Here are 21 (.5) fast facts about the Rolex field from the USEF Rolex preview press release.
.5: Arabian in the competition. Thanks to Snooze Alarm.
1: Winner of the $350,000 Rolex Grand Slam of Eventing (Pippa Funnell)
2: Riders with three or more horses (Phillip Dutton and Boyd Martin)
3: Consecutive years the following four horses have started the event (Hollywood, Arthur, Woodburn and The Good Witch)
4: Days a three day event actually takes and this is the only CCI4* in the hemisphere
5: Months Holly Hudspeth (neé Hepp) has been married
6: Horse/rider combinations contesting their first CCI4* (Kristi Nunnink/R-Star, Lauren Keiffer/Snooze Alarm, Kelly Prather/Ballinakill Glory, Stephanie Rhodes-Bosch/Port Authority, Andrea Baxter/Estrella and Colin Davidson/Draco)
7: Times Phillip Dutton has been runner-up; he finally broke the jinx in 2008
8: Hour trip for Will Faudree and Pawlow to get from their base in Hoffman, North Carolina to Lexington, KY
9: Age of the youngest horse in the competition (Titanium) and number of horses running their first CCI4* with more seasoned pilots (High Patriot, Anthony Patch, Kheops du Quesnay, Pawlow, Coal Creek, Rock on Rose, Last Monarch, Remington XXV and Titanium)
10: The price of a ticket (in US dollars) for the lower grandstands on Thursday or Friday
11: Starts Wonderful Will had as a racehorse. He then had a brief career as a pony at Keeneland race track – now he is contesting his second CCI4* with Michael Pollard – whose wife Nathalie Bouckaert Pollard had twins on Sunday!
12: Years the CCI4* has been running
13: Miles from Blue Grass Airport to the Kentucky Horse Park
14: Draw number of most senior competitor in the field
15: HSBC Classic points go to the winner
16: The height (in hands) of three time winner Winsome Adante
17: Years Karen and David O’Connor have been married
18: Age of the oldest horse in the competition (Hollywood)
19: Letters in Quirinal de la Bastide’s name
20: Minutes Phillip Dutton will spend in the dressage ring (five minutes per horse)
