04.28.10
Posted in 2010 Games, Equestrian Events Inc, Rolex Kentucky 3 Day Event, Test Event, World Equestrian Games at 8:52 pm by Thomas
The 2010 Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event is in the books and by all appearances provided a final successful test for the Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games. The weather provided the unknown factor for the test, with the possibility of severe weather Saturday afternoon the Event Management Team from Equestrian Events, did a great job by deciding to eliminate the lunch break and keeping the riders coming out of the start on a tight interval. The weather did hold the attendance down on Saturday with the total attendance for the event coming in at 61,828 but the Stadium was packed on Sunday for the Stadium Jumping.
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04.19.10
Posted in 2010 Games, Test Event, World Equestrian Games at 9:57 pm by Thomas
LEXINGTON, KY—The Kentucky Cup Dressage and Kentucky Cup Jumping test events, the official test events of the 2010 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games, will offer spectators a final preview of the world championship competitions coming to the Kentucky Horse Park September 25 –October 10.
The Kentucky Cup Test Events will be held in conjunction with the Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event, from April 20 through April 25.
For a complete schedule of Kentucky Cup Dressage, Kentucky Cup Jumping, and the Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event, go to www.alltechfeigames.com.
“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.”
Top riders from around the world will compete in the three disciplines of Dressage, Eventing, and Jumping. Kentucky Cup Dressage entry list includes Ashley Holzer, Olympic veteran and 2009 Canadian Equestrian Athlete of the Year; Oded Shimoni, the first Israeli to qualify for and compete in the World Equestrian Games and the Olympics; and Lexington native, Reese Koffler-Stanfield.
The line-up for Kentucky Cup Jumping includes three-time Olympic Gold Medalist, Beezie Madden; Canadian Mac Cone, one of Canada’s most experienced riders having been a steady performer at the international level for over 30 years; and the youngest competitor, Daniel Bluman who will represent Columbia.
This year’s Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event is sure to be exciting as Oliver Townend of Great Britain will attempt to become only the second rider in history to win the $350,000 Rolex Grand Slam of Eventing. Townend has won the first two legs, with wins at Mitsubishi Motors Badminton and Land Rover Burghley Four Star Events; and at Rolex Kentucky next week 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.
In addition to world-class competition, spectators will be able to enjoy a variety shopping and food in the Sponsor Village and International Trade Fair of the Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event, located on the Kentucky Horse Park.
Many Kentucky Cup competition events are free admission. Tickets to some evening Kentucky Cup competitions and the Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event will be sold at the gates of the venue. For a full list of ticketed events, please see the schedule at www.alltechfeigames.com .
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04.14.10
Posted in 2010 Games, Test Event, World Equestrian Games at 6:11 am by Thomas
Top Riders Come To Kentucky To Compete At The
2010 Alltech World Equestrian Games Venue
LEXINGTON, KY—The Kentucky Cup Jumping Test Event in preparation for the 2010 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games will feature some of the biggest stars in the sport.
The test event, to be held April 19-22 in conjunction with the Rolex Kentucky Three Day Event, is in preparation for the Games. The 2010 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.
Beezie Madden heads the list of entries to test the show jumping venue for the Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games. At the 2008 Olympic Games, Madden helped lead the US team to the gold medal in the Team Jumping competition and also took the bronze medal in the Individual Jumping event. One of her greatest accomplishments was her win at the Rolex Grand Prix of Aachen in Aachen, Germany. To add to this honor, she was named leading rider in Aachen, one of the most coveted leading rider titles in the world.
Few will forget Madden’s remarkable performance at the 2006 FEI World Equestrian Games in Aachen, Germany, with only eight faults accumulated during the entire competition. Madden anchored the U.S. team that brought home the silver medal, and added the individual silver medal in a masterful show of horsemanship against the four top riders. Her performance is widely considered as one of the most impressive series of show jumping rounds ever to be seen in a world championship.
Madden is joined on the list of entries by Canadian Mac Cone, one of Canada’s most experienced riders with a steady performance record at the international level for over 30 years. Originally from Tennessee, Cone moved to Canada in 1979 and is the only rider to have competed on both the United States and Canadian Equestrian Teams. In his Olympic debut in Atlanta, Cone was the highest-placed Canadian rider, a feat he would repeat at the 2002 World Equestrian Games in Jerez, Spain. In his second Olympic appearance in 2008, Mac and the impressive Ole were members of Canada’s historic Silver Medal Team.
Fellow Canadian Beth Underhill was first named to the Canadian Equestrian Team in 1990, Beth has ridden in over 25 Nations’ Cup competitions and, in 1993 was the first women to win the Canadian World Cup League, a feat she repeated in 1999. With her retired partner, Monopoly, Beth earned more than $1 million in the show ring. A veteran of Pan American, Olympic and World Equestrian Games, Beth has claimed the Canadian Show Jumping Championship title on three occasions. Underhill won double silver medals at the 1991 Pan American Games in Cuba, and represented Canada at the 1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona and were placed 14th individually at the 1995 World Equestrian Games. Having represented Canada at the 1998 World Equestrian Games in Rome, Beth and Altair were part of the Canadian team bronze medal effort at the 1999 Pan American Games. The same year, they finished second in the richest show jumping event in the world, the $800,000 du Maurier International at the Spruce Meadows Masters tournament, where Beth was also named the Leading Lady Rider.
A Californian by birth, Lauren Hough lives the equestrian dream. Hough entered the grand prix circuit in 1993 – before she could drive. At a mere 15 years of age, she earned the title of Pacific Coast Horseman’s Association Rookie of the Year. No stranger to the international spotlight, Hough rode Clasiko to a strong finish in the 2000 Olympic Selection Trials and then to a sixth place team finish in the 2000 Sydney Olympics—when she was only 22 years old, In 2003 Hough was named to the U.S. team for the Pan American Games where she grabbed Team Gold. She then served as a team alternate for the 2004 Athens Olympics. She comes by her talent naturally as the daughter of noted equestrians Linda and Champ Hough (Champ Hough was on the 1952 Three-Day Eventing Olympic Team).
Adding international flair to the Kentucky Cup is Daniel Bluman who will represent Columbia. The name Blumen in Colombia is synonomous with equestrian sports. With a big win at the USGPL Invitational in Canada at the age of 19, Bluman is certainly an athlete to watch.
Come watch some of the best and brightest athletes of jumping, who will join the stars of eventing and dressage at the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington, during the Rolex Kentucky Three Day Event, the hosts of the Kentucky Cup Dressage and Show Jumping Test Event.
ALLTECH FEI WORLD EQUESTRIAN GAMES TEST EVENT
Kentucky Cup Show Jumping
Show Jumping Warm-Up
Friday, April 23, 7:00 p.m. – 10:00 p.m.
Show Jumping Grand Prix
Saturday, April 24, 7:00 p.m. – 10:00 p.m.
Show Jumping Speed Class
Sunday, April 25, 6:00 p.m.– 9:00 p.m.
The Grand Prix on Saturday night and the Speed Class on Sunday night are ticketed events, priced at $15 and $20. 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
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04.09.10
Posted in 2010 Games, Disciplines, Dressage, Test Event, World Equestrian Games at 8:28 am by Thomas
Top Riders Come To Kentucky To Compete At The
2010 Alltech World Equestrian Games Venue
LEXINGTON, KY—The Kentucky Cup Dressage Test Event in preparation for the 2010 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games is gearing up to be a spectacular showcase of top level dressage.
The test event, to be held April 19-22 in conjunction with the Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event, is in preparation for the Games which will be held at the Kentucky Horse Park, September 25-October 10.
Riders and horses from eight countries will be competing at the Kentucky Cup including Michelle Gibson, who with her mount Peron scored 75.20% at the Atlanta Olympic Games, the highest score ever awarded an American at an Olympics; Ashley Holzer, Olympic veteran and 2009 Canadian Equestrian Athlete of the Year; Oded Shimoni, the first Israeli to qualify for and compete in the World Equestrian Games and the Olympics.
The three-star test event will feature all three classes of international competition, the Grand Prix, Grand Prix Special and the Grand Prix Freestyle, a stylized competition set to music and choreographed for each horse and rider, allowing the rider to create their own test which must include specific compulsory movements.
Kentucky Cup Dressage will begin the week of official test events. All Kentucky Cup Dressage events will be held in the Outdoor Stadium. 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 at 7:00 p.m. Dressage Freestyle
The Freestyle competition on April 22 is a ticketed event, priced at $15. Tickets to all test events can be purchased online through April 7 and at the gates of the event. 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.
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02.27.10
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.
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10.15.09
Posted in 2010 Games, Disciplines, Endurance, Test Event, World Equestrian Games at 9:09 pm by Thomas
LEXINGTON, KENTUCKY-October 15, 2009- The United States dominated the Kentucky Cup Endurance FEI CEI***, sponsored by Emirates Equestrian Federation, and the official endurance test event for the 2010 Alltech World Equestrian Games, garnering all three team and individual medals on Wednesday. The winners were officially declared at an awards ceremony held at the Kentucky Horse Park on Thursday morning.
Danielle McGunigal of Ft. Valley, Virginia, was the individual gold medal winner of the modified CEI*** in a ride time of 6:30:41 with an average speed of 18.43 kph. The race was originally an FEI qualifying event at a distance of 100 miles (160 km), but was shortened to 75-miles (120 km) after the footing became questionable due to the inclement weather that began shortly before the race began and continued throughout the day making the trail slippery and muddy.
“I was disappointed by the race being shortened but happy to be finished,” lamented the 1996 Endurance World Champion. “This was the toughest ride I have ever done. It was like swimming up hill with a hole in your paddle.”
The race was shortened—from six loops down to four—and McGunigal led almost the whole way riding Gold Raven, her 8-year-old Arabian mare. McGunigal’s mother, two-time Endurance World Champion, Valerie Kanavy, came to the mandatory vet check ahead of her daughter, but was later eliminated after her mare slipped on the second loop.
Ellyn Rapp of Dubuque, Iowa, won the silver medal in a ride time of 6:52:16 (17.46 kph) on her 14-year-old Arabian gelding, Berjo Smokey. “Smokey is amazing, said Rapp. He never quits. I have had all my best rides on him.”
Jan Worthington, of Scales Mound, Illinois, won the bronze medal in a ride time of 7:01:33 (17.08 kph) riding Golden Lightning. The 9-year-old Arabian gelding was awarded the prestigious Best Condition award, given to the horse that is judged to be the most fit to continue. Worthington was thrilled with his accomplishment.
“It really took me by surprise,” said the 69-year-old rider of winning Best Condition. “I am blessed with a great horse. I think he did so well in the mud because he has small feet like a mule.”
The individual medals were awarded first and the ceremony turned out to be very moving, thanks to a technical difficulty. The music for the U.S. National Anthem could not be played, so the audience volunteered to sing it instead.
Despite the weather, the event was considered a success and a good test for next year. Competition Manager Emmett Ross said Wednesday provided some excellent learning opportunities, and was pleased with his feedback about the trail.
“We were committed to make the trail wonderful. You never got to see the trail in its full glory because of the weather,” said Ross. “I’m saving some surprises for next year. We are looking forward to making this a very enjoyable trail next year – and it’s not going to rain!”
TEAM RESULTS FOR THE MODIFIED CEI***
Team USA East – Gold Medal
Danielle McGunigal
Dr. Margaret Mary (Meg) Sleeper
Stephen Rojek
Farzad Faryadi
Team Central USA – Silver Medal
Ellyn Rapp
Janice Ann Worthington
Darolyn Butler
Julie Jackson – Biegert
Team Mountain USA – Bronze Medal
Christoph Josef Schork
Suzanne Hayes
Douglas Swingley
Tennessee Mahoney
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10.07.09
Posted in 2010 Games, Disciplines, Endurance, Test Event, World Equestrian Games at 10:16 pm by Thomas
LEXINGTON, KENTUCKY—October 7, 2009— On October 14, riders from more than 20 countries will compete in the Kentucky Cup Endurance race, sponsored by Emirates Equestrian Federation and the official endurance test event for the 2010 Alltech World Equestrian Games.
Athletes from Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Israel, Romania, Spain and many other countries are expected to compete in or observe Kentucky Cup Endurance in preparation for next year’s Endurance World Championship at the 2010 Games. The team from the United Arab Emirates will be led by HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum. His son, HE Sheikh Majid bin Mohammed Al Maktoum, will also ride for the UAE.
Current World Champion Maria Alvarez Ponton of Spain, and the mother-daughter team of Valerie Kanavy and Danielle Mc Gunigal of the United States will also compete. Kanavy is a two-time world champion (1994 and 1998) and also placed second to her daughter in the 1996 World Championships.
Kentucky Cup Endurance will feature both a 75-mile (120 km) race and a 100-mile (160 km) race. Both races comprise a series of loops through the Kentucky Horse Park and surrounding properties, frequently returning to the Kentucky Horse Park for required veterinary inspections.
The 75-mile race will begin at 7:30 a.m. on October 14 and the 100-mile race will follow with a 7:45 a.m. start. Awards for the 100-mile race will be held at 10:00 a.m. on October 15 in the new outdoor stadium at the Kentucky Horse Park. In addition to honoring the top riders, there will also be an award for the best conditioned horse.
Admission to Kentucky Cup Endurance is free to the public. Parking will be $3 per day at the entrance of the Kentucky Horse Park. Kentucky Cup Endurance spectators can also enjoy the other Kentucky Horse Park attractions. Admission to Kentucky Horse Park attractions is available at the Visitor’s Center.
A complete list of competitors and countries is available on the Kentucky Cup Endurance test event page of our Web site.
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