Monica Spencer (NZL) and Artist. Photo by Atalya Boyner Photography.

A chilly morning greeted us today at the Kentucky Horse Park for the early final horse inspection for both the CCI5* and CCI4*-S divisions.

We did have a couple of withdrawals overnight:

In the CCI5*, Harry Meade withdrew Graffenacht, who had been equal 11th after cross country but unfortunately lost two shoes during her run and did come out this morning a bit too sore to continue on. Harry expects the 14-year-old mare to be just fine to come back for another run soon.

In the CCI4*-S, Buck Davidson withdrew Cooley Candyman, who was sitting on a top-15 position after cross country. During his cross country ride with Sorocaima in the CCI5* yesterday, Buck unfortunately broke his leg and dislocated his ankle when he hit his leg on the BC element of fence 12, a solid brush corner in the Spring Water, and has had to retire both horses from the competition. Buck is scheduled to have surgery on Tuesday and expects he’ll be back on his feet and in the saddle soon.

Also in the 4*, Skyler Voss withdrew Argyle, who was in 32nd after cross country.

On to the jog itself, all other horses were presented and the drama was fairly low. We did have one horse — Allie Knowles’ P.S. I Love You — sent to the hold box in the CCI4*. P.S. I Love You was subsequently withdrawn from the hold box to save him for another day. In the CCI5*, Jennie Brannigan’s ride FE Lifestyle was sent to the hold box. Afterward, “Foxy” was re-presented and subsequently accepted by the Ground Jury.

We will now move on to show jumping, which begins at 10:30 a.m. for the Cosequin Lexington CCI4*-S and at 2:20 p.m. for the CCI5*. Between the two, a couple of special occasions: Bruce Davidson Sr. will be doing an autograph signing at 12:30 p.m. at his statue outside of Rolex Stadium, and Lauren Nicholson’s Vermiculus will have a formal retirement ceremony in Rolex Stadium during the lunch break as well.

One last shoutout for the jog report: our top grooms of the weekend have been named for a $1,000 Grooms Award sponsored by Buckeye Nutrition (also, a big shout to the MARS Equestrian team for walking around handing out donuts this morning, you literal lifesavers). In the 4*-S, Ali Kuhn’s groom, Whitney Grabe, took home the honor for her care of Little Hail. For the CCI5*, it was Adam Short who won the award for his care of Tom McEwen’s Brookfield Quality.

EN’s coverage of Defender Kentucky is supported by Kentucky Performance Products, your one-stop shop for all the science-backed nutritional support your horse needs. Learn more about KPP here.

Defender Kentucky Three-Day Event: [Website] [Tickets] [Schedule] [Entries/Ride Times] [Scoring] [Venue Map] [Live Stream] [EN’s Coverage] [Support Our Sponsor: Kentucky Performance Products]

Monica Spencer and Artist. Photo by Atalya Boytner.

During mixed zone interviews this week over the two days of dressage, one member of the media had one simple question for the riders: Can you sum up eventing in one word?

After cross country on Saturday at the Defender Kentucky Three-Day Event, I think my answer to that question would be: partnership.

One of the things Monica Spencer (NZL) has said frequently over the years when talking about the 15-year-old unraced Thoroughbred gelding, Artist is that he tends to not be the most confident in his own self. It’s grown, to be sure, but what really makes Artist so successful is his partnership with and trust in his rider.

Artist was four when Monica spotted him across the warm-up at a show. He’d been purchased after training at the track and selling well as a yearling with high hopes that he’d be a successful racehorse. That plan didn’t come to fruition as Artist simply wasn’t fast enough (sure was today, though), and Polly McDonald took him on and put the beginning foundations on. Monica’s a lady who knows what she wants, and so she trotted right on up to Polly in that warm-up and asked if she’d sell the horse. The rest was history.

Monica Spencer and Artist. Photo by Atalya Boytner.

In truth, Artist wasn’t even necessarily a horse she identified from the jump as a 5* horse — it is his answering of question after question that’s wound up producing him into one. This is now their second double clear run and their sixth jump penalty-free completion at the level.

“He’s very polite, and he’s not got a lot of his own confidence,” Monica said. “He’s very much like, ‘what’s next mum?’ Which does make it even more special that he does when he does, for me. Coming up the grades, I was like, ‘oh, he’ll be a nice two-star horse for someone,’ And he just keeps giving and keeps trying. He definitely knew it was a big one today…he’s just an out and out good boy.”

And it was that partnership that earned the pair this clear inside the optimum time, allowing them to stay on their personal best dressage score of 22.3 and head into Sunday’s show jumping with one pole in hand and a real chance at that coveted 5* trophy.

At Maryland, Monica told us that she felt like she herself had grown in her own self-belief and riding to where she felt she could unleash Artist’s top speed more intentionally. Previously, she’d gone slower, protecting him more than he really needed and accumulating a bit more time than she would like (though she always tell us it always feels fast, which is honestly really relatable as I also feel the same when I ride a Novice round, until I watch the video). This year, after her dressage test, she expressed confidence that she felt she could repeat her Maryland performance — which she did easily.

Monica Spencer and Artist. Photo by Atalya Boytner.

“It is so nice to be on a good galloper,” Monica said. “[It] allows me to take my time at the jumps and make sure I get it right, and then he just gives me a good gallop after the fences. I did all the numbers I planned to do. It always feels like a bit more desperate than it looks in your head when you’re picturing but [we] got all the numbers. It was between all the flags! For me, the hardest thing is doing it all at speed, because if someone said go out there with Max, being the horse he is, take as long as you want, and get around that course – I’d be like hm, this is a nice time! But the pressure with the minutes is really what makes it that much harder.”

I don’t actually really want to talk about Artist’s show jumping record — mostly because it’s really been talked to death. At the risk of making myself sound really silly, I think that while yes, of course, data and records do matter and tell a story, it would be silly not to account for the intangibles here. How often are we told that the record only tells a part of the story? Again at the risk of sounding silly or downright unintelligent, I think that sometimes we can get ourselves into a narrative that becomes something of a self-fulfilling prophecy.

Listen: it is HARD to do this sport, to put all three phases together at once. I understand that my job here is to be objective, to tell the story and report the facts. But we are Eventing Nation, and we want these humans and horses to succeed JUST as much as the next fan of the sport. So while yes, Artist does not have the strongest record on paper, let’s focus on some positives instead here and put some better energy into the world. Artist HAS jumped a four-fault round before at this level — at Burghley, arguably THE most difficult and tiring course of the (current) six — and a single pole down would still give Monica the win.

And wouldn’t that be something? I think, instead of thinking about records and poles tonight, let’s think about that.

“We don’t get to celebrate very long in this sport,” second-placed Will Coleman (Diabolo – 27.3) said in the press conference on Saturday afternoon. And I think that’s a truly fair point. So, for the next few hours at least, let’s let Monica celebrate the win that was today — the win for Thoroughbreds everywhere. And maybe there will be an even bigger win to write about tomorrow.

Now, don’t get me wrong, part of why I will absolutely not be sleeping tonight is that I am buzzing at how wide open this finish of both divisions is. We are in a special era of once-in-a-lifetime repeat greatness from several horses — the likes of fischerChipmunk FRH, Lordships Graffalo, Ballaghmor Class — but this finish is honestly quite fun to think about.

Will Coleman and Diabolo drop into the Defender Head of the Lake. Photo by Atalya Boytner.

One of those potential storylines is that of Will Coleman. He’s been quite successful in the Cosequin Lexington CCI4*-S here, with two wins to date, and he’s actually poised to potentially take not just one, but two wins on Sunday. He’s second in the 5* with the Diabolo Group’s Diabolo, who made his debut at the level with absolute grand style on Saturday, earning a clear inside the time to move up from fifth, and also second in the 4*-S with Jerome Broussard, Beth Lendrum and Gloria Callen’s Very Dignified.

Again, the theme of the interviews today with Will was partnership. “I think it’s in a good place,” he said of his relationship with Diabolo, who he’s had since the end of the 2022 season. “I think we’ve always thought a lot of the horse. He’s kind of had a few bits of bad luck, but that’s horses, you know, that’s life. We were lucky that we were able to keep working with him and keep making him stronger, keep trying to establish a bit more trust and just make each other better. And I think today’s just a product of that.”

Will knows his horses are prepared well, and while of course one doesn’t truly know if they’ve got a 5* horse until, well, they’ve got a 5* horse, he felt the 14-year-old Holsteiner gelding was in the right place to make good on this freshman effort. “I felt pretty good about where the horse was coming into the event,” he said. “I had to really push a little bit at the end, because I was a few seconds down, but I just didn’t want to stretch him too much in the beginning, because he hasn’t gone this distance ever. And it was warm, you know, it was probably 10 degrees warmer than it was this morning, and the air just seemed to get kind of still. I was just worried — I felt good about his fitness, but I was worried I might find the end of him too soon, but he still had a bit left, and when I jumped through the [Normandy Bank] and kind of said, ‘Come on, let’s go’, he was there for me. I think that’s what you want in a five-star horse — just that ‘dig in’ quality. And you never really know you have it until you ask for it, but he gave it to me today.”

Caroline Pamukcu and HSH Blake. Photo by Atalya Boytner.

Caroline Pamukcu enjoyed another successful 5* run with her own, Sherrie Martin and Mollie Hoff’s HSH Blake, stopping the clock with just two time to add to move from fourth into second on a two-phase score of 28.6. Any day with her “best friend” is a good one, and for Caroline the success simply just comes down to the trust and partnership (there’s what word again) with the 11-year-old Irish Sport Horse gelding.

“He made it feel easy, I have to say,” Caroline said at the finish line. “He just kind of took me around and gave me such a great feeling. He was foot-perfect even when I wasn’t.”

Caroline’s expressed to us this season that she’s always working on smoothing out her riding, riding “professionally” as she often puts it, and that professionalism showed today with Blake, who was her final ride of three. Her efforts could yield yet another storyline tomorrow if a clear round is achieved and she can really put the pressure on the top two; a podium finish or better is not in any way out of the question.

Guys, ordinarily I’d go much deeper into our cross country results, but since I’ve kept you waiting for so long, I’m going to move to the 4* to wrap up (and to be completely transparent, I do need at least a couple hours of sleep). I am going to try to catch up with Derek di Grazia tomorrow to get his debrief, as the riders all had some great comments about the course and I think it’s more than due a deeper dive. You’ll have to be a little patient with me – I promise I have more stories to tell!

In the meantime, though, here’s a quick look at some stats from Saturday:

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A quick update on some incidents from today as well:

• Mary Bess Davis had a fall today just after the Owl Hole, despite a valiant effort to hang on and right herself aboard Imperio Magic. She was attended to very quickly by the medical team and the course was held for about 15 minutes. Mary Bess reported in that she broke her fibula and has a laceration from a back stud, but she is in good spirits and we’re wishing her the speediest of recoveries.
• Ema Klugman was pulled up after the Normandy Bank when Chiraz hit the corner on the way out. Ema regrouped, checked on her horse and resumed with the option, and the Ground Jury pulled her up for a vet check before the next fence. I do want to commend the Ground Jury for their rapid response time. Ema was allowed to continue and did go on to complete Chiraz’s first 5* cross country, and this isn’t an assessment of Ema but rather simply a nod of respect to the Ground Jury. Deciding to pull a horse up is NOT an easy or a lightly taken decision, and often we’ve seen the communications and decision-making lag behind the timeline for effectiveness. It is disruptive (just as with any other reason to hold a horse, a loss of rhythm can either help or hurt the score itself) and disappointing when it happens, there is no denying that, however I do think this was a good example of how to look out for our horses in a proactive way.
• Arden Wildasin pulled up and got off of Sunday Times at the Normandy Bank. She walked him off the course after checking him out for a few minutes, and she did report to us that “Mumbles” should be ok.
• In the CCI4*-S, there were two horse falls; both horses and both riders are not reported to be injured as of publication.

And here is a look at your top 10 from the 5*:

Alex Conrad and Malibu Preacher are the best rookies of the day, in 18th ahead of show jumping. Photo by Atalya Boytner.

Tamie Smith and Lillet 3. Photo by Shannon Brinkman.

There was another leaderboard shuffle as Tamie Smith played musical horses with herself as dressage leader Danito and Lillet 3 swapped places. It’s now Lillet 3 poised for another 4* win as she added just 1.6 time penalties for a two-phase score of 31.3 and one rail in hand over Will Coleman and Very Dignified. Initially, Tamie had the lead with Danito, but some unanticipated tension in the start box and trouble on course resulted in her ultimately retiring him to try again another day.

You’ll likely recall Lillet 3 as the most recent winner of the Carolina International 4*-S, which is a well-known set-up event for Kentucky and also shares a cross country designer. This helps with prep in many ways, and for Tamie today was a great example of Lillet’s ever-growing skillset and reliability.

“There was a lot of trouble out there, and it’s always nerve wracking to see how things aren’t riding to plan,” Tamie said. “But she went out, and it was like being on a little race car. So I had a great time! I added in some places, maybe I could have been a little bit closer [to the time], but I thought it was pretty impossible to do it.”

Tamie Smith and Lillet 3. Photo by Shannon Brinkman.

“Her and I wouldn’t have seen an atmosphere like this before together,” Tamie described of Lillet 3 who is owned by Molly Duda (also here competing in the 4* this weekend). “And it takes time to build that partnership [there it is again!] and trust. And it’s it’s hard to go out when you’re not sure what they’re going to do and just ride them like you trust them. But she answered all the questions.”

Similar to Monica’s Artist, Tamie describes Lillet as needing to grow in her own self-belief in the early goings of their partnership. “She keeps growing. You know, obviously in horses, you’re hoping that they love their job and they’re comfortable in their job. And when I first got her, she wasn’t always comfortable — I wouldn’t say comfortable — she wasn’t always confident. She was a little worried. And I just haven’t felt that this whole season. She has such a an elegance about her, and just a very sure way of going.”

It’s been a bit of a different path for Tamie with this mare, who is 10 this year. The mare had competed at and won a 4* in Europe with Andreas Dibowski before she came to Tamie, and this was unique in that Tamie, like her peers, tends to prefer producing her horses from the start, or close to it. “I’ve always produced pretty much all my own horses,” she said. “So it’s been definitely a stepping stone on learning how the slow way is the fast way. I spent a lot of time at the three-star level and we actually struggled when we moved up to Advanced. We didn’t quite know each other. I’d move her up to Advanced and then I’d back her off, and coming into Rebecca Farm [last July] I was kind of [unsure], like I don’t know if this is ready because I didn’t trust the partnership. But we got through that and she won and was phenomenal. I grew a ton of trust in her, and pretty much ever since then, we’ve had little blips but not because of trust, but you have to get to know a horse. I think she’s pretty seasoned at the four-star level now.”

Will Coleman and Very Dignified. Photo by Shannon Brinkman.

Will Coleman did a bit of a different warm-up with Very Dignified, who can get excitable in such environments. This 11-year-old Irish mare is a newer addition to Will’s string, and this is also sort of an example of needing to build a partnership with a horse that’s gone at a higher level with another rider (Robbie Kearns of Ireland). One element of this partnership-building is learning how to best warm up “Dory”. At Morven Park in October, where the mare went on to finish third in the US Open Final CCI4*-L, he actually went straight into the start box after he had some difficulty warming her up — something he hadn’t had to do before. Today wasn’t too different, but he anticipated the excitability and warmed up in an arena instead of in normal cross country warm-up.

“I was a bit late, got it wrong by about five seconds, but she was great,” Will said. “This is her first Advanced run of the year. I’ve only started her out quietly, I tipped around a Preliminary and an Intermediate horse trial, just trying to build her up slow. I’m not 100% sure what I want to do with her this year. I have an idea, but I’m not going to tell you about it now! She’s just a horse that I really, really like. She’s a very strong-minded mare, but I love her — she gave me a great spin.”

Mia Farley and Invictus. Photo by Shannon Brinkman.

Mia Farley also continues to build up her piggy bank of relationship deposits with Invictus, a 10-year-old Holsteiner/Thoroughbred owned by Karen O’Connor who shaved his time penalties just about in half in this sophomore Cosequin Lexington 4*-S cross country effort. He and Mia will go into Sunday’s show jumping with a score of 37.9, ensuring Will Coleman does not have a rail in hand to secure at least second position.

“I think like a part of our sport, the partnership,” she said about what growth she felt in the last 12 months. “Since he’s been three — we backed him and started him — he’s kind of had the same mindset and same trainability.And so as far as last year versus this year goes, yes I would hope that he is a little bit more experienced, but it was the trust. I think that was mostly what shaved our time, is just having that year under our belt and gaining the trust and kind of sending him into lines more than I would have last year.”

Mia admits that show jumping is something of a complicated thing to her. She’s coming off the back of the fan-favorite OTTB Phelps, who isn’t here competing this year due to an ill-timed injury and despite his incredible talent for cross country is not the strongest show jumper. Despite the fact that “Sammy” is a stronger jumper, Mia is contending with her own mentality and ability to deal with pressure.

“It’s actually interesting for me going into tomorrow,” she said. “I’ve been in a good place before at this table, and I’ve gone into tomorrow with a very open mind, because I was on a wonderful horse that was fabulous on Saturdays. And I’m trying to figure out, for me personally, I’m trying to figure out how to handle this pressure, because I know I’m on something that’s a little bit stronger on Sundays. So I think we’ll see what happens tomorrow. I think whatever happens, it’s going to be mostly how I react to this pressure, I think, because he’s a good horse on Sundays.”

Dan Kreitl and Carmango are in fourth ahead of show jumping after a stellar clear round. Photo by Shannon Brinkman.

Here’s a look at your top 10 in the 4*-S ahead of show jumping:

We will kick off the final day of Defender Kentucky at 8:30 am EST with the final horse inspection, which should be streamed live on the event’s Facebook page. Then, it’ll be on to show jumping for the CCI4*-S at 10:45, followed by the CCI5* starting at 2 p.m.

And so the ending to this weekend’s story awaits. This weekend, a new champion will be crowned in some fashion. Will it be Monica and the great Thoroughbred who’s stolen our hearts, laying down the round of their lives to seal the deal? Will it be the ultimate ending for Will Coleman, who is extremely well-positioned to win both the 5* and the 4*? Would this be the weekend that Caroline Pamukcu wins her first 5*? Or will we see the star on the rise Lillet 3 keep her stead as a 4* champion? Or…will someone else come from behind and surprise us all?

That’s the thing about sports, no matter which you follow the most, and I despise myself for writing the following words, but they fit: the rest is still unwritten.

I’ll be back with more brain cells and thoughts that don’t involve Natasha Bedingfield songs later today, so until then, Go Eventing, and thanks for your patience.

EN’s coverage of Defender Kentucky is supported by Kentucky Performance Products, your one-stop shop for all the science-backed nutritional support your horse needs. Learn more about KPP here.

Defender Kentucky Three-Day Event: [Website] [Tickets] [Schedule] [Entries/Ride Times] [Scoring] [Venue Map] [Live Stream] [EN’s Coverage] [Support Our Sponsor: Kentucky Performance Products]

Monica Spencer and Artist. Photo by Atalya Boytner Photography.

The art of dressage is a multi-faceted one. Perhaps chief among the challenges of this first phase of eventing is the unending pursuit of improvement. It’s just as much mental as it is skill — that fine balance of constantly pushing, experimenting, testing, validating with the knowledge and timing of when to accept the current status.

“I’ve worked on dressage a lot over the years, because it’s something I can keep improving,” Friday night and dressage leader Monica Spencer (NZL) said of her work with the 15-year-old Thoroughbred gelding Artist (Guillotine – Maxamore). That continued work paid off in a big way today as the 2022 World Championships team bronze medalist pair earned their CCI5* personal best in six starts (seven, if you count the 5* phases of a World Championships) with a 22.3. This takes just a tick off their previous PB — a 23.7 — scored at the Maryland 5 Star in 2025, where they went on to finish second overall.

There isn’t much of a margin between Monica and second-placed fellow Kiwi Tim Price and Vitali (Contender – Noble Lady I), who go forward to cross country tomorrow with a score of 22.6.

So where did Monica’s edge, razor-thin as it may be at the end of the day today, come from? I took a dive into the scores and also chased down Andrew Bennie (NZL), who’s heading up this year’s Ground Jury for the CCI5*.

Monica Spencer and Artist. Photo by Atalya Boytner Photography.

With .3 penalty points separating the two, it was worth a look at the individual movement scores. Interestingly, Tim actually received more 9s — the highest mark either rider received from the three judges — with a total of 10 earned, in comparison to Monica’s seven 10s. Interestingly, it seems that Monica was simply just a touch more consistently in the 75%-80% range throughout her test, never falling below a 6.5 for any one movement — and she only received two of those 6.5s as her lowest marks. In contrast to Tim’s scores, he fell as low as a 5.0 on movement #17, the extended canter into the collected canter, from judge at C Andrew Bennie. Tim also received three 6.5s, and so collectively while he did earn more high marks, the overall average wound up with Monica on top. Additionally of note, both riders received two 9s on their collective Harmony mark.

“Monica’s horse and her riding is very, very accurate,” Andrew Bennie told me today. “The horse has got good paces, but he is a Thoroughbred. Tim’s horse, I believe, is a warmblood, so he’s probably just that little bit more expressive than Monica’s horse, but with that they also get the difficulty of keeping the balance and the control. Tim’s did just have one little tiny blip, whereas Monica’s was extremely consistent and the horse was extremely reliable. He’s been around the block a few times, and he’s a super horse — and so’s Tim’s horse. Being a New Zealander and marking the New Zealanders up, I kept thinking, ‘I hope the other judges are marking them up as well!'” (Spoiler alert: they were)

Monica Spencer and Artist. Photo by Atalya Boytner Photography.

For Monica, the success she finds in this phase comes more from keeping “Max” happy, loose and supple in his body. He knows the movements, she says, so drilling them and constantly practicing the dressage isn’t always the recipe. Earlier today, Monica was on Max in jump tack, loosely trotting and cantering around the warm-up for just 10 or 15 minutes, never asking for much in the way of collection but simple getting the horse relaxed.

“I get the dressage out of the way early in the week, when I do the arena familiarization,” Monica elaborated. “And then the rest of the week has just been flushing out the nerves for him. So I just spend my time in the jump saddle, just trotting and cantering around, just like little and often, like twice a day, just to keep him fresh in his body, not tired on those dressage muscles, so that he can go out and do his best.”

Tim Price and Vitali. Photo by Atalya Boytner Photography.

Tim Price rode after Monica, so he knew exactly what was needed to put the pressure on — and he was on a horse who’s set a record in this phase before, earning an 18.7 at Burghley in 2023 — and while he didn’t quite catch Monica, Joseph and Alexander Giannamore’s Vitali is another veteran at this level who’s become a dependable horse for a competitive score on the flat. In debriefing his test, Tim remarked that he did push for a few bigger marks, but as Andrew Bennie noted earlier, sometimes that can affect the balance of the horse.

“The experienced ones have a lot of good balance, I think, that converts to something [the judges] can throw marks at,” Tim said. “But it’s also quite risky, because you’re going and asking for more. I don’t think I’ve ever asked for changes out of such a big canter — the last two changes — I’ve always been a bit conservative and a bit together, and I was like ‘he’s got his changes, come on, this might be the difference!’ But I was really happy with him. He’s just such a craftsman, and he’s got a great body and mind for the job.”

Tim Price and Vitali. Photo by Atalya Boytner Photography.

Vitali is 16 this year, and Tim notes, similar to Monica, that it’s more of a priority now that “it’s my job to have him in a place that he can give as much as he wants. So that’s been a big part of the plan this time, and you’re always fiddling, always tinkering. I think I’m getting better year by year, a little bit — another half-percent each year improvement in the way I can train and compete horses, and it all slightly adds up. It’s just working them in a way — look, I don’t drill my horses in any way, shape or form. I don’t target one-day events. I want them to be with me, in front of me, supple, and if you go down that road long enough, I think they just get healthier and healthier in their bodies. They want to do everything we’re asking. It’s our job to ask the right questions and for them to have the ability to answer the questions — and it’s got to be a fair question. So the more he’s feeling strong and ready, the more he can answer — provided I ask the right question.”

Tom McEwen and Brookfield Quality. Photo by Atalya Boytner Photography.

Third overnight on our newly international leaderboard will be Great Britain’s Tom McEwen, who’s brought John and Chloe Perry and Alice Swindon’s Brookfield Quality (OBOS Quality 004 – Bay Coffey Cavalier) back to Kentucky seeking an even more competitive finish than their fifth place earned in 2025. Tom, two-time team gold medalist and 2020 individual silver medalist for Great Britain, joked that he and “Norris” are pretty good for a 25 in any given scenario (his 5* average is closer to a 26.6), and their 25.1 is actually a 5* personal best, bettering their previous low mark of 25.8 earned at Pau in 2024.

“As per usual, Norris does everything he can and performed another pretty much foot-perfect clear round, like we call it,” Tom said after his ride. “So I’m delighted, I thought we put everything out there, you couldn’t have given me more, so I’m thrilled. He knows absolutely everything, so it’s just getting it right on the day. He’s feeling really good — probably the fittest he’s ever been, so it was a little different this morning to how he can be on dressage morning. He’s pretty awesome, to be honest. Once he gets in there, he’s an old boy who knows exactly what he’s up to, so it’s just for me to try and get the rhythm, the balance and try and show as good a performance as possible.”

Caroline Pamukcu and HSH Blake. Photo by Atalya Boytner Photography.

Our whole top four has been refreshed with newcomers this evening, and it was the final pair of the day to slot into that fourth spot in Paris Olympians Caroline Pamukcu and her own, Mollie Hoff and Sherrie Martin’s HSH Blake (Tolan R – Doughiska Lass). This pair earned one of the best scores of their FEI career to date, with a 26.6 coming in from the judges to go ahead of Thursday leaders Will Coleman and Diabolo. HSH Blake did his first CCI5* last fall at Maryland, and Caroline noted that the timing — fall versus spring — of the two events makes a notable difference in the prep work.

“This is a little bit different animal, Kentucky,” Caroline explained. “I know everyone said Maryland was extremely hard — the terrain is hard — but you also forget that they had the whole season. You kind of keep going all season and then they have a good baseline when they get to Maryland, and last year I didn’t do a spring three-day because I wasn’t really fit enough and so we kept all the horses ticking and then they kind of did their finale without a big break. After Maryland, we give them six weeks off and put them in a field to get furry and feral, so you hope they have some residual fitness, but it’s still April and there’s a lot to do out there.”

Caroline’s husband, Deniz, and her daughter, Blake, look on during her test. Photo by Atalya Boytner Photography.

Similar to Monica’s approach, Caroline opted to just get Blake out in his jump tack for his pre-rides ahead of today, focusing on keeping the relaxation rather than drilling the movements he knows quite well with his extensive experience. “Since I’ve been here, I’ve done all my work in a jump saddle,” she continued. “I did do arena familiarization, only for a few minutes, in a dressage saddle, but all the other rides have been in a jump saddle and cavalettis. I’ve tried to stay out of the dressage arena because he knows his job and then I get a little nervous and ride him a little too backwards, so when I ride in a jump saddle and over cavaletti, I ride the horse and not get so stressed about everything else. He doesn’t need a ton of warm-up, just a little to get his back soft and get him into the movements and that’s about it.”

Sharon White and Claus 63. Photo by Shannon Brinkman Photography.

Apologies that I couldn’t get this Cosequin Lexington CCI4*-S report out earlier, but here we are. It was a great day for West Virginia-based Sharon White, who’s opted for the 4* this weekend although Claus 63 has done the CCI5* here before. For Sharon, this weekend is about regaining form that’s been a bit lost over the last few months, revisiting the foundations before she moves back up to the next level again. A 28.1 is one of their most competitive scores at the level, and was good enough to slide into second place behind untouched Thursday leaders Tamie Smith and Danito (27.0).

“Claus was really quite good,” Sharon said after her test. “We were really quite present together and it’s really nice, because it doesn’t always happen so it was very satisfying. If your plans aren’t going quite the way you want, you have to regroup and do what’s best for your horse, and that’s what I’m doing right now with Claus. I lost form a little bit, so that’s why he’s not in the five-star, and we need to put the solid foundation back in.”

Sharon White and Claus 63. Photo by Shannon Brinkman Photography.

The pursuit of presence has been something of a theme thread in Sharon’s life over the last few seasons, and with a horse like Claus who, as she puts it, is “the most mentally challenging” with his large personality and athleticism, it’s always a work in progress. “Just the constant, day to day, just ‘be with me buddy, put a little work in, it’s no big deal’ and not make it so exciting all the time,” she explained. “Just a little repetition of constant throughness, connection, be with me, do your job — good job!”

Sharon observed that Derek di Grazia’s CCI4*-S cross country track is “exactly what I need for Claus. If the universe could have put right what I needed, it’s right there, so I’m really grateful for Derek.”

Elizabeth Barratt and Ride for Thaïs Chaman Dumontceau. Photo by Shannon Brinkman Photography.

Two other newcomers making up the top three, with both Elizabeth Barratt (GBR) and Ride for Thaïs Chaman Dumontceau and Tamie Smith with Lillet 3 tying for third on equal scores of 29.7. Elizabeth, part of the GB Rising Lions squad sent over here for some international experience thanks to an exciting new funding initiative, has only been teamed up with “Chaman” — who earned a team silver medal at the Paris Olympics in 2024 with Stéphane Landois (FRA) — for about 18 months, but they’ve made good on their partnership already with some great experience under their belts to date.

“I took over the ride on him last season, so we spent last season doing three-stars and Young Rider classes and stepped up to four-star at the end of the season,” Elizabeth said of her history with Chaman Dumontceau. “It’s been really good to get to know each other, and I feel like he’s come out this year and we’ve got a really strong partnership.”

“I was really pleased with my horse this morning,” Elizabeth said of her test today. “He’s always one to rise to the occasion — he loves a crowd and an atmosphere, so he went into the stadium and just absolutely loved the attention. It was definitely our best test as a combination. He was really on it, he was listening to me, he was forward and it felt like we had a great ride together.”

This is a horse with a heartbreakingly special history: Chaman Dumontceau’s former rider, Thaïs Meheust, who passed away in a cross country accident in 2019. Though Thaïs sadly never realized her own dream of competing at the Olympics, Stéphane Landois was able to realize this dream in tribute at the Paris Olympics, where they finished 14th individually and in silver as a team for France.

Stephane Landois and Chaman Dumontceau ride for Thaïs in Paris. Photo by Tilly Berendt.

“I’m full of emotion for it,” Stéphane told me in Paris after his first phase of competition with this horse. “It’s probably given me more strength to come out and perform well, knowing the history of all this and his rider.”

Another bonus from today: Will Coleman took a turn with the Pony Club Le Mieux-supported volunteers during dressage today. Photo by Atalya Boytner Photography.

I’d love to stay and write more words, but unfortunately I now need to move on to course previewing as it’s nearly TIME for the big show tomorrow on cross country day. While I work away on Sydney Steverson’s preview of Derek’s track, you can view a video preview in the video below. We’ll be back with you tomorrow with a cross country live blog from Cheg Darlington, so get some sleep everyone and Go Eventing!

EN’s coverage of Defender Kentucky is supported by Kentucky Performance Products, your one-stop shop for all the science-backed nutritional support your horse needs. Learn more about KPP here.

Defender Kentucky Three-Day Event: [Website] [Tickets] [Schedule] [Entries/Ride Times] [Scoring] [Volunteer] [CrossCountry App XC Map] [Venue Map] [Live Stream] [EN’s Coverage] [Support Our Sponsor: Kentucky Performance Products]

Will Coleman and Diabolo. Photo by Atalya Boytner Photography.

Despite the fact Will Coleman admitted he felt he didn’t have things completely perfect in his final warm-up ahead of Diabolo‘s first CCI5* dressage test at Defender Kentucky, the efforts made between the boards today were plenty for a Thursday lead. Will and the 14-year-old Holsteiner gelding owned by the Diabolo Group earned a 27.3 (with two penalties added for an error for halting at the wrong letter to end the test), a pleasing result in any scenario but certainly one to build off of at the 5* level.

“The first time you do a five-star at a place like this — this kind of atmosphere — you’re never totally sure how your horse is going to cope,” Will commented after his ride. “Diabolo got a little excited. Even my final warm-ups, I didn’t feel like I totally had him. But to his credit, he went in there, and he really stayed with me, and he did his job as best he could. There’s little things I’d love to clean up, but I can’t be anything but proud of him and I just really, really adore this horse.”

It’s been a slow build to this point with “Dab”, who was brought up from Australia at the end of the 2022 season after starting his career with Gemma Tinney. It was actually Will’s wife, Katie, who saw the video of Diabolo (Diarado – Roulett M) first and put the bug in Will’s ear. Will and his dad traveled to Australia for a whirlwind trip to try the horse, and soon enough he was on a plane to the States.

Dabs for “Dab”? Photo by Atalya Boytner Photography.

Some health issues acclimating to life in the Northern Hemisphere and other niggling things cropped up, as they do with horses, and truthfully Will’s always been more of the patient type — especially with a horse that had already competed to the 4* level with another rider. That means more time building a partnership — it’s certainly not a scenario in which a rider can or should just get on and kick on with a horse that’s competed at a high level.

That patience has paid off over the years, resulting in a win in the Cosequin Lexington CCI4*-S that runs alongside the CCI5* here in 2024 and a podium finish in the pair’s first 4*-L together at TerraNova in 2023.

“[It was a] very good program there with the Tinneys, but a different program, probably, to what he has here,” Will elaborated. “And I think it takes time for him to adjust to that, and for us to learn him and learn what he needs from us. I would say now you’re sort of seeing it come to fruition a little bit, but the weekend’s still not done, and we’ve got to see how the rest of the event goes. But happy with today and happy with this horse. He’s trying for me, that’s all I can ask for.”

Phillip Dutton and Possante. Photo by Atalya Boytner Photography.

Phillip Dutton didn’t quite have the fall season he was hoping for with the now-13-year-old KWPN gelding Possante (Namelus R – Wendelien), but that’s all behind him now and he’s full-steam ahead with this new slate, earning a 28.1 from the Ground Jury today for second place overnight. Our Ground Jury in the CCI5* is headed up by Andrew Bennie of New Zealand; he’s joined by Seppo Laine (FIN) and Valerie Pride (USA).

“He’s a great horse on the flat, and I think the best is still ahead of him, which is exciting,” Phillip said. “We started off not that great, we spooked in the corner so it wasn’t the best way to start off, but I thought he was very good from then on. Dressage comes reasonably easy for the horse, so it’s more just a case of keeping him calm and me riding well, and then it usually goes well.”

Phillip admits he’s had to be patient with the production of this horse as well. He was first produced to the 4* level by Great Britain’s Emily King, showing his promise by finishing fifth in the famous future-star spotlight 8/9-year-old CCI4*-S at Blenheim in 2022 before transferring to Phillip and the Possante Group.

Phillip Dutton and Possante. Photo by Atalya Boytner Photography.

“I mean, we’ve taken it slow,” Phillip said. “Actually, we struggled a little bit when I first got him, so I’ve had him for quite a few years now, but he’s starting to come together. He’s a kind horse — he wants to do the right thing, and he’s not trying to get out of things. It’s just he’s a bit bigger, and it’s taken a while to get him a bit quicker-footed and secure in what he does.”

Phillip as well as fourth-placed Harry Meade (GBR) noted that this test — FEI CCI5* Test A — is rather horse-friendly in the way it’s written, but nonetheless still a proper test of your training.

“Certainly doing the shoulder-in on the quarter line is a little bit more of a test, you don’t have the boards to hold you there, and then to half-pass right across the arena takes a bit more education from your horse as well. The first two changes are out of the counter-canter, so I think it does test the education and your training of the horse. I think it’s a pretty nice test — maybe one of the easier ones at the five-star.”

Tim Price and Global Quest. Photo by Atalya Boytner Photography.

Tim Price (NZL) rounds out the top three with Global Quest (Metropole – Broadford Star), a horse formerly ridden by the late and loved Georgie Campbell, earning a 29.8 for third place overnight. “He’s not God’s gift to dressage,” Tim laughed. “He’s quite a big horse, and he finds it all quite difficult, but I think the recipe was good this time. He was relaxed and giving as much of himself as he could, and it was quite fun.”

Tim credits the great footing in the dressage with some of effect to allow Global Quest to relax and give through his body. “It’s always nice at these big events, especially the ones when you’ve got such premium surfaces all the way through — horses that are natural, big, flamboyant movers, they can be in mud, they can be in grass. But the ones that are really working at their maximum in terms of the movements and pushing through their bodies the right way — I just love the fact we’ve got such consistent surfaces all the way through to the main ring.”

“I ride him in her honor,” Tim said of Georgie, who passed away after a cross country accident at Bicton in May of 2024. “She’d done, I think, a four-Long with him and she was targeting Luhmühlen when that happened. So I did a couple of four-Longs with him, built up to Pau last year, and then his owners, Dinah and Lance [Morish], and I just kept talking about Kentucky. It’s such a great stepping stone to the five-stars back in the UK that will always be there. And it’s great for the owners to come here, they have such a great time, so we thought it would be a fun thing to do.”

Harry Meade and Superstition. Photo by Atalya Boytner Photography.

Fourth overnight will be World #1 Harry Meade, who’s armed with two horses with an equal shot at a podium finish. The first of those was his own and Mandy Gray’s Superstition (Satisfaction FRH – Calendula), who at 17 truly has his own way of doing things at this point in his career – and both Harry and Mandy are happy to make life the simplest it can be for him. This means light, light scheduling — in fact, the 17-year-old British Hanoverian gelding hasn’t run an event yet this season, and his last start as a fifth-place finish at MARS Badminton last May. For Harry, the prep is done at home — the horse’s experience certainly helps here, as he’s already done five CCI5*s and never finished outside of the top 7 — and it’s more important to mind Superstition’s mental health more than drill the techniques.

“He’s quite intense horse to work,” Harry explained. “He’s very sort of fractious in his mind, gets very stressed at competitions. He’s done nothing since Badminton up to here, and it’s not what I would choose for every horse. But for me, it was the balance of what, actually, do the prep runs do for him, and the benefit — does that outweigh the tension? And I felt that it probably made him a less secure person in his own mind. So a lot of it’s just about keeping him feeling very comfortable and confident and happy and enjoying it and not under the spotlight, and then bring him out to a big one. I’m well aware that it’s unorthodox, and if I go and fall off at fence five, people might be quick to put two and two together, make seven and say, ‘Oh, it’s because the horse wasn’t prepared.’ But he’s been a very well proven, secure, five-star horse who’s demonstrated, hopefully, a partnership and real competence, and he feels just as prepared. This year we’ve done it at home.”

Harry Meade and Superstition. Photo by Atalya Boytner Photography.

To be honest, I think it’s a respectable approach. Of course, it remains to be seen how this “unorthodox” prep will pay off on Saturday and Sunday, but Harry is nothing if not a consummate horseman — and he’s fortunate to have a supporter like Mandy Gray, who agreed that there was no reason to push for more results. One three-day a year, when most others would do two, is not a common approach, but isn’t it better to think of what sets the horse up for success?

The 30.2 earned by Harry and Superstition today isn’t their CCI5* personal best, but Harry echoed Phillip’s thoughts that this test was rather horse-friendly.

“I think it’s quite a horse-friendly test in the fact that you start opening them up in the medium and have a little bit of quite forward lateral work, and then another extended,” Harry elaborated. “And it’s that way throughout both the trot and the canter in that it’s not a backwards test. It encourages the horse to keep thinking forward and is quite rewarding for horses to execute.”

Boyd Martin and Cooley Nutcracker. Photo by Atalya Boytner Photography.

Boyd Martin had a very special guest in the stands today: Liz Halliday made her first public appearance this afternoon just in time for her Olympic horse, Cooley Nutcracker (owned by Liz’s Nutcrackers — yes, that is the owner group’s name and we’re very here for it), to go down centerline. Liz, who continues her incredible recovery from a traumatic brain injury sustained in a fall in August of 2024, recently obtained her para dressage certification (LA28 BABY) and will be in attendance all week at Kentucky to cheer on Boyd and “Bali” as well as all of her friends and teammates competing this week.

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“I heard Liz might be coming when I finished, I looked up in the stands, and there she was, just in the seating with all the gang,” Boyd smiled. “So I’m about to go over and say hello to her. I hope she’s proud of her horse — hope she was happy with this. It’s great to see her here.”

Welcome back, Liz! Photo by Atalya Boytner Photography.

Boyd would’ve loved a score in the 20s as is more Cooley Nutcracker’s MO, but a 30.7 is good for fifth overnight and certainly something to climb from in the jumping phases.

“I’m still getting to know him,” Boyd said of his test with Bali, who is by Tolan R and out of Ballyshan Cleopatra. “He’s a fantastic horse, and he’s not my normal type of ride. Usually I’m quite on hot, spicy horses, but he’s got that sort of laid back aura about him, and so I’ve got to ride him every step of the way. So all in all, I was pretty pleased with it.”

We’ll be back with you tomorrow in the CCI5* at 1:00 p.m. EST, and of course the Cosequin Lexington CCI4*-S dressage wraps up first (you can read our morning report from today here), beginning at 8:00 a.m. EST tomorrow. You can find full scores, live stream info and more in the links below.

EN’s coverage of Defender Kentucky is supported by Kentucky Performance Products, your one-stop shop for all the science-backed nutritional support your horse needs. Learn more about KPP here.

Defender Kentucky Three-Day Event: [Website] [Tickets] [Schedule] [Entries/Ride Times] [Scoring] [Volunteer] [CrossCountry App XC Map] [Venue Map] [Live Stream] [EN’s Coverage] [Support Our Sponsor: Kentucky Performance Products]

Tamie Smith and Danito. Photo by Shannon Brinkman Photography.

It’s been two years since we last saw Ruth Bley’s Danito with Tamie Smith here at Defender Kentucky. The 17-year-old Hanoverian gelding (Dancier – Wie Musik) has a long tenure in the sport, earning accolades like a second-place finish at the Maryland 5 Star in 2022 and a top 10 individual finish in the FEI Eventing Nations Cup at Military Boekelo CCI4*-L in 2021. The 2023 and 2024 seasons were quieter for “Cheeto” (he has a lot of barn names, to be honest, but this one’s my favorite) due to some injuries, but now Tamie’s brought him along on her East coast tour which includes nearly 20+ other horses between herself and her students.

Now, he’s shown back up at Kentucky, competing in the Cosequin Lexington CCI4*-S (also a US Equestrian Open qualifier) where he’s taken the early lead with a score of 27.0 from judges Christina Klingspor (SWE) and Robyn Fisher (USA).

Tamie Smith and Danito. Photo by Shannon Brinkman Photography.

“It’s been rewarding to have the horses all be firing on the right thing, and I’m feeling really confident with how they’re all going,” Tamie said of her big trip East, with hopes to potentially take some horses to Europe this summer. “[Danito] was super today. He is an old showman, and it’s fun to have him because he’s kind of my little flashy dressage horse that kind of stepped in right behind Mai Baum. Danito actually had a bit of a hot shoe nail this week, which meant Tamie wasn’t able to ride him in ring familiarization or schooling prior to today while he recovered from that. Today, she got on for her pre-ride and felt as if he hadn’t missed a single beat.

“I pre-rode him this morning and I’m like, ‘He’s trained. He knows.’ And so you hope that you have that in the horses that you produce, and it’s the work that just keeps going all the way to the ring, and it’s just all the basics that are really strong, and then he has such a good mind. He loves to show off, and you kind of want that in a horse that is competing, so he was so proud of himself coming out of the ring.”

Tommy Greengard and That’s Me Z. Photo by Shannon Brinkman Photography.

California is well-represented in the standings after day one, with Bay Area-based Tommy Greengard slotting into second with his own and Andrea Pfeiffer’s That’s Me Z. That’s Me Z (Take a Chance On Me Z – Veneita) is a horse that’s truly been produced through the U.S development pipeline, starting in the USEA Young Event Horse program — he was the overall 2022 USEA Young Event Horse champion — and earning the Turner/Holekamp YEH Le Lion d’Angers Grant to compete at the FEI Eventing Young Horse Breeding World Championships in 2024, where he finished in the top 20 as a 7-year-old. Now 9, the Zangersheide gelding continues to shine, winning last year’s Adequan Advanced Championship at the 2025 USEA American Eventing Championships at Galway Downs.

This trip for Tommy, for which he brought along two horses for the CCI4*-S, including Galway Downs spring FEI winner Balladeer Kilbrickens Lad, is all about building for the future. He spent a year abroad riding with Tim and Jonelle Price, an experience he still says he’s learning from and applying to his own system.

“I think the biggest thing is that there are no tricks at the top and [it’s more about] just making sure no stone is left unturned, and that the basics are really established,” Tommy told me earlier this year about what he learned with the Prices. “I think that was one of the big things about that program — you can train and school in a way for success at the upper levels, and as the horses go up the grade, it’s very straightforward to them. And they have such a system and such a way of doing it — that was my biggest thing I tried to take away from it, is just how to look at things systematically and how to implement that.”

That paid off well for Tommy today, as he noted that the foundational work That’s Me Z has done in his short but successful career thus far really matters when the moment gets bigger.

“He is Mr. Consistency,” Tommy said. “He has very little sense of occasion in the best way possible, so he kind of was happy to go in the ring and perform and do the work. He’s very reliable in getting comfortable at the level now, and is getting a little stronger, which is exciting. He has a little more capability to move around the ring with a little more fluency and a little more step, which is new this year. But he is so dependable, and that’s a really nice thing as the rider. Because the training at home looks very similar to the training before the show, which looks similar in the ring. And that gives you confidence as the rider.”

Dan Kreitl and Carmango. Photo by Shannon Brinkman Photography.

Third on day one in the CCI4*-S are Indiana natives Dan Kreitl and Kay Dixon’s Carmango (Chirivell – Taramanga), navigating to a score of 32.0. The 13-year-old Westphalian gelding had a quiet year in 2025 after an injury was picked up at Boekelo in October of 2024, but now it’s all systems go for another season of eventing for Dan, who rides as an amateur and runs a real estate company as his primary career.

“After Carmango was injured, the vets kind of thought he wouldn’t event again,” Dan said. When the gelding came sound again, he competed in pure dressage up to the Intermediare level — but Dan’s (and “Fritz’s) heart lives in eventing, and I think they were both eager to get back at it. In the wake of the injury and subsequent rehab, Dan’s backed off the training intensity slightly, using a treadmill instead of more gallops for fitness and focusing a lot on the flatwork instead of the constant cross country schooling (the horse’s strongest phase).

“So our program is very different,” Dan said. “I’m not going to do as many gallop sets that I used to do when he was a younger horse, and I’m always worried about his fitness, but he’s always been quite fit. So I was probably overdoing maybe some of it on the fitness work.”

Balancing a family, a full-time job as an entrepreneur and competing at the upper levels is no mean feat. “Yeah, it is always a juggling act,” Dan said. “We have a college student housing business, that’s my full-time job. Then I have a friend that helps groom, and we have our routine in the morning, so I get through the horses, and then get straight on to work. My wife’s not a horse person, but she’s been really supportive — for the most part! — and with this sport, it takes a lot of time, so, it is hard balancing it, but I mean lots of people lots of people have lots of things to balance, so we just figure it out once step at a time.”

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We also saw the first of the British Young Rider contingent today, with 22-year-old Finn Healy doing his dressage with Greannanstown Monbeg Joe (K.E.C. Maximum Joe – OBOS Jennifer), scoring a 35.8 for 12th place early on. Finn, along with Elizabeth Barrett and Isabelle Cook, are a part of a new initiative called GB Rising Lions, which provides funding and opportunities for young and developing riders to compete internationally. We don’t usually see any international entries in the CCI4*-S here — there is such a bevy of equal caliber competitions overseas, that the cost is undoubtedly not typically worthwhile to come over to the U.S. — which makes this weekend that much more exciting. Also of note is that Ride for Thais Chaman Dumontceau, a horse ridden by French rider Stephane Landois to a team silver medal at the Paris Olympics in 2024, is now with Elizabeth Barrett so we’ll get to see this special horse tomorrow.

We’re likely to see a slightly updated leaderboard tomorrow as we still have plenty of big swingers left to come. We’ll see rides from some serious contenders like Alyssa Phillips (inaugural CCI4*-S winner back in 2021) with the rising star Rockett 19, Sharon White with Claus 63, Will Coleman with Very Dignified, Mia Farley with Invictus and Carolina International winners Tamie Smith and Lillet 3 — all capable of threatening this current top 3, and of course, you never know who will have a banner day and surprise us all! We’ll have to stay tuned to find out more.

CCI5* dressage begins today at 1:30 p.m. EST, and we’ll have our traditional live blog running with Cheg Darlington here on EN. You can also find links to follow along below. I’ll be back later with some updates from the first day of CCI5* competition.

EN’s coverage of Defender Kentucky is supported by Kentucky Performance Products, your one-stop shop for all the science-backed nutritional support your horse needs. Learn more about KPP here.

Defender Kentucky Three-Day Event: [Website] [Tickets] [Schedule] [Entries/Ride Times] [Scoring] [Volunteer] [CrossCountry App XC Map] [Venue Map] [Live Stream] [EN’s Coverage] [Support Our Sponsor: Kentucky Performance Products]

Harry Meade and Superstition. Photo by Atalya Boytner Photography.

It was all smooth sailing at this afternoon’s first horse inspection at the Defender Kentucky Three-Day Event, and all 29 horses in the CCI5* field have passed with flying colors. This weekend’s CCI5* Ground Jury is presided over by New Zealand’s Andrew Bennie, joined by Seppo Laine (FIN) and Valerie Pride (USA).

Monica Spencer and Artist. Photo by Atalya Boytner Photography.

Not much in the way of drama today (Malibu Preacher provided some for us, but hey, that’s his MO at this point and we accept him for who he is), so we now move ahead to the start of dressage on Thursday. We’ll see the Cosequin Lexington CCI4*-S first in the morning sessions on Friday and Saturday, starting at 8:30 a.m. EST on Thursday and 8:00 a.m. EST on Friday. The CCI4* will begin at 1:30 p.m. EST on Thursday and 1:00 p.m. EST on Friday.

Braden Speck gets his first ESPN interview! Photo by Atalya Boytner Photography.

If you want to follow along live, check out our Ultimate Guide here for all of the information on linking your USEF account to watch live for free, or how to use your ClipMyHorse.TV account for both live and on-demand viewing. You can also find all of our coverage to date, including our Form Guide to the CCI5*, inside our Ultimate Guide. Ride times will also be available here.

We’ll see you tomorrow and we’re off and running for the #BestWeekendAllYear!

EN’s coverage of Defender Kentucky is supported by Kentucky Performance Products, your one-stop shop for all the science-backed nutritional support your horse needs. Learn more about KPP here.

Defender Kentucky Three-Day Event: [Website] [Tickets] [Schedule] [Entries/Ride Times] [Scoring] [Volunteer] [CrossCountry App XC Map] [Venue Map] [Live Stream] [EN’s Coverage] [Support Our Sponsor: Kentucky Performance Products]

2023 Maryland 5 Star winners Austin O’Connor and Colorado Blue tackle the main water complex on cross country. Photo by Shannon Brinkman Photography.

Since the publication of entries and subsequent release of the draw order for this year’s Defender Kentucky Three-Day Event CCI5*, we have just a few updates as some pairs have firmed up their plans or ill-timed happenings delayed their plans.

Over the last couple of weeks, the 5* entry list has thinned by four: Mia Farley withdrew Phelps shortly after entries came out, citing a minor injury that will keep him on the sidelines for now. Later, Ireland’s Joseph Murphy pulled Belline Fighting Spirit; the pair is still listed on the MARS Badminton entry list and we should be seeing them competing in England. We also saw Harry Meade pull Cavalier Crystal (three-time 5* podium finisher, including a third place at Burghley last fall), most likely in favor of MARS Badminton. He’s got three horses still on the Kentucky list in Et Hop du Matz, Graffenacht and Superstition; all are still cross-entered at Badminton but we will see Harry in Kentucky with some if not all three of these horses — all with a strong shot at the podium.

The most recent withdrawal also comes from Ireland, as 2023 MARS Maryland 5 Star winners Austin O’Connor and Colorado Blue will sadly not be making the trek over for their first crack at Kentucky.

“…very unfortunately Salty has suffered a minor setback after his brilliant run in the Grantham Cup [at Thorseby Park] over the weekend, which very sadly means that Kentucky and Badminton are a no go for this year,” Austin’s team posted on social media today. “He’s a horse like none other to me and he owes me absolutely nothing. We always have his best interests at the forefront of our minds and we will give him all the time that he needs to get right. We hope very much and keep our fingers crossed that he will be good to go again in time for the summer season and in the meantime we will give him everything he possibly needs to aid his recovery. It goes without saying that we are all absolutely gutted, he is feeling at his best ever and we were so excited to have the opportunity to have another crack at one of the biggest events in the world. We know his fans will miss watching him just as much as I’ll miss galloping the 5* turf that he thrives on!”

With FEI Eventing World Championships looming in August, we’ll keep our fingers crossed for a strong recovery and a run for the Irish team heading to Aachen this summer.

You can view the current entry lists for both Kentucky divisions, as well as the CSI5* show jumping competition put on by Major League Show Jumping, which will feature all-time greats such as Olympic champion Christian Kukuk (GER), US Equestrian Open champion Kent Farrington, Laura Kraut, McLain Ward, Karl Cook and many, many more, here.

EN’s coverage of Defender Kentucky is supported by Kentucky Performance Products, your one-stop shop for all the science-backed nutritional support your horse needs. Learn more about KPP here.

Defender Kentucky: [Website] [Entries] [Tickets]

Boyd Martin and Miks Master C en route to the 2025 US Equestrian Open win. Photo by Shannon Brinkman Photography.

The draw order for the 2026 Defender Kentucky Three-Day Event is LIVE! We now know the order in which we’ll see the 35 CCI5* combinations and the 48 Cosequin Lexington CCI4*-S/US Equestrian Open qualifier in the first two phases of competition.

Starting with the CCI5*, we always see riders with the most horses bunched in this group so that they can have ample time to prepare their other rides. Four-time Olympian Boyd Martin will be the first rider to see with OHP Hammertime Partners’ Miks Master C.

Now, we do know that Boyd has also entered MARS Badminton (two weeks after Kentucky this year) with the 2025 US Equestrian Open champion, but he has not 100% confirmed his choice yet and as of publication he is still showing on both lists — though he did just post a video on his social media indicating Badminton is very much in the mix! Regardless, even if Miks Master C is withdrawn, Boyd will also ride Liz’s Nutcrackers’ Cooley Nutcracker (the horse Liz herself took to Paris for her Olympic debut) midway in the order and will close things out as the third last rider with Yankee Creek Ranch’s Commando 3.

Harry Meade and Et Hop Du Matz jump to third place at Kentucky in 2025. Photo by Tilly Berendt.

World #1 rider Harry Meade of Great Britain is, as anticipated, among the busiest riders on the list with three horses to ride in his own and Mandy Gray’s Et Hop Du Matz (the first we’ll see as the second in the order) and Superstition, as well as Amanda Gould’s Graffenacht.

Caroline Pamukcu and HSH Tolan King. Photo by Shannon Brinkman Photography.

U.S. Olympian Caroline Pamukcu is also busy with three horses herself in the CCI5*. The Tolan King Partnership’s HSH Tolan King will be the first horse in the order of Caroline’s, followed later by her own, Sherrie Martin’s and Andy and Mollie Hoff’s She’s the One, and as the last rider to see with her Paris horse and Pan American Games gold medal partner HSH Blake.

Buck Davidson and Sorocaima. Photo by Tilly Berendt.

Buck Davidson and Tim Price (NZL) will follow as riders with two horses; Buck will first ride his own and Carl Segal’s Sorocaima, followed later by his own and Cassie Segal’s Cooley Candyman later. Tim Price brings forward Lance and Diana Morrish’s Global Quest as the first to see, followed later by stalwart partner and 2025 CHIO Aachen winner Vitali in the final group.

The first of our 5* rookie crew for this year to see will be Washington-based Karen O’Neal with Annika Asling’s Clooney 14.

[View the full CCI5* order here]

Tamie Smith and Kynan. Photo by Shannon Brinkman Photography.

Looking to the Cosequin Lexington CCI4*-S, West coast former Kentucky 5* winner Tamie Smith will be the first to see, bringing forward the Kynan Syndicate’s Kynan as the first of thre in this division. She’ll return later with Ruth Bley’s Danito, and as the penultimate rider with Carolina CCI4*-S and Rebecca Farm CCI4*-L winner Lillet 3, owned by Molly Duda (who is also competing in this division with two horses: Disco Traveler and Carlingfords Hes a Clover).

EN contributor and full-time lawyer Ema Klugman (AUS) will also be a busy one to watch with one horse – the Chiraz Syndicate’s Chiraz – in the CCI5* making his debut and then the Bronte Beach Syndicate’s Bronte Beach as well as Team Fern’s RF Redfern in the CCI4*-S. Bronte Beach will be the first of this bunch to see.

[View the full CCI4*-S order here]

EN’s coverage of Defender Kentucky is supported by Kentucky Performance Products, your one-stop shop for all the science-backed nutritional support your horse needs. Learn more about KPP here.

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