Good morning from the midst of the best kind of madness – Kentucky madness! All of us at Team EN have missed the freneticism of this week and whether we’re working on site or supporting from home, it’s non-stop and enormously exciting to bring you wall-to-wall coverage. Though I admit that I did feel a moment of smugness about contributing from my warm, sun-soaked cottage in England when I saw that snow come down. It’s not often I get to win the weather stakes, so I’ll take it, quite frankly.
If you’re getting ready to settle in and watch today’s action, don’t forget to grab yourself a copy of our Ultimate Form Guide – a nearly 140-page digital magazine that’ll bring you the whole story and all the stats on every single horse and rider in the CCI5*, conveniently laid out in drawn order so you can dive into all the info you need as each pair appears on your screen. It’s a super way to get into the heart of the action – some of these guys have extraordinarily poignant back-stories – and it’s a real help if you’re playing along on Eventing Manager or simply love the thrill of making bold predictions and having them pay off. I’ll tell you something for nothing – the form guide indicates that there’s a horse in today’s field with a first-phase average that’s lower than our current leading mark, and it might not be the horse you think it is…
U.S. Weekend Preview:
The Land Rover Kentucky Three-Day Event: [Website] [EN’s Ultimate Form Guide] [CCI4*-S Live Scores] [CCI5* Live Scores] [5* Dressage Ride Times] [4* Dressage Ride Times] [Schedule] [North America Live Stream] [Worldwide Live Stream] [EN’s Coverage]
Loudoun Hunt Pony Club Spring H.T.: [Website] [Entries] [Ride Times]
Stable View Spring H.T.: [Website] [Ride Times]
News From Around the Globe:
Have you been receiving EN’s LRK3DE Daily Digest? It’s free and lands in your inbox each morning before the day’s action begins, full of links to catch up on what you may have missed, some of our favorite moments from on the ground, and a preview of what to look for each day. You can sign up here to receive the rest of this week’s Daily Digest – and you’ll be entered to win a prize just by signing up!
The Kentucky digital programme is out and gives you plenty of handy links at your fingertips – I’ve been using it to flip back and forth between the cross-country course plans, because like everyone else, I’m already itching for Saturday. [Kentucky Programme]
Sad news from our friends in the dressage world: Debbie McDonald‘s powerhouse mare Brentina has died at the age of 30. To watch this mare was to love her and be wholly inspired by her joie de vivre in the ring – we’ll be riding to Brick House today in her honour. [Brentina, US Dressage Superhorse and FEI World Cup Final Winner, Dies]
You’ve likely heard the words ‘infectious’ and ‘contagious’ more often in the last year than in the entirety of the rest of your life. But what’s the difference, if there even is one? And how do labs go about testing for the spread of disease? [Science Sleuths: the Science that Shapes Diagnostic Tests: Infectious or Contagious – Which Is It?]
A new standard in frangible technology has been approved, with the aim of balancing increased safety out on course with a commitment to ‘true’ cross-country competition [New frangible device standards balance “safety with true cross-country”]
How cute is this mixed zone debrief from Will Coleman and his tiny trainer?
