Four British riders are among the Land Rover Kentucky Three-Day Event entries set to line up in this year’s competition (28 April-1 May).
The British riders span the range of experience. Pippa Funnell, who won Kentucky in 2003 on Primmore’s Pride, is entered with Marek Sebestak’s and her own Majas Hope and S.H.E. Eventing’s Maybach.
US-based British rider Leslie Law, the 2004 Olympic individual champion, comes forward with Tre’ Book’s Voltaire De Tre.
Yasmin Ingham is set to make her Kentucky debut on one of the most exciting young horses in eventing, Sue Davies and Janette Chinn’s Banzai Du Loir. The Blenheim Horse Trials CCI4*-L winner will be starting at five-star for the first time, although Yasmin has gained five-star experience in two starts at at Pau Horse Trials on other horses.
German superstar Michael Jung, a three-time Kentucky winner on FischerRocana FST, brings forward FischerChipmunk FRH – owned by Sabine and Klaus Fischer, Hilmer Meyer Kulenkampff and the German Olympic committee for equestrian sport.
This will be a hotly awaited five-star debut for a horse who has been a European individual silver medallist and who topped the list of the best event horses in the world at the end of last year according to data analytics company EquiRatings.
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Ireland’s Joseph Murphy will also make the journey from Europe for his Kentucky debut, riding Claire and Charlie Mayne, Annette O’Callaghan’s and his own Calmaro, who was 14th at Pau last year.
Among the home-side stars on the list are all three riders from the US Olympic team from Tokyo – Phillip Dutton (Sea Of Clouds), Doug Payne (Quantum Leap and Vandiver) and Boyd Martin, who will certainly be among the favourites when he starts on last year’s Maryland 5 Star winner On Cue, as well as Tsetserleg TSF.
A number of horses appear on the Kentucky Three-Day Event entries as well as on the Badminton Horse Trials entries, but they will only start at one of the events.
Pippa has Majas Hope on both lists, but she has three horses entered for Badminton and can only ride two, so it is likely Billy Walk On and MGH Grafton Street will go to Badminton and Majas Hope to Kentucky. Three US riders also each have a horse on both lists – Lauren Nicholson (Vermiculus), Tamie Smith (Mai Baum) and Will Faudree (Mama’s Magic Way) – as does Canada’s Karl Slezak (Fernhill Wishes).
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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.
