Dressage Powerhouses of Kentucky: Day One

Welcome to the 2018 edition of the Land Rover Kentucky Three-Day Event! Yesterday marked the beginning of the competition, with the first horse inspection occurring in the afternoon and today we’ll have the first half of dressage. Click here to see the order of go with ride times and here for all the details on how to watch live.

The competitors will be performing the 2017 FEI 4* Test B, which was brand new last year, but not in use. Kentucky will be the first four-star to utilize this test, putting old favorites and four-star rookies on a totally level playing field as they navigate through the test for the first time. Since Kentucky is the first four-star to be held each year, no one has yet seen how the test rides in competition yet. Check here for a summary in all the ways in which this new test differs from the old.

Another big change for this year is the loss of the 1.5 multiplier on the penalty marks for dressage, making the scoring a straight conversion to penalties. An average of 70.0% from the ground jury will translate into 30.0 penalty points, instead of 45.0 as it would have in previous years. This will cluster the competitors closer together after the first phase, making the jumping phases more influential. Again, as the first four-star to run in the calendar year, Kentucky will be the first four-star to see how the new scoring system affects final placings.

Judging the competitors will be Christian Landolt of Switzerland, who presides over the ground jury. Sue Baxter of Great Britain and Jane Hamlin of the United States join him as members of the ground jury. Jane Hamlin will be a member of the ground jury for the World Equestrian Games later this spring, so her scoring will be of particular interest to riders trying to make a team.

THURSDAY, MORNING SESSIONS 

Phillip Dutton (USA) and Z: This young horse has been extremely consistent in the jumping phases for Phillip Dutton but only has only recently gained the experience to get near the leaders in dressage. He broke the 70% mark in the Advanced at Stable View back in the fall of 2016, then spent all of 2017 trying to get back to that point. At the Ocala Jockey Club CIC3*, Z flirted with the 70% plus mark again, scoring a 45.1 under the old scoring system, but it wasn’t until the WEG Test event at The Fork CIC3* that he finally achieved the mark at an FEI event, clocking in a 27.6 (new scoring). Going in the quietest session of the show will only help this horse, who can suffer from tension.

Aiming for: Top 10

Ride time: 9:54 a.m.

Michael Jung (GER) and fischerRocana FST: Obviously the Terminator and his Queen of Kentucky are not to be missed. These two own the second ranked 4* average in the field, the best 3* average in the field,  the second ranked 4* personal best, and the top ranked 3* personal best. fischerRocana FST has never been marked below 70.0% at a 4*, and she’s achieved at least a 75.0% in five of her last six 4* starts. While these two may not end up first at the end of dressage, they will undoubtedly be close to it.

Aiming for: Top of the leaderboard

Ride time: 11:28 a.m.

THURSDAY, AFTERNOON SESSIONS

Sharon White (USA) and Cooley On Show: Sharon White has slowly been chipping away at this phase with Cooley On Show. In 2016 they averaged marks of 64.04%, in 2017 they pushed it up to 66.98%, and in 2018 they came out swinging, achieving a two-show average of 70.90% thus far for the year. 2018 was the first year this pair broke into the 20s in the first phase, so they are coming into Kentucky on a hot streak.

Aiming for: Top 10

Ride time: 1:40 p.m.

OTHERS OF NOTE

Park Trader and Tsetserleg in the first morning session and Wembley and Qorry Blue D’Argouges in the second have all cracked 70% at the 3* level. In the afternoon, RF Eloquence as the first ride right after lunch has hit that mark as well.

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