In comparison to its little sister, the Cosequin CCI4*-S, the Defender Kentucky Three-Day Event CCI5*-L was much calmer in terms of shock factor today. There were four pairs who retired on cross-country, two riders who parted ways with their horses, and five pairs finished with jump penalties added to their score.
“He knows Kentucky,” Liz Halliday said with a chuckle when referencing how strong Miks Master C can look on cross-country. “He knows this place. He knows how to run fast here. He was waiting for that 11 and a half minutes.”
“There’s been a lot of learning around this track so far,” said commentator Frankie Thieriot Stutes as riders contested the Cosequin CCI4*-S at the 2024 Defender Kentucky Three-Day Event.
It's time to get down to business at the Defender Kentucky Three-Day Event. Across both the CCI4*-S and CCI5*-L divisions riders have echoed two of the same sentiments: this won't be a dressage competition and Derek di Grazia's courses might look easier than they ride this year.
Derek di Grazia’s name is legend at the Kentucky Horse Park as the designer of the Defender Kentucky Three-Day Event cross-country course for over a decade, in addition to countless other influential tracks around the world. Now with the inclusion of the Cosequin CCI4*-S division, which runs alongside the famed five-star, riders at both the four- and five-star levels get to experience one of the iconic di Grazia Kentucky tracks while competing in the bluegrass. The USEA caught up with riders of both levels to get their feedback on this year’s courses.
Two riders will share the top spot on the leaderboard in the Cosequin CCI4*-S at the Defender Kentucky Three-Day Event upon the conclusion of dressage on Friday. Early in the morning, Great Britain’s Lucienne Bellissimo found herself launching up the scoreboard after a beautiful test with Dyri earned them a score of 26.0. While no other pair could top their performance, one team did match it perfectly near the end of the day– Liz Halliday (USA) and her 2023 Pan American Games silver medal mount Miks Master C.
Who is ready for another day of dressage at the 2024 Defender Kentucky Three-Day Event (DK3DE)? Just like yesterday's schedule, we will first see the CCI4*-S field compete this morning starting at 8:00 a.m. EST, followed by the CCI5*-L field at 1:00 p.m. EST.
In comparison to many of his other upper-level event horses, Commando 3, or “Connor” as he is known in the barn, is still a newer ride for Boyd Martin, but that hasn’t held the pair back.
Let the fun and games begin! This morning kicks off the official start of competition at the 2024 Defender Kentucky Three-Day Event (K3DE). The hefty four-star field is the first to set foot in the Rolex Stadium starting at 8:00 a.m. Last year we saw 49 four-star pairs in this division, but this year there are 63 pairs in the field.
If all goes according to plan in the first part of the extended weekend, we will see 36 horses galloping across Derek di Grazia's CCI5*-L cross-country course at the 2024 Defender Kentucky Three-Day Event (DK3DE). We partnered up with the team at CrossCountry App to bring you a preview of both the five-star and CCI4*-s tracks this year.
Lights, cameras, action! The first formal horse inspection (which some might informally refer to as "the jog") at the 2024 Defender Kentucky Three-Day Event (K3DE) takes place this afternoon at the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington, Kentucky. While this part of the event is a fan-favorite historically based on the impeccable turnout of the horses and the stylish and forward fashion choices of the riders (we are looking at you Boyd Martin in hopes that you bring back the American flag suit circa 2022), it serves a very important purpose: ensuring that each horse is fit, sound, and ready to compete at the five-star level.