It’s a little bit sad that when I type the word ‘eventing’ into Microsoft Word, it does not recognize it as a real word. For those that don’t know, eventing is an equestrian sport that involves three parts – dressage, cross country, and show jumping – that are performed between horses and their riders. It’s not a very well-known sport, but it is very exciting and interesting to watch. This past weekend was the Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event, which is probably the biggest competition in eventing. Top riders from all across the world come together in Lexington, Kentucky to compete for three days in eventing. The World Three-Day Event Championships was first held in the United States in September of 1978, organized by Equestrian Events, Inc. (EEI), and it was a huge success. Rolex brand watches became the sponsor of the competition in 1981, hence the title of “Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event.” This year’s event was held from April 27th to April 29th. Here’s a brief recap of the thrilling competition.
Michael Jung definitely deserves some recognition. He is a 34-year-old rider from Horb, Germany. History was made this year when he won the 2017 Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event – for the third year in a row. He rode aboard FischerRocana FST, a German Sport Horse mare, and allowed only one rail to fall in the show jumping competition. The top U.S. rider was Phillip Dutton, aboard the Irish Sport Horse gelding Mr. Medicott, who placed fourth overall. Dutton is 53 years old and resides in West Grove, Pennsylvania. He actually had three different mounts in this competition, with all three placing in the top 10, which gave him an impressive number of forty total completions at the Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event. Mr. Medicott will be retiring from this high level of competition following his remarkable finish in Kentucky.
The Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event is one of the highest competitions in the equestrian world, and these athletes, both riders and horses, deserve much more appreciation. To learn more about this year’s event, visit the following links.
http://rk3de.org/rolex-kentucky-history/
http://rk3de.org/jung-scores-three-peat-rolex-kentucky-three-day-event-presented-land-rover/
http://eventingnation.com/4-things-you-might-not-know-about-fischerrocana-fst/
