Consult your local listings as programming times can change.

The broadcast will showcase highlights from the dressage, cross-country, and stadium jumping competition. More than 40 horse-and-rider pairs started this year in the western hemisphere’s only FEI 5* eventing competition.

2019 is the first year that the Kentucky Three-Day Event was classified as a 5* because it’s the first year for that designation to be used. The FEI changed the names of the classifications so that the six events normally known as 4* are now 5*. Three-star events have been changed to 4*, and so on.

In addition to the highlights program on NBC, fans can watch the full 2019 Land Rover Kentucky Three-Day Event on-demand thanks to U.S. Equestrian.

Visit usef.org and select “Network and News” to find the video. A U.S. Equestrian membership is required to view video, but for a limited time, free fan memberships are available with the promo code “lrk3de19”.

Tap here to see all of Horse Illustrated’s coverage of the 2019 Land Rover Kentucky Three-Day Event presented by Mars Equestrian.

The post Watch Highlights from the 2019 Land Rover Kentucky Three-Day Event on NBC appeared first on Horse Illustrated Magazine.

“He’s a fantastic jumper,” said Townend. “He’s really careful and tries his best, although he has his own way of going. It’s my job to give him his room at the verticals and have plenty of canter at the oxers. The round went to plan, although he had a rub at the water tray [liverpool]. When he rubs a fence, he apologizes for the next six. I’m happy with how he performed and that I didn’t muck it up for him.”

Placing highest for the USA at the 2019 Land Rover Kentucky Three-Day Event was Boyd Martin aboard Tsetserleg; the pair also jumped double-clear to maintain their second-place standing after cross-country.

“My bloke didn’t give me the most confidence in the warm up; he was jumping all over the shop,” said Martin. “But he loves the crowd and atmosphere, and after he tapped the first fence, he really tried at the second fence. He jumps in really big in combinations, so I had to come in really short at 4ab. Once he jumped that, I knew I was in with a shot.”

Tim Price (NZL) also maintained his overnight placing with a double-clear jumping round today on Xavier Faer.

“You’re never quite sure what you’re going to get until you get out there,” said Price. “He’s spooky and takes a special disliking to liverpools, and the whole middle of arena was an ocean of water trays. But he was jumping really well and keeping his shape even though he looked at the odd fence. He’s a big, scopey honest horse, and it’s exciting as he gets more established at this level.”

Rounding out the top 10 at the 2019 Land Rover Kentucky Three-Day Event were Piggy French (GBR) and Quarrycrest Echo; Doug Payne (USA) and Vandiver; Felix Vogg (SUI) and Colero; Phillip Dutton (USA) and Z; Lauren Kieffer (USA) and Paramount Importance; Lauren Kieffer (USA) and Vermiculus; and Leslie Law (GBR) and Voltaire de Tré.

For complete scores and order of finish, please visit www.kentuckythreedayevent.com.

The post Oliver Townend of Great Britain Wins Land Rover Kentucky Three-Day Event for Second Year in a Row appeared first on Horse Illustrated Magazine.

“We had had a slip turning back into the main lake,” said Townend. “I was balancing more than I normally would and not picking up those big distances. I was a touch more conservative than I normally am. It was good ground, but the grass was a little bit slippery with no shoe on. He felt quite strong in places and had his ears pricked the whole way—he saw the flags and put himself between them.”

Moving up one spot after dressage into second place with a double-clear round were Boyd Martin and Tsetserleg, riding for the USA.

“He gave me a fantastic ride,” said Martin. “I thought the course walked easier this year, so I was surprised when there was so much trouble [the first three riders of the day fell off]. It was a tough course, but my little guy felt a lot more seasoned this year. He’s a real trier. He’s got a wonderful gallop and he’s very fit. He just kept trying and never looked for a way out.”

Moving up from fifth place after dressage into third with a double-clear cross-country round were Tim Price (NZL) and Zavier Faer. Price is seeking his second consecutive five-star win after a victory at the Land Rover Burghley Horse Trials in England last fall.

“It was a good round; I was very happy with his fitness,” said Price. “The course walked difficult throughout with nowhere to coast to make up time and regain your composure. I’m really happy with my horse—he just threw himself over everything. He’s quite a straightforward thinker.”

Course designer Derek DiGrazia was pleased with how the course rode, and liked that riders were using the longer (but easier) alternate routes, which weren’t as time-eating as in years past.

“All the jumps got jumped because people opted to take some of the longer routes, which is good,” said DiGrazia. “The jumps worked the way I thought they would with variation in the number of strides in the combinations. They had to work for it at the Head of the Lake and get reorganized for the step out [a bounce bank to brush]. That to me was one of the places where riders had to work more than I thought they would.”

Stay tuned tomorrow for the final phase of show jumping to find out who wins the $130,000 first-place prize, a Rolex watch and 12-month lease on a shiny new Land Rover Discovery.

For full results, visit www.kentuckythreedayevent.com, and watch the live stream tomorrow at 1:00 p.m. ET at www.usef.org/tune-in.

The post Oliver Townend Holds the Lead After Land Rover Cross-Country appeared first on Horse Illustrated Magazine.

In addition to winning an Olympic team gold medal for Great Britain in 1972, he went on to coach the U.S. eventing team for 20 years and has been the long-time course designer for the five-star event at Burghley in England. In 2018, he designed the world championship course for the World Equestrian Games in Tryon, N.C.

(Non-horse people may know him from when he wed into the British royal family during his marriage to Princess Anne, daughter of Queen Elizabeth II. He and Princess Anne are the parents of Olympic eventing silver medalist Zara Tindall.)

Phillips and a representative from Land Rover loaded us into a beautiful blue Land Rover Discovery with third-row seating and lots of luxurious features, including leather seats and Interactive Driver Display easily within view in the windshield from the driver’s vantage, which includes speedometer and navigation.

The first jump we approached was 7abc, the Park Question. The horse has a very steep downward plunge to negotiate in the terrain after a chunky table, but Phillips explained that they have plenty of strides—7 or 8—to set up for the first brush jump after coming up out of the depression. The second brush jump, however, was set at almost a right angle to the first brush and is just 4 or 5 strides away, making it a much more challenging turn and setup.

Next, we visited the Equestrian Events Overlook (9abc), a new complex on the course. A curving log set over a ditch with narrow set of flags demands a highly exacting landing site in order to set up the perfect three strides to an open corner. Phillips explained that the riders will want to make this easy for their horses by finding their line and sticking to it—and judging by the number of riders walking this line while we were there, they are already heeding his advice.

Although it’s much later on the actual course, we were near the Normandy Bank (20abc) and headed there next. Phillips felt the direct route here—up the bank, two strides down a steep slope to a solid left-hand corner with brush on top (solid height 3’9” with brush height of 4’9”)—could be a site of runouts tomorrow on the cross-country course. He said if he were up on the clock, he would prefer the alternate route, which gives you many more strides to an alternate corner but would add about 8 seconds of time.

After that, we drove to the furthest and highest point on course, Pete’s Hollow (13abc). Here, Phillips said the cabin at the lip of the crater was an easy jump for these pairs, but the direct option back up the slope to a corner on a “pimple” (basically jumping off an uphill approach with a drop landing) could be problematic.

He felt the option of the longer route to a second cabin followed by a corner on flat ground—which means one extra jumping effort—was much kinder for any pairs that may be inexperienced or uncertain. Still, he says, sometimes their judgement may be clouded by visions of greatness and they try the direct route but pay with a runout. I plan to watch this jump tomorrow on the cross-country course at the 2019 Kentucky Three-Day Event to find out!

We ended at the famous Head of the Lake complex (17abcd and 18abc), a spectator favorite. Phillips felt it would ride much easier due to the second obstacle being quite far from the drop into the water for this year’s course at the 2019 Kentucky Three-Day Event. If a rider gets shaken loose a bit, they’ll still have time to recoup before jumping a carved goose at the water’s edge.

They will then jump a forgiving brush back into the water, followed by an up-bank and bounce to angled brush. Phillips said there may be runouts here if a horse misses a foot getting onto the bank, as bounces are not forgiving, so this last element at the lake may be where hearts are broken. There is a longer route, but he felt it was not worth attempting as it eats up so much time and the direct route isn’t as hard as in years past.

Many thanks to Land Rover for making this cross-country course ride possible! If you are here on the course in person at the Land Rover Kentucky Three-Day Event, please be sure to check out the famous Land Rover Test Track and go for an exciting drive over hill and dale, through water and over a bridge and teeter-totter.

The post Preview of the Land Rover Cross-Country Course with Captain Mark Phillips appeared first on Horse Illustrated Magazine.

Under the second year of title sponsor Land Rover and the first year under the FEI’s new scoring system (changing from a four-star to a five-star), the Kentucky Three-Day Event has had changes to its title, although the event retains all of the same excitement and fan-friendly entertainment.

Oliver Townend of Great Britain and the Irish Sport Horse gelding Cooley Master Class won last year’s event, so it was no surprise when they laid down an excellent test and sailed into the lead by a full three points with a score of 24.1 during their dressage test at the 2019 Land Rover Kentucky Three-Day Event.

“I wouldn’t have wanted it any hotter—he literally went to sleep on me in there,” said Townend. “He woke up by flowers in the corner though! But he was very relaxed and did a very good test.”

In second place after dressage is fellow Brit Piggy French, recent winner of team gold at the 2018 World Equestrian Games in Tryon, N.C. French took the worst of the beating from the ice-cold winds in the morning, but Irish Sport Horse gelding Quarrycrest Echo didn’t appear bothered and put in a responsive and accurate dressage test for a score of 27.1 at the 2019 Land Rover Kentucky Three-Day Event.

“Normally I only give him 20 minutes to warm up to keep him a bit fresher,” said French. “But he came out tighter and spooky today, so I was proud of him that he did his best work of the morning in the [competition] arena. I was delighted with that.”

Riding later in the afternoon when the sun finally began to warm things up, Boyd Martin wowed the crowd on the jet-black Trakehner gelding Tsetserleg, becoming the highest-placed U.S. pair after dressage with a score of 27.9 for third place at the 2019 Land Rover Kentucky Three-Day Event.

“Dressage is a frustrating sport—you always look back and think it could have been better,” said Martin. “This year he’s a bit more seasoned and confirmed at this level. He’s a bit of a quirky horse with what sort of warmup he likes; I train him differently than the other horses I have. But it’s wonderful having a horse that tries his guts out for you.”

Looking toward Derek DiGrazia’s cross-country course design tomorrow, the riders have already moved on from their dressage mindset.

“It always amazes me how much the course changes year to year,” said Townend. “I’m a huge fan of Derek’s courses—he’s exceptional at what he does. He knows exactly what works distance-wise in the combinations and what the horses can see in terms of the lines. You think they won’t see it but, they lock on like they’re on rails. This course is as tough as I’ve seen here and you need to be switched on every step of the way. You can have easy blip without doing too much wrong—they’re proper jumps from start to finish!”

For complete dressage scores, visit www.kentuckythreedayevent.com, or tune in to the live stream tomorrow at www.usef.org/tune-in to watch the cross-country action starting at 10:30 EDT and keep track of the 2019 Land Rover Kentucky Three-day Event.

The post Defending Champ Oliver Townend Leads Land Rover Kentucky Three-Day Event After Dressage appeared first on Horse Illustrated Magazine.

This year, 42 horses were presented in the first 2019 Land Rover Kentucky Three-Day Event inspection. Three horses were held for re-inspection: Ashley Johnson’s Tactical Maneuver; Hallie Coon’s Celien; and Erin Sylvester’s Paddy the Caddy. Celien and Paddy the Caddy were both accepted on their second inspection, but Tactical Maneuver will not compete.

The majority of the competitors at this year’s Land Rover Kentucky Three-Day Event are from the United States, but several other countries are represented, including Canada, Switzerland, New Zealand, Australia, Mexico, Brazil, and Great Britain.

Among the favorites are last year’s winning pair, British rider Oliver Townend with Cooley Master Class. Fellow Brit, Piggy French, is another one to watch. Her partner that showed up with her at inspection for the 2019 Land Rover Kentucky Three-Day Event is Quarrycrest Echo, the Irish Sport Horse gelding she rode to team gold and an individual 10th place finish at the FEI World Equestrian Games Tryon 2018 last September.

U.S. rider Boyd Martin showed up at the inspection with and will pilot the striking black Trakehner, Tsetserleg, around the Kentucky course for the second time this year and is another top contender. Hannah Sue Burnett and her longtime partner, the Irish Sport Horse gelding Harbour Pilot, are also among the top American pairs competing. Canadian Hawley Bennett Awad and her British Sport Horse mare, Jollybo, are a seasoned pair coming off a recent CCI3* win earlier this year.

The dressage phase of competition begins at 10 a.m. ET on Thursday, April 25. Watch the livestream online at usef.org/tune-in, and follow Horse Illustrated on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter for updates throughout the weekend.

The post Scenes from the First Horse Inspection at the 2019 Land Rover Kentucky Three-Day Event appeared first on Horse Illustrated Magazine.