Derek di Grazia needs little introduction as the longstanding designer-in-residence for the Defender Kentucky Three-Day Event. He’s also designed an Olympic Games and recently also took up designing for the Defender Burghley Horse Trials (UK) at the tail end of the summer.
Kentucky holds a special place for Derek, who won the event itself in 1985 aboard Sasquatch (who was a Thoroughbred/Appaloosa cross, if you can believe it!) before eventually turning his primary attention to course design. You can read more about Derek’s career in this US Equestrian profile from 2017.
Ahead of the 2024 Defender Kentucky 5*, the team on the ground in Kentucky caught up with Derek as his visions for the track — the 14th he has designed here — begin to take shape. This video is just a short teaser of much more content yet to come, but it’s certainly got us hankering for more! Click here if the embedded video above does not display in your browser.
