned a recommendation from U.S. Equestrian to host a CCI4* of its own beginning in 2019. Fair Hill currently hosts a CCI2* and CCI3* in mid-October and would add the 4* to this autumn event. 

Kentucky has hosted other equestrian sports alongside its three-day event in the recent past. For several years, the Kentucky Reining Cup and Freestyle Reining World Championship were held during Rolex weekend at the Kentucky Horse Park’s Alltech Arena. The Kentucky Reining Cup was last held in 2015.

Split Rock Jumping Tour in Lexington, Kentucky. Photo: Leslie Potter

Split Rock Jumping Tour has been producing European-style horse shows for three seasons and aims to raise the profile of the sport as a spectator event in the U.S.

“The Kentucky Three-Day Event is well established as one of the world’s premier equestrian events,” said Split Rock Jumping Tour founder and CEO Derek Braun. “We are so excited to join forces with EEI and do what we can to put on a show jumping event of the same magnitude. This will be a huge boost for the sport of show jumping in America to capitalize on the incredible atmosphere that the Kentucky three-day event has established.”

The 2018 Kentucky Three-Day Event will take place at the Kentucky Horse Park April 26-29. Tickets will go on sale in November. Find out more at kentuckythreedayevent.com and splitrockjumpingtour.com.

Leslie Potter is a writer and photographer based in Lexington, Kentucky. www.lesliepotterphoto.com

The post Show Jumping competition added to Kentucky Three-Day Event appeared first on Horse Illustrated Magazine.