03.31.11

April is the Greatest, so come to Kentucky.

Posted in Attractions, CCI****, Events of Interest, Keeneland, Kentucky Horse Park, Lexington, My Thoughts, Rolex Kentucky 3 Day Event, Thoroughbred Racing, Three-Day Eventing at 3:46 pm by Thomas

April is the kickoff of so many things horsey in Kentucky and some not so horsey that for me its the best month of the year.  The month starts out with the Kentucky Wildcats on the verge of winning a Championship, I know not a horse related event but certainly a Kentucky event.

Keeneland’s Spring Meet starts the 8th and runs through the 29th with the last major Prep Races for the both the Kentucky Derby and the Kentucky Oaks.  Keeneland is certainly one of the most beautiful Thoroughbred Race Tracks in the country and with the Kentucky Red Buds and Dog Woods in full bloom it maybe nearly Angelic.

The Kentucky Horse Park starts the month with the Kentucky Spring Arabian Show, then mid-month the Kentucky Spring Premiere kicks off the Saddlebred show season…(DRUM ROLL PLEASE) To finish the month, The Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event, the only Four-Star Three-Day on North American Soil, with all that excitement I am not sure how I will survive the month.

For more information check out,

Kentucky Horse Park Calendar.

Keeneland

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02.27.10

Tickets to the Final Series of Official Test Events for the 2010 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games Now On Sale

Posted in 2010 Games, CCI****, Dressage, Pre-Events, Rolex Kentucky 3 Day Event, Show Jumping, Test Event, Three-Day Eventing at 2:16 pm by Thomas

LEXINGTON, KY—The 2010 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games will host its final series of Kentucky Cup Test Events, held in conjunction with the annual Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event. Dressage, Eventing and Jumping competitions will be held at the Kentucky Horse Park April 20-25.

Tickets to all events are now on sale. To purchase tickets to Kentucky Cup Dressage, the Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event and Kentucky Cup Jumping, visit https://www.ticketreturn.com/prod2/team.asp?SponsorID=2513.

“This final series of test events will be an important test of the planning for many of the competition aspects of the Games,” said Kate Jackson, Vice President of Competition for the World Games 2010 Foundation. “By hosting sessions of different disciplines on several days, we will really be able to test many of our procedures for the actual Games.”

Kentucky Cup Dressage will begin the week of official test events. The schedule includes:

Tuesday, April 20                              9:00 a.m.             Dressage Grand Prix

Wednesday, April 21                        10:00 a.m.           Grand Prix Special

Thursday, April 22                            7:00 p.m.             Dressage Freestyle

The Freestyle competition on April 22 is a ticketed event priced at $15. All Kentucky Cup Dressage events will be held in the Outdoor Stadium. The Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event includes:

Thursday, April 22                            9:00 a.m.              Dressage
Friday, April 23                                 9:00 a.m.              Dressage
Saturday, April 24                             9:00 a.m.              Cross Country
Sunday, April 25                               Noon                     Jumping

For more information about the Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event, go to www.rk3de.org.

Kentucky Cup Jumping will complete the official test events for the 2010 Games. The schedule includes:

Friday, April 23                                 7:00 p.m.             Warm –Up class
Saturday, April 24                             7:00 p.m.             Jumping Grand Prix
Sunday, April 25                                6:00 p.m.            Speed Class

Saturday’s Jumping Grand Prix is a ticketed event priced at $20. Tickets to the Speed Class on Sunday will be $15. All Kentucky Cup Jumping sessions will be held in the Outdoor Stadium.

01.20.10

2010 Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event Returns April 22-25

Posted in CCI****, Kentucky Horse Park, Rolex Kentucky 3 Day Event, Three-Day Eventing at 7:44 am by Thomas

 Kentucky Horse Park To Host CCI**** Event – Tickets Currently On Sale 

Lexington, KY – January 19, 2010- The excitement of the Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event CCI**** returns to the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington, KY, April 220in The Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event, part of the HSBC FEI ClassicsTM Series, attracts many of the world’s best horses and riders as they vie for their share of $250,000 in prize money. 

Enhancing this year’s schedule will be the official Kentucky Cup Dressage and Jumping Test Events for the 2010 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games (WEG).  The Games will be held at the Kentucky Horse Park, September 25-October 10, marking the first time that equestrian sport’s biggest event is being held outside Europe. 

In addition to the excitement surrounding this year’s Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event and WEG events, will be the attempt by Oliver Townend of Great Britain to become only the second rider in history to win the $350,000 Rolex Grand Slam of Eventing, awarded to any rider who wins theRolex Kentucky, Mitsubishi Motors Badminton and Land Rover Burghley Four Star Events in succession. Townend has won the first two legs and at Rolex Kentucky next April, he will seek to join Pippa Funnell of Great Britain, who did it in 2003, as the only riders to win the Rolex Grand Slam of Eventing. 

“Equestrian enthusiasts everywhere are going to want to have a front-row seat to this year’s Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event,” said Jane Atkinson, Event Director and Executive Vice President of Equestrian Events, Inc. (EEI), producer of the event. “The level of excitement at EEI is almost tangible, as we know this is going to be a year for the record books and one not to be missed by any equestrian sports fan!”

The only Four Star Event in the Western Hemisphere, the Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event is the premier competition for the top horses and riders in the Olympic discipline of Eventing.  Past winners include United States Olympic Medalists David and Karen O’Connor, Kim Severson and Phillip Dutton, New Zealand’s Blyth Tait and Nick Larkin, Pippa Funnell of Great Britain and Andrew Hoy and Clayton and Lucinda Fredericks of Australia.   

For more information, or to purchase tickets to the 2010 Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event, please visit the Rolex Kentucky website at www.rk3de.org.  You may order your tickets online, or complete the ticket order form and return via mail or fax (859-254-5116) to Equestrian Events, Inc. Phone orders: (859) 254-8123. To receive a printed ticket brochure, send name and mailing address to EEI at P.O. Box 12110, Lexington, KY 40580-2110. 

09.22.09

Oliver Townend Wins Second Leg of Rolex Grand Slam of Eventing

Posted in Badminton Horse Trials, Burghley Horse Trials, CCI****, Rolex Kentucky 3 Day Event, Three-Day Eventing at 9:15 pm by Thomas

Will Seek To Become Second Rider Ever to Complete Slam at 2010 Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event  

Lexington, KY-September 22, 2009-Oliver Townend of Great Britain is poised to achieve what only one other event rider in the world has ever done, claim the $350,000 Rolex Grand Slam of Eventing. 

In September of 2003, Pippa Funnell of Great Britain became the first rider in history to win the Rolex Grand Slam of Eventing when she rode Primmore’s Pride to victory at the Burghley Horse Trials in England following back-to-back wins in the Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event in April aboard Primmore’s Prideand the Mitsubishi Motors Badminton Horse Trials in May aboard Supreme Rock.  Funnell completed her sweep of the three CCI**** events at Burghley to win $250,000, the purse at that time, and a Pink Gold 18-carat Datejust Rolex watch.  The payoff was the largest in Eventing history.
 
Townend, 26, claimed a victory in May in the Mitsubishi Motors Badminton Horse Trials aboard Flint Curtis and in September won another leg of the Rolex Grand Slam when he and Carousel Quest bested a field of 49 to win the Land Rover Burghley Horse Trials.  Carousel Quest placed eighth at Rolex Kentucky last spring.  It was the first four star outing for Ollie and Carousel Quest as a pair and served as another indication of how Rolex Kentuckyand its courses designed by Mike Etherington-Smith continue to build champions. 
 
“We all took note when this young combination of Oliver Townend and Carousel Quest performed so well at Rolex Kentucky last spring,” said Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event Director, Jane Atkinson.  “Mike Etherington-Smith has a unique ability to bring out the talent in young horses and help them develop, and we can’t wait to welcome back Ollie and Carousel Quest next spring as the new Burghley Champions!”
 
Townend’s success comes as no surprise.  His father rode at Burghley and his mother showed sidesaddle at County level so it was not unexpected that success came early for him in the form of a place on the Pony Eventing Team and countless show jumping victories.  Now, with two major four star wins, he is poised to take his place in Eventing history.
 
Will he be able to join Pippa Funnell as the only riders to sweep the Rolex Grand Slam? We will find out at the 2010 Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event next April 22-25!
Further information on the Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event is available at the Rolex Kentucky website at www.rk3de.org.

09.08.09

BADMINTON & KENTUCKY AGREE DATES

Posted in Badminton Horse Trials, CCI****, Equestrian Events Inc, Rolex Kentucky 3 Day Event, Three-Day Eventing at 7:27 pm by Thomas

The Organisers of the Mitsubishi Motors Badminton Horse Trials and the Rolex Kentucky Three Day Event have been able to avoid a clash of dates in the future.
 
Badminton announced earlier this year that it would be running over the weekend of the May Day bank holiday from 2010, with cross country day on the Sunday and show jumping on the holiday Monday. Unfortunately, this very occasionally clashes with the traditional Kentucky date, the cross country for which has been the last Saturday in April since 1987.
 
It has now been agreed that in 2011 Badminton will run one week earlier, i.e. 22-25 April, which, being the Easter weekend, will still enable the event to climax on a bank holiday Monday. In 2016, Kentucky in turn has agreed to run a week earlier than it otherwise would so that Badminton can maintain their holiday Monday schedule.
 
Both Event Directors, Hugh Thomas and Janie Atkinson, salute the agreement as demonstrating the good relationship between the leading international events and being in the best interests of the sport of eventing, which would not have been well served by a clash of two of the three Rolex Grand Slam events or indeed two of the HSBC FEI Classic Four Star Events.
 
Event Dates until 2016 are now as follows:
 
           Mitsubishi Motors Badminton Horse Trials          Rolex Kentucky Three Day Event
2010    30 April – 3 May                                                   22 – 25 April
2011    22 – 25 April                                                      28 April – 1 May
2012    4 – 7 May                                                            26 – 29 April
2013    3 – 6 May                                                            25 – 28 April
2014    2 – 5 May                                                            24 – 27 April
2015    1 – 4 May                                                            23 – 26 April
2016    29 April – 2 May                                                  21 – 24 April
 
Further Information Badminton:
Julian Seaman, Badminton Press Officer, 41 Gastein Road, London, W6 8LT
T: + 44 (0) 207 385 0591; F: + 44 (0) 207 386 9820; E: j.seaman2@sky.com
Also:
Mitsubishi Motors Press Office
T: + 44 (0) 1285 647200; E: pressoffice@mitsubishi-cars.co.uk
 
Further Information Kentucky:
Marty Bauman, Rolex Kentucky Press Officer, Classic Communications, 38 Mechanic Street, Suite 101, Foxboro, MA 02035
T: 001 508-698-6810; F: 508-698-6811 E: marty@classic-communications.com 
Also:
Jane Atkinson, Event Director, Equestrian Events, Inc., P.O. Box 12110, Lexington, KY 40580-2110
T: 001 859-233-2362; F: 859-254-5116; E: eeiusa@windstream.net

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