Ready and waiting. Photo by Sally Spickard.
Welcome to the weekend ENers, and not just any old weekend – officially The Best Weekend All Year. It’s cross country day at Defender Kentucky Three-Day Event and we’re bringing you not one but two live blogs from the Horse Park. That’s right, snacks at the ready and settle in for all the action from the 4*-S and 5* cross country. Responsible human things to do? Well we’re giving you full permission to put eventing at the top of your to do list today (and every day if, like us, you’re so inclined).
We’ll see 57 competitors out on course today, with representatives for the USA, Canada, Brazil and Great Britain, and let me tell you, this competition is stacked. With Olympic selection imminent, this is the place to be for hopefuls showcasing their bid to be part of the elite team headed to Paris.
We’ve got eight of the top 10 riders on the USEA leaderboard, including three rides for Liz Halliday; plus World No. 3 Boyd Martin, who has two rides, and Will Coleman, who’ll also be having two turns around the Horse Park this morning; there’s a dad and daughter combo in Phillip and Olivia Dutton; the reigning Pan-Ams gold medalists Caroline Pamukcu and HSS Blake are here – Caroline will be heading out of the start box three times – and team-mate and individual bronze medalist Lindsay Traisnel comes forward with her Santiago mount Bacyrouge; recent Road to the Horse winner Tik Maynard is back in English tack and in the mix; and last year’s 5* champ Tamie Smith will finish things up for us as the last to go. Seriously, we’ve got a formidable afternoon of competition on our hands. Bring it on!
Click here to view the 4*-S cross country course.
Before we get down to business, here’s a brief look at what’s been going down in the 4* competition thus far:
1️⃣ We’ve got joint-leaders as we head out on course today – Liz Halliday and Miks Master C for the USA and Lucienne Bellissimo and Dyri for Great Britain, who both delivered super smart tests for a score of 26 – Liz goes at 11:42am ET / 5:42pm CEST and Lucienne will leave the start box at 10:48am ET / 4:48pm CEST.
3️⃣ Just 1.3 points behind, in third is Caroline Pamukcu and HHS Blake for the USA who also delivered the goods in the first phase for a score of 27.3 – they’ll get underway at 11:45am ET / 5:45am CEST.
4️⃣ In fourth place after the dressage is the USA’s Boyd Martin and Commando 3 who are on a score of 28.9 – they’ll be heading out at at 10:27am ET / 4:27pm CEST.
5️⃣ Rounding out the top 5 is one of Liz Halliday’s other rides (she’s got three), Cooley Quicksilver, who posted a score of 29.2 – they’ll be heading out at at 10:39am ET / 4:39pm CEST.
The scores are tight right the way through the field so every second counts out on cross country today – see the full list here. If you’re in need of more 4* news, we’ve got you covered – you’ll find our full round-up right here.
Flying the Maple Leaf and first out of the start box today will be Jessica Phoenix and Fluorescent Adolescent who are currently on a score of 37.5. They’ll get us underway at 9am ET / 3pm CEST.
If you want to follow along with the form this afternoon, check out EN’s 4* Form Guide, which you’ll find right here.
I’ll be here for every single round, fingers frantically clattering across my keyboard, bringing you every second of the action live throughout the day. Keep this page refreshed and enjoy the ride. If you’re catching up on this later, scroll ⬇️ and read ⬆️.
If you just can’t get enough Kentucky, here are the links you need to to catch up with the 5* competition:
Round-up Reports – [Dressage Day One] [Dressage Day Two]
Live Blogs – [Dressage Day One] [Dressage Day Two]
And if you’re still hankering for more, you’ll find all of our content from The Best Weekend All Year right here. If you’re up for EVEN MORE – you know you are! – we’ve got loads of great IG content happening courtesy of our team on the ground too @goeventing.
Settle in for an afternoon of awesomeness eventing nerds, and go eventing!
EN’s coverage of the Defender Kentucky Three-Day Event is presented by Kentucky Performance Products, your one-stop shop for science-backed nutritional support for all types of horses. Click here to learn more about Kentucky Performance Products.
Defender Kentucky Three-Day Event [Website] [Entries] [Schedule] [Tickets] [Scoring] [Live Stream] [EN’s Coverage]
9:07am
No. 3 on the USEA leaderboard Elisabeth Halliday is underway with Shanroe Cooley (USA). This horse doesn’t have a single XC jumping penalty on his record – he’s for sure a jumping machine. They’re sitting on a score of 31.7. Back with Allison and she’s at the Rolex Grand Slam Challenge – the water at 9ABC. She’s still plugging away round this course. Meanwhile Liz has a great shot through the first water at 4 – she’s flying! Jessie Phoenix and Fluorescent Adolescent are through the finish flags.
9:04am
Allison Springer and Vandyke are now out on course. They’ve had jumping penalties in their last three FEI runs – fingers crossed for them to break that streak today. They’re sitting on a score of 35.8. They get off to a good start over the first three, relatively simple fences, and come into the first real question on the course. They get a great shot into the water at 4 and then puts in a huge jump at the corner on the way out of the combination. Meanwhile, Jessie’s still flying round the course. Vandyke puts in a couple of extra little steps through the Park Question at 6 and ends up picking up a 20. Jessie’s at the final water now and still going super.
9am
Our trailblazers Jessica Phoenix and Fluorescent Adolescent leave the start box and get today’s cross country underway! They jumped ‘round clear here last year and finished 24th. Let’s hope they make it two-for-two with a clear round today. They’re sitting on a score of 37.5. They clear the first to a massive cheer from the crowd out there. The folding table at 2 is no trouble and they fly over the oxer at 3. The first combination comes at the MARS Sustainabilty Bay and proves to be nothing to worry about for this pair. The coffin complex comes very early at fence 6 – The Park Question – Jessie flies through there on the slightly longer route, but it wasn’t too much longer. She’s making this tough course look very straightforward so far, but it’s in fact anything but.
