May 12th, 2013 -- The equine veterans ruled at the Jersey Fresh International Three-Day Event this weekend, taking the titles in all four sections of the competition at the Horse Park of New Jersey. But their riders were a mix of the up-and-coming athletes who are the future of the sport, and those with well-earned team experience.

Change is gradual; sometimes you don't see it coming, then you wake up and there it is. But anyone who watched the event in horse-friendly Monmouth County had a chance to glimpse where things are going.

Veronica's permanent rider is now Lauren Kieffer, 24, who came up through the ranks of the O'Connor Event Team, and took over the ride from Olympic multi-medalist Karen O'Connor after she broke her back in a fall with the mare last year. Lauren led through all three phases to win the CIC 2-star on a score of 55.3 penalties, adding 8 time penalties cross-country in a division where only one person made the optimum time and dropping a rail in show jumping. She still had a nice margin over Sharon White's ride, Don Sheffield (57.9).

Lauren Kieffer, winner of the CCI 2-star with Veronica

© 2013 by Nancy Jaffer

Lauren is grateful to the Broussard family, which owns Veronica, for giving her the ride.

"It was very generous of the Broussards to take a chance on a new rider. It speaks worlds to their dedication to the sport that they're willing to give it to a younger rider rather than one of the top riders who ride for them already," she commented.

Boyd Martin handed over Remington XXV to 23-year-old Caitlin Silliman for what was supposed to be the first leg of the  17-year-old horse's  retirement, but he never looked better as he, too, led through all the phases of his division, the CCI 2-star and finished on his dressage score of 41 penalties, the best of any horse in the entire event.

"The more I learn about him, the better I'm able to ride him," said Caitlin, noting that Boyd, her boss, has been "a huge help." But she observed that Remington has learned something too; he's thinking more on his own than he used to with Boyd's professional ride.

Also leading throughout the CIC 3-star competition (do you sense a trend here?) Will Faudree's ride, Andromaque, finished on 51.1 penalties, adding only four time penalties cross-country as he prepped the mare for a trip with the U.S. contingent going to Saumur, France, this month.

"She's a star. I've always believed in that horse. She came here this weekend in preparation for Saumur and I wanted her solid in all three phases," said Will. He noted that her dressage performance was a wake-up call; "I won here on a score of 51, which is really exciting, but I know in France, 51 probably won't get me in the top 20, so we've got to up our game."

Jessica Phoenix celebrated Mother’s Day with her husband, Joel; her son Jacob and Exponential, who won the CCI 3-star

© 2013 by Nancy Jaffer

The hardest-fought division was the CCI 3-star, where Buck Davidson had no margin for error after cross-country on the 8-year-old D.A. Adirmo, who faced the biggest test of his short career on the course designed by John Williams, who has held that job for the entire history of Jersey Fresh. He was one of only two double-clears on that route; the other was that fiercely competitive pair, Canada's Jessica Phoenix and Exponential. Buck had 51.5 penalties to lead after cross-country, Jessica had 52.7. It's interesting to note that Jessica was the busiest rider at Jersey Fresh with five mounts, and I have to say she looked none the worse for wear after her final trip as she accepted a Mother's Day chocolate ice cream cone from her 3-year-old son, Jacob.

I chatted with Debbie Adams, D.A. Adirmo's owner, before the show jumping. Debbie came up with the idea for Jersey Fresh 11 years ago, and was so excited about how her Dutchbred horse was doing.

Listen: Debbie Adams

The winner of the dressage phase, Californian Mackenna Shea's horse, Landioso, had dropped to third with time penalties after cross-country. But disappointingly, he didn't make it through the horse inspection this morning. Mackenna, who had to settle for the sportsmanship award, a clock, rather than a ribbon, said the problem was a shoeing issue, and as soon as Landioso was reshod, he was sound. That's eventing.

With Courtney Cooper and Who's a Star on 63.9 penalties rather far back in third place, it was obvious that Sally Ike's course would be the decider between the top two.

Jessica had a rail at the eighth of 12 fences, a black-and- white oxer.

"I was thinking, `Oh, I sat on him' and apologized to her horse: `I'm sorry, I won't do that again.' " Then "we went around to the last line, and he was awesome."

She had given Buck some breathing room, but she didn't watch him go.

He used up his advantage at the first element of the yellow-and-white triple combination, dropping a rail at the oxer. And three fences later, it was over, as he had another knockdown at the next-to-last obstacle.

That was it, he finished second on 59.5 penalties, ahead of Courtney, who had one of only two double-clears in the division.

Analyzing what went wrong, Buck said, "when he hit the 'in' of the triple, it sort of startled him. I landed short coming out of the triple and thought, 'I better add' (a stride). If I had gone, he would have had a back rail. Obviously I shouldn't have done that."

Buck noted that the horse is young and when asked what A.D. Adirmo had learned, he replied. "Everything. He was trying, he's still green. I'm very excited with the finish. He's a nice horse for the future."

Jessica empathized.

"In this sport, it's so humbling, all I want is for everyone to have a good weekend. At the end of the day, when you win, you want to win because you've been at your best. You don't want to win from other people's rails. I feel for Buck,, it's unfortunate. He had a great weekend on that horse."

Jessica Phoenix and Exponential

© 2013 by Nancy Jaffer

Jessica--who was on her country's silver medal team with Exponential at the 2010 World Equestrian Games--was especially thrilled, because ironically with all that mileage, it was her first 3-star win.

And she was merely following orders from new Canadian coach Clayton Fredericks.

He had advised her to withdraw from the Rolex Kentucky 4-star last month after her dressage test wasn't up to snuff.

"This horse does not need to prove himself in his jumping phases. He just needs to go out and be competitive. Let's go to Jersey and win it,"  he told her.

So she did.

Jersey is a very different event from high-profile Rolex, just as the compact Horse Park of New Jersey is completely different from the expansive Kentucky Horse Park. That figures; Kentucky is all about the horse industry; New Jersey is not, even though the horse is the state animal, for what that's worth.

Jersey Fresh is an amazing volunteer operation that goes above and beyond with a shoestring budget. Everyone makes a big effort, and riders love the hospitality. The event has improved in recent years. There was a feeling that this edition was the best ever.

CIC 3-star winner Will Faudree with Andromaque

© 2013 by Nancy Jaffer

It drew a nice crowd for tailgating around the "Jersey Shore" water complex yesterday, despite the omnipresent threat of rain, which graciously held off until the competition was finished. The eventing gods have been kind this spring; the same thing happened at Rolex.

John, the cross-country designer, called his layout, "a notch more difficult this year, but it's also a better course. We're finding ways to utilize the property better so the course can be more open, galloping and flowing." He noted that with the one-fall rule for elimination and only three refusals on course allowed, the competitors don't get out of sequence as they used to when they remounted and caused delays, or kept going with refusal after refusal. Therefore, they don't get in each others way as they often did in the old days, making it difficult for the course to cross itself, as it does now. Therefore, the course "can exist on a smaller piece of property," John pointed out.

I spoke with Morgan Rowsell, the course builder, for his viewpoint.

Listen: Morgan Rowsell

Jersey Fresh was the source of a big improvement, breakaway flags that fall when a horse hits them, rather than breaking and injuring the animals. Last year, one of Will Coleman's horses was impaled by a broken flag and suffered a serious injury. Dr. Scott Palmer, the veterinarian who pulled the horse through, called then-U.S. Equestrian Federation President David O'Connor's (now the U.S. eventing coach) attention to the situation and suggested flexible poles should be used. They were at all the narrow jumps on course at Jersey Fresh.

Here's how Scott explained the situation.

Listen: Dr. Scott Palmer

It was good to catch up with Karen O'Connor and hear about her recovery. While she's back jumping, she has yet to compete; when she will do that, and what she will do, is still up in the air. Meanwhile, she's worried about Mr. Medicott, her 2012 Olympic horse. Marilyn Little is riding him while he's being syndicated, but not all the shares have been sold.

Listen: Karen O'Connor

Also on the injured list is Boyd, who had ankle surgery after Rolex Kentucky and was sporting a big bandage. He's getting it off tomorrow, and soon will be doing dressage, he said. When he'll be eventing again he couldn't say, but I'll bet it will be soon.

I'm switching gears at the end of the month and going to the Devon Horse Show, one of my favorites. Look for my postcard May 31. In the meantime, check out facebook.com/equisearch and facebook.com/practicalhorseman for more photos from Jersey Fresh.

Until then,

We're on the road to Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, for the 2013 Intercollegiate Horse Show Association National Championships! We have two IHSA members on the ground to bring you lots of behind-the-scenes coverage. Here is a little info about our correspondents:

Madison Harris is a senior at Berry College in Rome, Georgia, studying Business Management. As team member of the Berry Hunt Seat team, Madison has held the captain's position of Historian for 3 years as well. On top of team, riding her Appendix Quarter Horse mare, Sassie, and participating in the IHSA Media Internship, she also started and manages her own photography business called MHarris Photography. Photography and horses are two of her passions and she is incredibly excited to be helping out with the Practical Horseman coverage this year in Harrisburg.

Nicole Mandracchia has been riding for over 10 years and is a working student at James and Robin Fairclough’s Top Brass Farm in Newton, New Jersey. She helps tend to the farm's 25 driving and jumping horses. She grooms and shows at major horse shows on the East Coast, such as HITS Saugerties and Ocala, Garden State, the Sussex County Farm and Horse Show, the Pennsylvania National and Lake Placid. She attends Centenary College and is the senior captain of the IHSA team where she has been competing in the Open level for four years. Nicole is planning to graduate in May 2013 with an Equine Studies degree with a concentration in Communications.

For the latest results and information about the 2013 IHSA Nationals, click HERE. Watch live streaming of all the action HERE.

Saturday, May 4, 2013

Nicole Mandracchia's Blog: Final Hunt Seat Day at IHSA Nationals: I heard one of my favorite songs, “Titanium” by Sia, come over the loudspeaker this morning while all our horses were out schooling. I sang along with it for a few bars and then turned to one of my teammates with a smile. “It’s going to be a good day—this is a good song.” He looked at me like I was crazy, but I was getting good vibes.

As the saying goes, it ain’t over until it’s over. It seemed as though Centenary’s luck finally turned around today. Senior Cori Reich won the coveted USEF/Cacchione Cup title, something she has been working very hard for. This is the third time in five years that a Centenary rider has claimed this title; graduate Lindsay Clark won it in 2009 and graduate Marissa Cohen won in 2011.

It was so stressful listening to the announcer list the riders’ names in reverse order of placing during the awards presentation. Our entire team was there to cheer for her when her name was called in first place—we were all in tears. After all the ribbon pictures were taken, we stormed into the arena and enveloped her in a group hug. There are so many of us that I’m sure it looked like a stampede! Cori is amazing and we are so proud of her.

Our Open Flat rider, junior Kathryn Haley, scored a win for us in Team Open Flat. The judges did not call the riders back for further testing like they did last year. Instead, they asked the riders to drop their stirrups to the right and perform flatwork without them, including a lengthening of stride at the canter. Katie rode beautifully and with the same grace and poise that she always has. I wish I could flat as well as she can!

That win brought us to a tie with Goucher College for 5^th overall in the team placings, which was the same placing we received last year. Being one of the top five teams in the country is pretty good and we’ll definitely take it! Skidmore and St. Lawrence deserved the win—their riders were exceptional all week. Stanford University jumped to the Reserve Championship, which was great for them! The Savannah College of Art and Design was third and Mount Holyoke was fourth.

The show always does three sportsmanship awards to recognize three individuals who have worked hard all week to make Nationals possible. Rebecca Folk of Lafayette College won the Rider Award, Erin Githens of Lafayette College won the Coach Award and Centenary’s very own Amy Gregonis won the Volunteer Award. Congratulations to them—all were very deserving!

There’s also a Horse of the Show award given to the horse that has been the most consistent all week and has been a favorite among riders and coaches. Centenary’s King won this award, and he proudly posed in the winner’s circle. He will receive free SmartPaks for a year and won a beautiful bridle, which we want him to wear in his lessons every day. Centenary has had King for 7 years, and he has been such a great addition to our program. He has taught countless riders how to ride and always comes to Nationals with us. He also does ANRC Nationals, IDA shows at Centenary, IHSA shows at Centenary and Hunter/Jumper team shows. He a professional and knows his job well.

After the award presentations, we packed up our equipment and horses to go home. This was the last IHSA show of my college career—I graduate from Centenary in two weeks. It’s so surreal and I do not know where the past four years have gone. IHSA has been a part of my college career from day 1; I have always been committed to our team. I have learned so many essential riding skills competing in IHSA shows in Zone 3, Region 3. As a captain, I’ve learned the value of teamwork and how to run horse shows successfully and efficiently. I have learned how to get the best out of my team and encourage them to work hard and never give up. I’ve made so many life-long friends that I will never forget and will always keep in touch with. And most importantly, I’ve learned horsemanship skills that will last a lifetime.

Ultimately, we had a great year and that’s all that really matters. We were undefeated, winning every show all semester and we claimed the Zone 3 Finals Championship. None of Centenary’s success would have been possible without the help of all 60 people on our team, and I thank each and every one of them for one of the best years our team has ever had. I can’t thank our coaches Michael Dowling and Heather Clark enough for all their support and dedication to the team. All those no-stirrup lessons and practices ultimately made us stronger riders. It has been an honor to work with each member of this team, and I hope that they will learn as much from IHSA as I did.

2013 IHSA Nationals ended in a tie this year between Skidmore and St. Lawrence. Both coaches had wonderful things to say about the other team. Mary Drueding (St. Lawrence): "I'd rather share than lose the title. I'm incredibly proud of Zone 2 in itself. We have strong riders, strong coaches, and we all fight until the 8th class on the last day." Belinda (Asst. Coach of Skidmore): "This was a really special camaraderie and we're both thrilled to share the title within Zone 2."

© Madison Harris

I have to share this photo of my own team, Berry College, who claimed 6th place today. On a personal note, we have fought the past three years of my college career to reach Nationals and haven't made it as a team past Zones. This year, after an undefeated season, my team made it to Nationals. I have never been a part of such a hard-working and supportive group of people before and I was proud to watch them accomplish this goal. This was probably the greatest present I could've received at the end of my senior year. Go Vikings!

© Madison Harris

King, the Dutch Warmblood from Centenary College, won Champion Hunt Seat Horse of 2013 Nationals. What a beautiful guy!

© Madison Harris

I had the chance for a quick word with Peter Leone after the Cacchione Cup final. He stated: "The Cacchione final testing was Maclay caliber of skill. All the coaches and teams should be incredibly proud of their riders. I was impressed."

© Madison Harris

We have some fantastic video footage provided from a number of sources this week!

© Madison Harris

Running the in-gate at a horse show, especially Nationals, takes a large amount of skill and multitasking. I caught our manager, Chris Mitchell, in the middle of a vary precarious situation involving the balance of coffee and calling riders.

© Madison Harris

Everyone has a tendency to stop and check out the coveted Hunt Seat National Champion trophy, I know I have a couple of times.

© Madison Harris

Meet Lucy! Lucy is a 12 year old, Dutch Warmblood, who is owned by the United States Military Academy. After speaking to her owners, Lucy was found by a friend of the family and shared with them her remarkable talent as a jumper. Lucy has been a show-favorite this week due to her floppy ears as she listens to her riders. As her owner said: "She's known for it, and sometimes you can't really help how big your head is!"

© Madison Harris

While we're here with our teammates cheering us on, we have a tendency to forget how proud our parents are of us. As our number one fans since we start our careers, countless hours are spent watching ringside. They stick with us through the highs and lows, the falls, the smiles, and most of all, the moments that matter most. I had the pleasure of capturing Flavia D'urso's father watching from the gate as Flavia received her Champion ribbon in Collegiate Open Equitation Over Fences for Skidmore College. Not a single person could help but smile as he pointed her out in excitement and pride.

© Madison Harris

The final 10 riders from the Cacchione Cup line up for the awards ceremony.

© Madison Harris

Peter Leone is present today at Nationals. Winning riders have been awarded his "Show Jumping Clinic" book as a prize here. All 10 of the Cacchione riders received a book as a token of competition. Peter is a Member of the United States Equestrian Team and has represented the United States on numerous occasions including in 1982 when he helped the U.S. finish fourth in the World Championships in Dublin, Ireland, and in 1996 when he and Crown Royal Legato were part of the USET's Silver Medal team at the Centennial Olympic Games in Atlanta.

© Madison Harris

Cori Reich, of Centenary College, becomes emotional as she is left standing in the lineup as the winner of the 2013 Cacchione Cup. After finishing 15th last year in the Cacchione Cup, Reich was ecstatic with this accomplishment. Speaking to her after the awards, she "thanked Heather and Michael for pushing her incredibly hard and expecting a lot out of her and her teammates. That's how accomplishments are made."

© Madison Harris

The Cacchione Cup is a wrap! Final standings were: Cori Reich, from Centenary (Champion), Flavia D'Urso, from Skidmore (Reserve Champion) and Blake Roberts from Virginia Intermont (Third).

© Madison Harris

Here's the mounting arena where the riders meet their horses. Afterward they make the walk through the tunnel to the competition arena.

© Madison Harris

Approach these exercises at a calm, regular, balanced pace with quite a long or possibly even loose contact. I place a great deal of emphasis on awakening the horse’s initiative at an early stage of training and attempting to maintain that initiative throughout his career; thus, my emphasis on soft reins.

Do not ride your horse as if you must give him a good ride, but rather attempt to be an intelligent passenger. Once he gets to the obstacle, he must arrange his footwork and propel his body over the fence. At this point, it is your job to stay out of his way. If you run into difficulties, you should either lower the obstacle or, if you are jumping gymnastic obstacles in sequence, remove the last obstacle and lower the others until you get your horse going forward again. Once he is calm and balanced, you can resume the exercise.

Your goals are for your horse to maintain his rhythm, balance and regularity of stride over obstacles. I think that we should teach the horse to balance himself, not to expect us to balance him. An excellent exercise is to count in rhythm with his stride as he proceeds down the line of obstacles. For example, if you have obstacles set up to produce one stride in between them, as the horse lands over the first element you should be able to say out loud, “land.” Then, as he reaches the end of his stride before leaving the ground over the second obstacle, you should be able to say, “one,” in rhythm with the takeoff. If there are succeeding obstacles, you should be able to repeat this down the entire gymnastic line.

This sounds like a very simple exercise, but you will find it surprisingly difficult to perform correctly while your horse is jumping. You may find that the timing of your voice is not in rhythm with your horse’s landing. This is the most common mistake I see in my clinics. Riders who make this mistake usually have some weakness in their jumping positions that causes a loss of balance. This loss of balance is very distracting because the rider will think more about self-preservation than about maintaining balance and rhythm in the landing phase of the jump. If you land out of balance, it means there is something wrong with your position. If there is something wrong with your position, it is usually that your lower-leg position is faulty. Most of the time, if you improve your lower-leg position, you will improve your landing after jumps.

Your horse should maintain an absolutely steady, regular cadence down the line of obstacles. Your counting should also be steady, regular and cadenced. Riders who become agitated when jumping will find that their voices rise in volume and pitch. Many riders will quicken the cadence of their counting until their voices and their horses’ strides are no longer in synchrony. Many times, these are the same riders who will blame their horses for rushing.

Practice keeping your eye on the next object in your horse’s path. For example, if you are trotting toward a pole on the ground, look through his ears at the pole until it goes out of sight. With young ­horses and inexperienced riders, I do not ask the rider to alter the horse’s step in front of the pole because I want to ­awaken the horse’s initiative. Whether he takes a slightly long step or adds a step before the pole, I am equally satisfied. If he steps on the pole, the chances are good that he will learn from the experience and not do it again. If he continues to step on the poles on the ground, I ­suggest that the rider find another prospect, as this one is probably too dumb to improve over obstacles.

Look sequentially at each object in your horse’s path. If you are trotting over a series of ground poles followed by an obstacle, look at the first pole on the ground and then keep your eye on the obstacle until it goes out of sight ­between your horse’s ears. This will help you maintain a straight line through the gymnastic exercises and will also help you develop your timing. You can’t see your stride if you don’t see the jump.

These exercises rely on cavalletti to stabilize your horse’s length of step, speed and balance. If an obstacle follows the cavalletti, use the posting trot until your horse steps over the last pole, then softly lower your seat to the saddle. This ensures that you are in touch with your horse’s back when he leaves the ground.

Do not lean forward while negotiating the cavalletti. When your horse leaves the ground to jump the obstacle, you should have the sensation that he has brought his withers up toward your chest.
For all cavalletti and jumping work, your horse should wear protective boots or bandages on his legs as he may knock his legs while learning to ­coordinate them.

For this column, I am excerpting Gymnastics 2 and 3. To learn Gymnastic 1, which consists of four cavalletti exercises, click here.

The four exercises that comprise Gymnastic 1 will fit comfortably in a 75 x 150-foot (22.8 m x 45.7 m) arena.

After you have warmed your horse up at the walk, trot and canter, then trot into the exercise marked A in the diagram on page 19. Cavalletti set at this distance will produce a working trot for most horses. These exercises are all designed for horses with some jumping experience. If your horse is extremely green, he probably should not be attempting this exercise yet. However, if he is slightly inexperienced or is an experienced jumper but has not done much work over cavalletti, you can pull the first and third poles in towards the centerline of the arena. This will produce a 9-foot (2.7 m) distance between two poles. Horses find this exercise easier and will soon become stable and regular at the trot, which is always your goal. You can then put the four poles together as shown in the diagram and work in both directions over four of them on the ground. After you have established your horse’s balance and rhythm here, you can proceed to the curved poles in Exercise B.

At the posting trot, proceed on a circle in either direction though B. Keep your horse’s direction adjusted so that the length of his step on the curve feels the same as it did over A.

Once you and your horse have become adept at this, you can then start to enter, for example, closer to the 3-foot (90 cm) end of the poles where the distance is shorter, and then let your horse angle away from the center of the circle. This will cause him to go from a working trot to a medium trot or possibly, if your angle becomes too great, even take a couple of steps of extended trot. If your horse takes two steps between the poles or breaks into a canter, you have probably asked too much flexibility from him. Aim closer to the 3-foot (90 cm) end of the curve, and enter B again at the posting trot.

Alternatively, you can enter from the outside of B, where the rails are farther apart. This will cause your horse to take quite a large step at first. Guide your horse toward the 3-foot (90 cm) distance between the last two poles. This will bring your horse back to a working, or even a slightly collected, trot. Having worked in both directions over B, including being able to angle both ways, you can then proceed to Exercise C.

The poles positioned at C will produce the sensation of an extended trot and you may find that your horse cannot reach enough in his fourth step to get out over the last pole without “chipping in” an additional step. Simply remove the last pole and continue. You will find that, after a couple of days’ work over cavalletti, your horse gets the message and you can replace the fourth pole. You should work in both directions over the 5-foot (1.5 m) poles at C until your horse can maintain his regularity and length of step.

After a short break, proceed to Exercise D.

These four rails on the ground, set at 4 feet (1.2 m) apart, will produce a collected trot. Although this exercise can be ridden either posting or sitting, you should definitely use a rising trot until your horse becomes adjusted to them. Using rising, rather than sitting, trot encourages your horse to lift his back while he elevates his step. In addition, it will be less complicated and will allow you to work on his cadence, rather than worrying about your position. Again, work both ways through D until your horse is relaxed and steady in his balance and rhythm. He should be able to deal with the rails without any interruption in the flow of his movement, changing only the length of his step to adapt to the various distances that you have put in his path.

After another break, you can now link these four elements together in order to produce various transitions that will be of great benefit in teaching your horse to be flexible. For example, enter A on the right hand in a working trot, where the rails are 4-foot-six (1.35m) apart. As you leave A, turn right in such a fashion that you produce an arc through B that causes your horse to change the length of his step from working to collected trot. In other words, start exercise B from the outside in. This will put your horse into a slightly collected frame. Proceed directly then to C, which will produce an extended trot. After the extended trot at C, turn right and enter the shorter cavalletti at D.

If your horse has difficulty with this, you can do A, B and C as I have described and then, in a posting trot, circle (or repeat a circle until your horse has settled down to a working trot), turn and enter D, thus producing a collected trot. If you have successfully done this, walk, reward your horse and let him relax and consider his effort while you plan your next series of repetitions through these exercises. When you resume the posting trot, work in both directions and vary the relationship between the exercises to improve and confirm your horse’s flexibility.

Take a moment to remind yourself of your horse’s bad habits. If he tends to rush at the trot, he will not need too many applications of C. He should come from outside in rather from inside out at B, as this will cause him to continually rebalance and collect his step rather than rushing forward. If, on the other hand, your horse is choppy-strided or lazy, a bit more emphasis on and a few more repetitions at B, going from inside out, will teach him to lengthen his step. The total amount of exercise over these rails in any one period should not exceed 45 minutes, including the periods of rest between exercises.

Excerpted from Modern Gymnastics: Systematic Training for Jumping Horses by Jim Wofford. $24.95

Andrew Nicholson clears the final fence (appropriately themed for the Rolex Grand Slam) with Quimbo

© 2013 by Nancy Jaffer

Andrew Nicholson, the last rider to go in show jumping this afternoon at the Rolex Kentucky three-day event, kept it all together to win and qualify for the last leg of the $350,000 Rolex Grand Slam at Badminton next weekend.

It was "phew" moment for the New Zealander, who rejoiced during a pre-presentation victory gallop as he flew around the ring on Quimbo once safely across the finish line.

After receiving his trophy and a Rolex watch, he did another three laps, some of which he performed while waving both hands to the sold-out crowd of nearly 20,000 that packed the stadium at the Kentucky Horse Park.

William Fox-Pitt, who also is in line for the Grand Slam if he can win Badminton, was just as happy but less exuberant, though he smiled broadly as he swept past his fans on Seacookie, who was totally fault free over Richard Jeffery's course. One four in the starting field of 29 could make that claim.

When the defending champion left the ring, however, he found he wasn't able to straighten his left pinky. He had no idea how he broke it, but was already bandaged up when he arrived at the press conference. William didn't think it would affect his riding, however.

Making a triumphant run around the sold-out stadium after he kept all the poles in the cups for show jumping, Andrew Nicholson celebrates aboard Quimbo

© 2013 by Nancy Jaffer

Andrew logged 3 time penalties as he made his careful way around the fences, but that was a wise decision, since he had a comfortable cushion. His final score was 41 penalties, to 48.2 for William. Andrew's other horse, Calico Joe, isn't much of a show jumper. He also wasn't much of a steeplechase horse, which is why he originally was purchased. But he's won a good bit of money eventing, and even with 12 penalties today, he emerged in third place with 52.8 penalties.

Quimbo is a stunner, a Spanish horse bred to show jump who also is versatile enough to handle cross-country and dressage. This one is going to be a superstar. Andrew had some help from Spanish show jumper Luis Alvarez Cevera, who also has been the coach of the New Zealand show jumping team. But I wouldn't think Andrew needs too much assistance. He is a beautiful rider who know how to let a horse do its best, using guidance rather than interference.

Now it's time for Andrew and William to concentrate on Badminton, and if he had to guess which of them might earn the Grand Slam (which has been won only once in its 12-year history) a smiling William conjectured, "probably neither."

Not only will they have to cope with Badminton's demanding cross-country course, but also Olympic, world and European champion Michael Jung of Germany. Yes, their work is cut out for them.

I asked Andrew what he'll do when he gets home tomorrow as he prepares for Badminton.

William Fox-Pitt, Andrew Nicholson with his new Rolex watch and Buck Davidson

© 2013 by Nancy Jaffer

Listen: Andrew Nicholson

Unfortunately for us, and by that I mean the U.S., this is the eighth time in 11 years that a foreign rider has won Rolex. Our event. New coach David O'Connor has a lot of work to do, but there were some bright spots on our horizon.

Buck Davidson, who had been third on Ballynoe Castle RM, dropped rails at the last two fences on course to wind up fourth with 53.2 penalties. He could take comfort from the fact that he was the spring U.S. Equestrian Federation champion, but noted, "I'm bummed to have two down," saying the effort "fell apart a little bit at the end."

Yet he noted if he had to lose, being right behind the world number one (Andrew) and William (who has won more big events than any other rider) is the place to be.

Buck Davidson, the highest-placed American, fourth on Ballynoe Castle RM

© 2013 by Nancy Jaffer

And I'm thinking maybe he--or anyone else--wouldn't be here at all if it weren't for his father, Bruce Davidson. It was Bruce's victory in the 1974 world championships in England that granted the U.S. the right to hold the next world championships in 1978, which he also won. That was the start for the fledgling Kentucky Horse Park, giving it a boost that enabled it to become one of the world's premiere equestrian destinations.

Notable American finishes included Lynn Symansky with Donner, who achieved a double-clear to come in fifth, and Will Faudree on Pawlow, right behind her in sixth place.

I was happy to see Australia's Peter Atkins finish 10th on Henry Jota Hampton, coming up from 28th after dressage. Big move! You may know his horse as "Henny," as in "Run, Henny, Run" for their wonderful helmet cam videos. Peter and Henny have had a soap opera's worth of problems, from an ownership squabble to Peter's leg fracture. But they're together now and going well. Next year's Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games and perhaps the 2016 Olympics are in their sights.

I had the pleasure of speaking with Peter today. Why don't you listen in?

Listen: Peter Atkins

I still haven't gotten a consensus on the difficulty quotient of the cross-country course. I spoke this morning with Great Britain's Yogi Breisner, the always astute chef d'equipe of the British eventing team, and he felt the course was hard enough.

So when I ran into course designer Derek di Grazia, I wondered what he thought about it after nearly a day to consider.

Listen: Derek Di Grazia

The best, best, best part about it was that no one (horse or human) suffered a serious injury and it made for a day of great sport without serious consequences.

The main focus at Rolex is, of course, the competition, but for some, a bigger enticement is the trade fair. It is huge, having spread over the years from an area near the stadium to an indoor arena and beyond. One of the big features at various booths is having eventing celebrities on hand to autograph and have their pictures taken with excited fans. When I was walking through the fair this afternoon, I saw a looooong line in front of the Purina booth. So I investigated; the occasion was the appearance of Boyd Martin. He deserves all the admiration he can get; he's incredibly personable and makes everyone he talks to feel important when they come to see him.

I got a few minutes with Boyd (yes, I cut the line, I was in a rush to cover the show jumping). He told me he's undergoing surgery tomorrow for an ankle problem, a fracture and ligament damage. I asked how it happened, he told me, "falling off horses."

I hope he's back in time for Jersey Fresh in two weeks, though that may be wishful thinking. At any rate, I'll be there, and sending you a postcard on the evening of May 12. Be sure to check back at Equisearch, and go to facebook.com/equisearch and facebook.com/practicalhorseman for more about Rolex.

Until then,

April 28, 2013--The 2013 Rolex/FEI World Cup Final came to an exciting yet familiar conclusion Sunday in front of a packed house in the Scandinavum Arena. In the first of two rounds Course Designer Uliano Vezzani tested 23 horse and rider combinations over a demanding track composed of 12 obstacles that did not yield a single clear round. The number of competitors was then whittled to 17 for the 11 obstacle second round with two riders producing flawless efforts. But for a second consecutive year, four rounds would not be enough to determine a champion and again an American and Swiss competitor would jump-off.

The United States' Beezie Madden and Steve Guerdat of Switzerland each ended on a four round total of nine-faults. In a replay of the 2012 Final, Guerdat riding his 2012 Olympic Individual Gold medalist Nino Des Buissonnets, would be forced to jump-off against a U.S. partnership that was known for turning in quick and efficient trips. Last year it was Rich Fellers and Flexible but in 2013 Madden (Cazenovia, NY) and Abigail Wexner's impressive a 14-year-old Dutch Warmblood gelding Simon were looking to keep the title in the United States.

Madden and Simon, the winners of Thursday's Speed Leg, entered Sunday's first round on a single fault in second place and were poised to jump a clear round until just rolling the pole coming out of the double at five. Their four fault round was good enough to move them to the head of the field going into round two. In the second round, the pair again jumped a beautiful round only to be marred by a single rail down (11A) and stand on a total of nine faults.

"It's been a fantastic week. The first leg was one of those rounds where everything came up. Friday, I was happy with the first round and I was kicking myself for the jump-off." said Madden recapping her performances earlier in the week. "I was disappointed (today) I would have liked to have gone clear in the second round but you have to shake that off and concentrate on the jump-off."

Guerdat was one of two to go clear in Sunday's second round to also lay on nine faults. The 2012 Final runners-up again entered as the first pair in the jump-off and set a lightening fast pace from the very beginning but faulted at the final two fences.
With Madden following him into the jump-off, Guerdat knew that he would need to produce a scorching time if he were to claim top honors.

"I know she's a very fast rider, so I had to try."

Once she saw that Guerdat had two rails down, the double Olympic Team Gold medalist knew all she had to do was leave all the rails in place and be careful to not exceed the time allowed. Madden and Simon returned to the arena for a final time and the hard-trying, careful gelding produced a steady clear to earn the 2013 Rolex/FEI World Cup Final title.

"The cards laid out right for me today. Steve made a great jump up on the leaderboard and the door was left open for me in the jump-off," said Madden.

The veteran rider has claimed many of the most prestigious honors in the sport including Team and Individual medals at the Olympic Games, FEI World Equestrian Games and Pan American Games. However, a Rolex/FEI World Cup Final title had eluded her until today.

"It's been a dream of mine to win the World Cup and I can't believe I've done it," said Madden. "It's a title I've always wanted to win and the closest I had been before was fourth so it was a nice jump to make."

Madden was joined by five other Americans in Sunday's final as McLain Ward, Reed Kessler, Karl Cook, Katie Dinan and Charlie Jayne also completed both rounds.

Three-time Olympian, Ward (Brewster, NY) produced a fifth place finish overall with Grant Road Partner LLC's Super Trooper De Ness on a score of 13 faults. In Sunday's first round the scopey 11-year-old Belgain Warmblood stallion jumped a near flawless round just adding four faults at the sixth oxer. The pair returned in round two with a podium finish on their mind but were one of many to get caught out in the triple combination adding four faults at 4C.

Rounding out the U.S. competitors in the top-ten was 18-year-old Reed Kessler and her 2012 Olympic Games partner the 11-year-old Belgain mare Cylana. Kessler (Lexington, KY) was making her Rolex/FEI World Cup debut this week in Gothenburg and produced an eight fault total in Sunday's first round after dislodging rails at fences 5B and 9B. In round two, she again incurred eight faults; rolling poles at 4C and 5.

Kessler finished in 10th place on 25 faults.

Directly behind Kessler in the 11th place was Karl Cook (Woodside, CA) riding Signe Ostby's 11-year-old Zangerscheide stallion Jonkheer Z to four fault totals in both rounds. They completed their first Final appearance on a score of 28 faults.

Completing the U.S. effort were Dinan and Jayne. Riding Grant Road Partners LLC's 12-year-old Selle Francais gelding Nougat De Vallet, Dinan (Wellington, FL) jumped eight and 12 fault rounds respectively to finish on a score of 38 in 16th place. Like Kessler and Cook, the 19-year-old was also riding in her first Final. Jayne (Elgin, IL) and Alex Jayne and Maura Thatcher's 10-year-old Zangerscheide stallion Chill R Z produced an eight fault trip in round one. But 20 faults in the second round left the 2012 Olympic reserve combination in 17th place on 44 faults.

Kent Farrington (Wellington, FL) also qualified to represent the United States in Sunday's final but chose to save R.C.G. Farm's Uceko for another day.

Chef d'Equipe Robert Ridland was pleased with the results of all the U.S. combinations this week.

"We're very excited; we made this a huge goal. This was a priority; not just winning but really doing better with all our riders in the running and we saw that today," said Ridland. "It was just icing on the cake that Beezie won."

For more information about the 2013 Rolex/FEI World Cup Final visit: http://www.gothenburghorseshow.com/

Follow the 2013 U.S. Jumping Team here.

Andrew Nicholson leads the way at Rolex Kentucky on Quimbo and stands second as well with Calico Joe after cross-country

© 2013 by Nancy Jaffer

Allie Knowles, queen for a day when she stood fourth as the highest-placed American after dressage, was back to earth this afternoon at the unlucky 13th obstacle, the sunken road complex. She was eliminated there after her Last Call said "no more" to the imposing combination.

But the king of eventers, defending champion William Fox-Pitt, also was toppled. Chilli Morning, first in the rankings after dressage, had a stop at the seventh fence, the HSBC Water Park. William turned around and headed to the stables, figuring there was no point in going all the way around the course at that point.

When I asked what happened with the stallion, the British star replied, "Who knows? There will be lots of time to reflect on it. Maybe he just over-jumped the fence before and shut down there. Whatever the reason, there was no point in carrying on--he’s 13 years old, and he’s not here for the experience. We’ll try again another day."

But all was not lost for William, who moved up from 10th to fourth on Seacookie (46.2 penalties) after putting in one of 10 double-clear trips logged during the day on Derek di Grazia's course.

William Fox-Pitt lost the lead on Chilli Morning but is fourth with Seacookie

© 2013 by Nancy Jaffer

Even if he jumps clean in tomorrow afternoon's show jumping, however, he just has to wait and watch to see what Andrew Nicholson does. Though Andrew is first on Quimbo (38 penalties) and second on Calico Joe (40.8), the New Zealander is not feeling any sense of comfort about retaining his spots at the time the ribbons are presented.

I asked him if there was some comfort to standing first and second.

"You can never have too much of a cushion in the show jumping,” he answered.

"I’ll make the most I can of my rounds today and worry about the show jumping tomorrow."

He and I had good eye contact, and I'm sure he knew that I knew the Spinning Rhombus story. That's a tough one to live down.

In 1992, when he and the New Zealand team were poised to take gold at the Barcelona Olympics, Andrew could have had seven rails down and still earned the top prize. But he and Spinning Rhombus had nine rails down; I've never seen anything like it. My jaw kept dropping with the poles as they toppled, one after another. Australia got the gold, and New Zealand had to settle for silver.

But on the plus side here, Quimbo is a good show jumper, though Calico Joe apparently is not quite up to that standard. So tomorrow should be very exciting.

The undercurrent, of course, is that if Andrew wins, he has a shot at the $350,000 Rolex Grand Slam of Eventing, for which only William is currently eligible; his finish here does not affect that. But if Andrew is in the running, Badminton--the last leg of the Triple--will be quite a donnybrook next week, I guarantee it. (If you want more detail about this, look at yesterday's postcard. Or Thursday's, for that matter.) And the mix will include Germany's Michael Jung, the world, Olympic and European champion. He could be the spoiler.

Buck Davidson is the highest-ranked American, in third place with Ballynoe Castle RM

© 2013 by Nancy Jaffer

Buck Davidson was the top American, making the climb from 10th after dressage to third on his old pal Reggie, whose formal name is Ballynoe Castle RM. He was one of 10 double-clears, a group that was a third of the field who finished cross-country.

This was a great moment for Buck in several ways. It eased the memory of Reggie's stop at the sunken road during the 2012 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games here, when Buck was part of the U.S. team.

"It’s a shame that his entire career has been plagued by that stop at the Sunken Road, because he’s such a great horse and everybody loves him," said Buck. "I just about gave up and stopped after he was so perfect through the sunken road--I was so happy."

And it was a nice bounce back from 2012, when he hurt his shoulder in a fall.

Buck and I talked about his feelings today.

Listen: Buck Davidson

Of course, his mood also was elevated by winning the Land Rover Best Ride of the Day for being the U.S. rider finishing closest to the optimum time of 11 minutes, 21 seconds to finish the course. He got free use for two years of a 2013 Range Rover. The award came for his trip on Mar de Amor, one of three horses he rode around today. Mar de Amor's time was 11:15. William actually hit 11:21 on the head, but since he isn't American, he wasn't eligible for the prize.

Will Faudree and Pawlow powered out of the Head of the Lake on their way to fifth place in the standings

© 2013 by Nancy Jaffer

The course seemed generally well-regarded, but I got an interesting insight on it from Mark Phillips, former coach of the U.S. eventing team.

Listen: Mark Phillips

Bruce Davidson, Buck's father, has ridden around Rolex more times than anyone else--though it seems his son is catching up with him quickly. I was interested in what he thought of the course.

Listen: Bruce Davidson

Happily, no one was seriously injured, though there were five rider falls, including Becky Holder, who was seventh after dressage. Ronald Zabala-Goetshel of Ecuador drew a laugh after he and Wise Equestrian Master Rose tumbled into the drink at the Head of the Lake, and the rider rose from the water to take a bow for the crowd.

I ran into Marilyn Little at lunchtime, when she was wearing a sling on her right arm to support a shoulder injury. I asked how it happened, and whether she would ride today. Here's what she said.

Listen: Marilyn Little

She did wind up starting on course, but had a fall from RF Demeter at the 17th fence, the Land Rover Hollow, ending her quest. Let's hope she'll take a rest and let the injury heal.

Several top riders followed William's cautionary lead by withdrawing their horses after a refusal, in order to save them for another day. Mary King, the winner in 2011 with Kings Temptress, came back on her second-place horse from that year, Fernhill Urco, to give try giving him equal time in the trophy department. But he looked tired coming into the Head of the Lake and ran out on the brush obstacle after jumping out of the water. Mary retired six fences later.

Boyd Martin had a refusal with Trading Aces six fences from the end of the 28-obstacle course and walked away.

The original field of 45 for dressage is now at 30, and I suspect it will be smaller still after tomorrow's horse inspection.

It should be great show jumping, Andrew and William, the fiercest of rivals personally and professionally, squaring off with so much at stake. I'll be there, and tell you all about it tomorrow evening in my final postcard from Rolex Kentucky. In the meantime, be sure to go to facebook.com/equisearch and facebook.com/practical horseman for more photos and videos.

Until then,

Given the forces that this joint handles day in and day out, it’s not unusual for horses to develop SI pain. The trick is recognizing the problem: SI injuries are notoriously hard to pin down, with subtle and confusing signs, easily mistaken for other physical or even behavioral problems. Even a “hunter’s bump,” a raised area at the top of the croup that’s often thought to reveal SI trouble, isn’t a reliable sign. (For a closer look inside the joint, see the box below.)

How can you tell if your horse develops SI pain? And, more to the point, what can you do to help him if he does? For this article, we asked Kevin Haussler, DVM, DC, PhD, of the College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences at Colorado State University, for help in answering those questions.

Who’s at Risk?
Any horse can injure his SI joint in a fall or some other accident. The injury may leave the joint less stable than it was originally, so it can become a source of chronic pain. Performance horses may develop SI problems through simple wear and tear—and the more mechanical stress the joint comes under, the greater the risk, Dr. Haussler says. SI problems are fairly common. In one recent survey, these problems accounted for more than half of 124 horses presented for back problems at the University of Minnesota equine clinic.

Show jumping and dressage seem to be especially hard on the joint, according to a study carried out by Sue Dyson, FRCVS, and others at the Center for Equine Studies, Animal Health Trust, Newmarket, United Kingdom. That study analyzed records of 74 horses seen for SI pain at the center. Dressage horses and show jumpers accounted for almost 60 percent of the group. Slightly more than half were warmbloods, suggesting that breed may play a role. And horses with SI pain tended to be taller and heavier than average, another sign that mechanical stress is an important factor.

Under stress, Dr. Haussler says, the joint can be injured in several ways. The SI ligaments can tear, just as ligaments and tendons in a limb can give way under stress. And the joint itself, like the hock or any other joint, can become inflamed. Over time, osteoarthritis develops—cartilage wears away and bone remodels. Thoroughbred racehorses sometimes get pelvic stress fractures directly over the SI joint, and those need to be differentiated from SI joint arthritis.

Never mind, everything else is as it should be. Defending champion William Fox-Pitt of Great Britain is here with two horses, the trade fair is humming with tack, clothing and jewelery, while volunteers are everywhere, providing a cheerful engine for the event. In a calorie-laden section of the Kentucky Horse Park, junk food reigns. Fried whatever, anyone? You'll find it here.

New Zealand’s Andrew Nicholson topped the first day of dressage at Rolex Kentucky with Calico Joe

© 2013 by Nancy Jaffer

It's time to walk the cross-country course, hopefully with someone who can dissect it for you; do some star-spotting and get autographs from amazingly patient and friendly riders. Yes, there's no place on this side of the Atlantic like Rolex.

During Wednesday's competitors' party at the grand old estate, Spindletop, down the road from the Horse Park, Lee Carter gave a brief speech that really rang a bell with me, a 26-time Rolex-goer. Lee is the executive director of Equestrian Events Inc., which puts on Rolex. I asked him to repeat a shorter version of the speech for me so you could hear what he had to say; it really struck a chord and sums up the underlying allure of this great event in Lexington.

Listen: Lee Carter

The first half of the dressage today (the rest of the competitors ride tomorrow) added an extra layer of excitement to the proceedings with New Zealand's Andrew Nicholson standing first after an engaging test on Calico Joe that was graded at 40.8 penalties, a good distance ahead of Rolex regular Becky Holder on Can't Fire Me (44.2) and Canada's Shandiss McDonald aboard Rockfield Grant Juan (45.7). William was fourth on Seacookie (46.2). Nice international top four, right?

At any rate, if Andrew wins here, he will be challenging William for the Rolex Grand Slam, which would come in a showdown at Badminton next week. You know the Grand Slam -- worth $350,000, started in 2003, only won once (Pippa Funnell). It's for whoever sweeps Burghley, Rolex and Badminton, the world's three highest-profile 4-stars. Problem was, when William was on track to take it all at Badminton 2012, there was no Badminton 2012. It got canceled in the wake of torrential rain. So William gets a second chance and Andrew, last year's Burghley winner, also has a shot. He has yet another opportunity here tomorrow when he rides Quimbo.

I asked Andrew whether he was thinking about the Grand Slam. A natural question, right?

"I've come out here with that in mind," he replied, "but at the moment, I'm concentrating on trying to win this one first and worry about next week after this week."

I watched the action all day of course, and felt my usual eventing dressage angst. I see the same missteps over and over. People revving their horses in the rein back, then jumping into the canter, the next movement. Awkward and exaggerated flying changes (as one of my friends observed, if so-so hunter riders can get smooth changes, why can't the eventers?) Scrambling into the halts. Rocky transitions. Summing it all up: Losing easy points. You may not have the greatest mover, but there's a way to make up the deficit with smoothness and accuracy.

Becky Holder put in a fluid test on Can’t Fire Me to stand second

© 2013 by Nancy Jaffer

Andrew, of course, is an incredible pro, the world number one last year. Hence his nice test. But Becky, a Rolex regular, also offered many silky moments with Can't Fire Me (Teddy), who is the same color (gray) as her previous star, Courageous Comet. That's where the similarity ends, she said.

"Comet is a ham, he loves attention," she said, reeling off some insightful observations on their differing personalities.

"Teddy would be happy to be sweating away by himself with no one in sight. Comet is the actor in the back room who has to have his Perrier water with the lemon in it, just so. Teddy is the guy with the cigarettes rolled up in his shirtsleeve."

Shandiss McDonald of Canada, standing third on Rockfield Grant Juan

© 2013 by Nancy Jaffer

Shandiss is one of 13 riders in the field of 46 who are Rolex first-timers, and I wish them all luck. It is, as always, a handsome layout, cunningly prepared. I love the giant Fallen Dueling Tree, with a wooden acorn and snail adding interest. The double brush tables boast horse heads and tails carved out of greenery. Scenic, however, is secondary to challenging.

But on a tour of the cross-country course with designer Derek di Grazia, I wondered if the route might be slightly soft to make things easier for the debutantes.

Here's the conversation:

Listen: Derek di Grazia

In fact, the course is a bit longer than last year, due to the way Derek reconfigured the beginning of the layout.

There were a number of drop-outs in the last week or so. The most recent was Emily Beshear, who pulled out Here's to You right before the trot-up after he sustained a mild soft tissue strain that she noticed while working on the flat when he took a funny step. Emily is married to a veterinarian who is the son of Kentucky Gov. Steve Beshear, and together they decided it was better not to take a chance with their horse, even though his problem was minor.

Emily Beshear and course designer Derek DiGrazia discuss cross-country

© 2013 by Nancy Jaffer

"It was very, very tempting to see if we could go on, but at this level, horses need to be given every chance possible to do this well," she said, explaining the decision to withdraw.

"He has so much heart, the last thing I wanted was to come out here and have him trying his heart out when he had a physical problem."

She offered some insights on the course, noting that when she rode last year, she was glad to be aboard a thoroughbred. There's plenty of terrain, as well as obstacles en route, and your horse better be properly conditioned. Not to mention attentive.

Though she felt that Derek was "quite a bit kinder at the end of the course than he was last year," she pointed out, "everyone who comes here knows they have to have a fit horse to answer all the questions. I think you'll see the thoroughbreds prevail. They'll go on to do what they're bred to do, which is gallop and jump."

For more photos and information on Rolex Kentucky, go to facebook.com/equisearch and facebook.com/practicalhorseman. I'll be back with another postcard tomorrow night as dressage wraps up and we look toward cross-country. Let's hope the 30 percent chance of rain diminishes to zero that day.

Until then,

With the support of the United States Equestrian Federation (USEF) and Equestrian Events, Inc., the Carr-Hughes network production of the Rolex Equestrian Championships will be broadcast on NBC Sunday, April 28 from 4 p.m. to 5 p.m. ET. Leading up to the NBC telecast, USEFNetwork.com presented by SmartPak will offer live, wall-to-wall coverage of the dressage, cross-country, and show jumping phases, which can be seen on computers, tablets and smart TV/Google TV devices in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico. Google TV users can go to http://www.usefnetwork.com/googletv for an enhanced experience.

For equestrian fans

throughout the rest of the world, FEI TV will air LIVE coverage of Saturday's cross-country and Sunday's show jumping competitions. To sign up for FEI TV visit www.feitv.org.

The broadcast schedule is listed below and is available under the Live Broadcast Schedule tab at USEFNetwork.com. Times are subject to change.
April 25: LIVE Dressage on USEFNetwork.com, 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. ET
April 26: LIVE Dressage on USEFNetwork.com, 10 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. ET
April 27: LIVE Cross-Country on USEFNetwork.com, 10 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. ET

April 28: LIVE Show Jumping on USEFNetwork.com, 1:15 p.m. to 3 p.m. ET

Awards Ceremony on USEFNetwork.com, 3 p.m. ET

Rolex Equestrian Championships on NBC, 4 p.m. to 5 p.m. ET

The Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event is held annually at the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington, Ky. and produced by Equestrian Events, Inc. The prestigious competition is part of the $350,000 Rolex Grand Slam of Eventing, which is awarded to any rider who wins three of the Rolex Grand Slam of Eventing competitions in succession. The Rolex Grand Slam of Eventing competitions include the Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event, Mitsubishi Motors Badminton Horse Trials, and Land Rover Burghley Horse Trials. Rolex Kentucky is also one of six CCI4*competitions that compose the HSBC FEI Classics™ and features riders vying for their share of $250,000 in prize money.

The Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event will crown the 16th Rolex/USEF National CCI4* Champion. The only Four Star event in the Western Hemisphere, Rolex Kentucky will draw an estimated 70,000 spectators and be seen by millions more on the worldwide telecast.

Limited advertising opportunities for the television broadcast and on USEFNetwork.com are available through Scott Carling, USEF Managing Director of Sales and Sponsorships, at (859) 225-6928 or scarling@usef.org.

For media inquiries, please contact Classic Communications at (508) 698-6810 or info@classic-communications.com.

For more information about the Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event presented by Land Rover visit www.rk3de.org.