Britain has four pairs in the draw following the withdrawal of Ros Canter’s ride Izilot DHI earlier this week and Kirsty Chabert will be the first of these to start, wearing number 17 with Classic VI, owned by Kate Ward, Carole Somers and Kirsty’s father John Johnston.
Yasmin Ingham and Banzai Du Loir, world champions and 2022 Kentucky runners-up, follow immediately after Kirsty at number 18. Banzai belongs to Janette Chinn and The Sue Davies Fund.
There are 42 horses in the Kentucky Three-Day Event draw (although the numbers go to 47 because some horses were withdrawn after the draw was done). Kirsty and Yasmin fall in the first half of the draw, so are likely to do their dressage on the afternoon of the first day (Thursday), with the other two Brits coming forward on Friday.
Oliver Townend and the Ridgeons’ Cooley Rosalent have been drawn as number 38, and the final British pair will be last year’s Kentucky runners-up Tom McEwen and JL Dublin – owned by the Lamberts and Deirdre Johnston – at number 44.
The home side’s 2008 Kentucky winner Phillip Dutton is the only rider with three horses in the draw, so he is the pathfinder on Denim (owned by Ann Lapides, Ann Jones, Caroline Moran, Neill Sites), runs at number 23 with Caroline Moran’s Quasi Cool and as the last to go on Caroline, Ann and Michal Moran’s Azure.
Irish rider Susie Berry is number six on her own, Anne Marling and Sue Wilkinson’s Clever Trick.
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US rider Boyd Martin has two horses in the draw for Kentucky who are both also still entered for Badminton Horse Trials, so it will become clear over the next few weeks where he actually plans to run them. The Turners’ Tsetserleg TSF is number 16 and On Cue, for the same owners and Boyd himself, is number 46.
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Pippa is a true eventing geek and has been H&H’s eventing editor since 2005. She has first-hand experience of competing up to British Eventing intermediate and international CCI2*-L level, and has worked in the industry on a top event yard. Pippa enjoys nothing more than immersing herself in the sport at the highest level, reporting from the five-stars and international championships, including the Olympics.
