Phillip Dutton and Fernhill Cubalawn. Photo by Jenni Autry.
The Rolex entry list for 2016 continues to grow daily, and we now see the additions of several riders, including Phillip Dutton with three rides.
Phillip will be bring Fernhill Cubalawn, Fernhill Fugitive and Mighty Nice to Kentucky this year — all horses who have a shot at being seriously competitive and who are also on the Rio radar as the Olympics rapidly approach.
Fernhill Cubalawn boosted Phillip to a USEF National Champion title in 2015 with a fifth place finish at Rolex, followed closely by stablemate Fernhill Fugitive in ninth place. This will be Mighty Nice’s fourth crack at the Kentucky four-star — he finished in tenth place in his first CCI4* start in 2012 and most recently finished second in the CCI3* at Fair Hill International last fall.
Also added to the list on this latest update is Lillian Heard, who is also bringing three horses this year. In addition to her veteran partner, Share Option, Lillian will be piloting LCC Barnaby and FYI in their first CCI4* starts. This will be Lillian’s second Rolex trip, and she has enjoyed some consistent results of late with all three of her horses so she is sitting in a great position to have a competitive go in Kentucky.
Lynn Symansky returns to the entry list with Donner, the “flying deer” OTTB gelding who will be contesting his sixth four-star. This pair took a trip to Normandy for the World Equestrian Games in 2014 and also took home a top-15 finish at Burghley last year.
Canadian Olympian Selena O’Hanlon is also a recent entry with her partner, Foxwood High. 2014 was the first CCI4* for “Woody”, and the smile on Selena’s face upon finishing a clear cross country said it all. This is a partnership Selena is quite proud of, and for good reason. Woody went on to represent Canada at the World Equestrian Games and his dressage is an ever improving phase — this is a pair to watch for Canada as the season progresses.
Stay tuned for many more updates on the latest Rolex entries!
