Boyd Martin and Commando 3 lead the USEF National 5* Championship and sit in second coming into the show jumping. Photo by Tilly Berendt.
Here. We. Go. The finale of the 5* competition at Defender Kentucky is upon us and we don’t have long to wait now ‘til we find out who’ll take the 2025 Kentucky Crown. There’s just the small matter of keeping the poles in the cups first…
We’ve been treated to an exceptional display of talent thus far, created over many years and involving meticulous planning of programs to get things just right for these formidable equine athletes – hopes and dreams, ambitions and disappointments – it all culminates here, in the final phase of a 5*.
The competitors will be jumping in reverse order, so last to go will be Michael Jung and fischerChipmunk FRH, the pair that have led the charge right from the first day when they put down a record-breaking dressage score to give themselves a healthy buffer over the rest of the field. They used up a little of that time out on cross country, but others added too and Michael comes into today having extended his lead to 11.8 points clear of his nearest rival Boyd Martin with Commando 3. That gives him the comfort of two fences in hand, but not three. Should Chipmunk inexplicably have two down, he can be three seconds over the time and still win, but not four.
All of this is academic though, for now. We’ll get more into the nitty gritty as things progress this afternoon. I’ll be bringing you live updates from each round as it happens. Lock on ENers. To paraphrase: It’s not over ‘til the chipmunk jumps 🐿️
Here’s a look at the top of the leaderboard as we head into the final phase:
1️⃣ 🇩🇪 Way out in front are Michael Jung and fischerChipmunk FRH who are siting pretty with plenty in hand on a score of 21.
2️⃣ 🇺🇸 In second spot are Boyd Martin and Commando 3 who are leading the USEF National 5* Championship. They’re on a score of 32.8, less than 2 points clear of third place.
3️⃣ 🇬🇧 With two excellent rounds inside the time yesterday – the only rider to beat the clock – Harry Meade sits in third with Et Hop Du Matz on a score of 34.2, and fourth with Grafennacht on a score of 35.2. Will Harry end up with two ‘finish on his dressage’ results? Perhaps.
You’ll find the full leaderboard right here.
There will be some jumping out of order, unless Harry opts to ride Roman-style, which would certainly add a new dimension to the show jumping phase, and with three rides in the top 8, Boyd will also be doing a bit of a juggling act. Their top-placed horses – Et Hop Du Matz in 3rd and Commando 3 in 2nd, respectively – will go in order. Boyd’s set to come forward as first to jump today on Luke 140, coming into this in 8th place on 44.7.
There are two withdrawals and a retirement to catch you up with: Tim Price and Jarillo, who were in =7th place and Ema Klugman and Bronte Beach, who were in 18th, both withdrew before this morning’s horse inspection, where Tim was sent to the hold box with Falco and opted to retire from there; they had been sitting in 15th. Tim will however being going on Happy Boy, who’s currently 22nd.
If you want to follow along with the form as things proceed, you’re in need of EN’s new-look Form Guide – here you go – and you can keep track with the scores via the live leaderboard here.
As you know, here at EN we happily renounce sleep (and sanity), taking on the real risks of repetitive strain injury and blood-soaked fingers to bring you, eventing superfans, every single scrap of the action that unfolds at these huge events. You’ll find all our Defender Kentucky awesomeness right here. And that’s not all because, well, we’re overachievers who unapologetically take it all on and more. There’s also super fun behind-the-scenes shenanigans happening over on our Instagram channel @goeventing – follow along and get involved here.
Whilst we await the finale, catch up with all that went down to lead us to this point:
▶️ Dressage Day One – Test-by-test Analysis
▶️ Dressage Day One – Full Report
▶️ Dressage Day Two – Test-by-test Analysis
▶️ Dressage Day Two – Full Report
▶️ Round-by-round Cross Country Updates
▶️ Cross Country Report
Before we embark on our final live blog of the competition, a ‘refresher’ on the no. 1 rule of following EN’s classic live blog: refresh, refresh, refresh – and all will be revealed.
If you’re catching up with this later and are the type to like things in order, scroll ⬇️ and read ⬆️. If going backwards is more your jam, have at it.
This is it. The Kentucky crown awaits. Go eventing!
Defender Kentucky: [Website] [Tickets] [Official Schedule] [Entries & Ride Times] [Scoring] [XC Maps – Coming Soon] [ClipMyHorse Live Stream] [USEF Network on ClipMyHorse Live Stream] [EN’s Coverage] [EN’s Form Guide]
________________________________________________________________________________
EN’s coverage of Defender Kentucky is supported by Kentucky Performance Products. To learn more about Kentucky Performance Products’ science-backed nutritional support products, click here.
________________________________________________________________________________
🇺🇸 Boyd Martin and Luke 140
Boyd Martin and Luke 140. Photo by Tilly Berendt.
Dressage: 27.9
Cross Country: 0 + 16.8
Score: 44.7
Place: 8
Boyd is in the ring!
Luke’s looking great as he canters round waiting for the bell.
They take their time coming round to the start after the bell and get a great shot over the first. The second is huge and Luke flies it. He’s careful over the third and then stretches over the big parallel at 5. He gets the perfect shot through the double at 6. He’s really getting up in the air and Boyd’s taking the turns really efficiently. This is a very smooth and professional round from Luke. He makes it through the treble at 11 clear and then comes round to the final two. CLEAR INSIDE THE TIME!
Boyd Martin and Luke 140 finish on a score of 44.7.
________________________________________________________________________________
Defender Kentucky: [Website] [Tickets] [Official Schedule] [Entries & Ride Times] [Scoring] [XC Maps – Coming Soon] [ClipMyHorse Live Stream] [USEF Network on ClipMyHorse Live Stream] [EN’s Coverage] [EN’s Form Guide]
________________________________________________________________________________
EN’s coverage of Defender Kentucky is supported by Kentucky Performance Products. To learn more about Kentucky Performance Products’ science-backed nutritional support products, click here.
________________________________________________________________________________
