Derek di Grazia’s courses are known for being challenging but fair and safe. (Mike McNally Photo) Derek di Grazia knows what it’s like to ride—and win—the Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event presented by Land Rover: he won it in 1985 on Sasquatch, a Thoroughbred/Appaloosa cross. These days, as the Rolex Kentucky event’s cross-country course designer, di Grazia is the man asking the questions of the four-star horses and riders galloping over the Kentucky Horse...

Boyd Martin and Crackerjack competing at theRolex Kentucky Three-Day Event presented by Land Rover in 2015. (Kasey @ Rare Air Photography) The path to the Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event presented by Land Rover can be winding and difficult, and few understand that better than owner Lucy Boynton. Her horse Crackerjack has done more than just take Boynton to the highest level of eventing on both sides of the Atlantic; he’s also given her an extended family and continued a path that her late...

Leah Lang-Gluscic and A.P. Prime (Adam Brennan/picturesbyab.com) Leah Lang-Gluscic Leah Lang-Gluscic completed her first Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event in 2016 aboard A.P. Prime. “Last year was the first time that we attempted all the phases successfully. “Rolex is a spectacle, in the best way possible. You think you’re going to get there and it’s going to be this long week of waiting. But with A.P., in particular, I had such a huge fan base for him that I was occupied...

Lexington, Ky. - The excitement of the Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event presented by Land Rover (RK3DE) is about to begin at the Kentucky Horse Park. Following the first horse inspection, 59 horse-and-rider combinations from nine nations will vie for top honors at America's only CCI4* event, which also serves as the Rolex/USEF CCI4* Eventing National Championship. For the first time in 2017, the Roger Haller Trophy, honoring the late, internationally-respected eventing official, will be...

Reggie and Kathleen Murray (center) were joined by Buck Davidson (left) and Cassandra and Carl Segal when they evented at training level this winter in Florida. (Photo Courtesy Kathleen Blauth Murray) Thursday will mark the end of an era for Kathleen Blauth Murray at the Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event presented by Land Rover. Murray, eventing athlete and Buck Davidson’s longtime groom, will perform the dressage test ride aboard Carl and Cassandra Segal’s Ballynoe Castle R.M.,...

Lauren Kieffer and Vermiculus (Kasey @ Rare Air Photography) Lauren Kieffer’s return to the Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event presented by Land Rover is particularly nostalgic, because her mount this year—Vermiculus—is a full brother to Snooze Alarm, the horse that brought Kieffer to her first Rolex Kentucky back in 2010. Bred in Indiana by Lawson and Jeanne Williams, Snooze and Vermiculus are Anglo-Arabians, by the Arabian stallion Serazim and out of the Thoroughbred mare Wake...

The Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event presented by Land Rover is a thriller for spectators and equestrian fans, whether they’re on site at the Kentucky Horse Park or watching the action live on USEF Network . For a different perspective, we asked several participants behind the scenes at Rolex Kentucky to describe what their experience at this eventing championship is like. Lauren Kieffer, riding Veronica, won the 2016 Rolex/USEF CCI4* National Championship after finishing second overall at...

Madeline Backus and P.S. Arianna (Shannon Brinkman Photo) Madeline Backus and P.S. Arianna are first-time competitors this year at the Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event presented by Land Rover, but their partnership goes back years. “My mom’s farrier, Dennis Ackerman at Pendragon Stud in Colorado, actually bred her,” Backus said of the Anglo-Trakehner mare. “So I’ve known her for her whole life. It’s been quite an adventure.” Backus, whose mother Laura...

The USEF’s Eventing Emerging Athlete Program is an age-restricted program that identifies and cultivates talented young riders ages 18 and under and 25 and under with the potential to evolve into future United States team candidates. They’re coached by USEF Eventing Emerging Athlete Coach Leslie Law. This year, four of the program’s riders are among the entries for the Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event presented by Land Rover. Madeline Backus Horse: P.S. Arianna....

Be sure to age-verify your horse that competes in classes requiring age verification prior to going to a competition. (© Al Cook - alcookphoto.com) Age verification is a new specific rule in 2017 for US Equestrian in Young Hunter classes and Jumper classes restricted by age of the horse. US Equestrian wants you to age-verify your horse that competes in classes requiring age verification prior to going to a competition, and you can even send us the required documents very easily. Here are...