The horses and their riders have arrived from both near and far to contend this year’s Defender Kentucky Horse Trials – as have their supporters, in all shapes and forms!
Can you guess which mascot belongs to which of the Team Price horses? Nope, me neither, but as long as they help them all to get round, who are we to judge?! Wishing ALL of the competitors this weekend – both human and equine – a safe and successful Kentucky! Who’s ready to GO EVENTING?!
U.S. Weekend Preview
Defender Kentucky (KY): [Website] [Tickets] [Official Schedule] [Entries & Ride Times] [Scoring] [XC Maps – Coming Soon] [ClipMyHorse Live Stream] [USEF Network on ClipMyHorse Live Stream] [EN’s Coverage] [Ultimate Guide] [Form Guide]
Loudoun Hunt Pony Club Spring H.T. (VA): [Website] [Entries/Ride Times] [Volunteer] [Scoring]
Horse Park of New Jersey Spring H.T. (NJ): [Website] [Entries/Ride Times] [Scoring] [Volunteer]
Today at Defender Kentucky
Aaaaand we’re off! Following yesterday’s jog, Defender Kentucky Horse Trails is finally underway, with the first of the CCI4*-S dressage taking place at 8 a.m. ET, followed by the first half of the 5* dressage at 1:20 p.m. ET. The live stream will be available over on USEF Network (free with your USEF membership or a free fan membership here or, outside of the U.S. ClipMyHorse and you can find specific ride times – as well as the daily schedule and results over at the official Kentucky site here.
The cross country course was officially opened to riders yesterday, following the final Ground Jury inspection, and our very own team here at Eventing Nation have all been busy out on course, preparing an exciting course preview video, which will be landing across our social channels VERY SOON – make sure that that you are following us over on @goeventing and/or on Facebook so that you don’t miss a thing! A guided course preview is also available to view on the CrossCountryApp too, along with maps of both the CCI5* and CCI4*-S courses.
The indefatigable Cheg Darlington will be bringing you live updates ALL weekend – you can follow along with all of today’s action here once the 5* dressage gets underway (BUT PLEASE BEAR IN MIND THAT THIS LINK WON’T BE LIVE UNTIL THE 5* DRESSAGE STARTS!)
As if all of this wasn’t enough, we will be bringing you a boat load of exclusive behind the scenes footage all week over on our Instagram broadcast channel so make sure that you are signed up to see it all as it happens, and catch some exclusive content with all of your favourite riders!
Finally, make sure that you set aside some time to get to know all of the 5* competitors in depth, thanks to our shiny new Form Guide, which you can find right here, and catch up on ALL of our Kentucky coverage here, as well as all of our pre-event coverage too, which includes all of the 5* rookie profiles, and all of the essential info you need for this year’s event.
Keep it locked and loaded here at Eventing Nation for all the very best coverage of the Best Weekend All Year – LET’S GO EVENTING!
Defender Kentucky (KY): [Website] [Tickets] [Official Schedule] [Entries & Ride Times] [Scoring] [XC Maps] [ClipMyHorse Live Stream] [USEF Network on ClipMyHorse Live Stream] [EN’s Coverage] [Ultimate Guide] [Form Guide]
News & Notes
If you haven’t fallen into a Kentucky content induced coma yet, then here is a little more to tip you over the edge! This time, in podcast form, with not one but TWO excellent preview shows. First up, we have Sam Watson and Nicole Brown from the EquiRatings Podcast making their very well informed predictions on all of this year’s movers and shakers, and once you’re done with that, go give the US Equestrian Podcast a listen, where our very own Sally Spickard will be sharing her thoughts on the top contenders in the Cosequin Lexington CCI4*-S, alongside Diarmuid Byrne, Annie Bishop and Sinead Maynard.
Speaking of podcasts, we know we don’t need to remind you, BUT our latest podcast dropped this week, too! This week, Sharon White was chatting to Sally about EVERYTHING, including what it’s really like to prepare for Kentucky, the Olympics and well, everything else in between. Plus, you can find out just what Team EN will be getting up to at Kentucky this weekend – including Chase the Chinch! (You’ll have to listen to find out what the hell we’re talking about there…) On that note…Don’t miss Sharon’s dressage test today – she and Claus 63 go at 2.10PM (EST)/7.10PM (CET) in the 5*.
All eyes may be on Kentucky this weekend, but we bring yet more 5* news from across the Atlantic! The Mars Badminton drawn order has finally been revealed – find out when all of your favourite riders will take centre stage here – something to look forward to when the Kentucky hang over inevitably kicks in!
From one 5* to another! The Defender Burghley Box Office is officially open, meaning that you can secure your tickets to yet another top class event, even if it is still 5 whole months away. Still, everyone loves a plan – especially when it involves horses and eventing, right?!
Video Break
What would your horse’s cross country walk-out song be? Find out what your favorite rider chose!
