Reigning champion Oliver Townend has three horses among the Land Rover Kentucky Three-Day Event 2021 entries for this year’s renewal (22-25 April).
With entries closing today (Tuesday 23 March), Oliver is listed with the 2018 and 2019 winner, Cooley Master Class, who belongs to Angela Hislop.
The 2017 Burghley winner Ballaghmor Class, who is owned by Angela Hislop, Karyn Shuter and Val Ryan, is also on the entry list for Oliver, as is Tregilder, who belongs to the Hazeldines and Mitchell Fox Group.
Oliver is one of four British riders set to make the trip across the Atlantic. Harry Meade is entered for his Kentucky debut on Mandy Gray’s and his own Superstition. William Fox-Pitt, a three-time Kentucky winner, will bid for a fourth title on Little Fire, who belongs to Jennifer Dowling and his rider. Finally, Richard Coney will take the flight to compete on Mermus R Diamonds, who was ninth at Pau Horse Trials last year on the pair’s five-star debut. Richard also has Kananaskis entered in the four-star short class.
The four will be joined at the event by US-based British rider Leslie Law on Tre’ Book’s Voltaire De Tre’, who was 10th at Kentucky in 2019.
The home side challenge will be led by Boyd Martin – whose three horses include the Turners’ and his own Tsetserleg TSF, the runner-up here in 2019 – and Philip Dutton, who is the most recent US winner of Kentucky. Phillip will line up on the syndicate-owned Z and Fernhill Singapore, who belongs to David Vos, Ann Jones and Thomas Tierney.
US fans will also be cheering on Liz Halliday-Sharp with Ocala Horse Properties LLC’s Deniro Z and the less experienced syndicate-owned Cooley Quicksilver, as well as the likes of Will Coleman, Buck Davidson and Lauren Nicholson, who all have three horses in the mix.
Seven New Zealand-ridden horses are listed among the Kentucky Three-Day Event 2021 entries, with Tim and Jonelle Price holding five entries between them. The 2018 Badminton winner Classic Moet, who belongs to Trisha Richards, Jacky Green and her rider, heads Jonelle’s entries and is joined by Grovine De Reve (owned by Therese Miller, Jo Preston-Hunt, Philip Hunt and Jonelle) and the syndicate-owned Grappa Nera. All Jonelle’s horses are first-timers are the event while she has ridden there once before, in 2013.
Tim Price fields the Numero Uno Syndicate’s Bango and Xavier Faer, who belongs to Trisha Rickards, Nigella Hall and Tim. Both Tim’s rides have competed at Kentucky before – Xavier Faer was third in 2019, while Tim had a fall from Bango on the cross-country in 2016.
Fellow Kiwi Jesse Campbell makes his Kentucky debut on Kent Gardner’s and his own Diachello, while US-based Joe Meyer (Team Johnny Syndicate’s Johnny Royale) completes the New Zealand challenge, assuming there are no more last-minute entries.
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For Australia, Clayton Fredericks has three horses on the list and fellow US residents Ema Klugman (Bendigo) and Dominic Schramm (Bolytair B) one apiece, while Kevin McNab will fly in from Europe with Scuderia 1918 and his wife Emma’s Scuderia 1918 Don Quidam.
Germany’s Anna Siemer (Volker Skeinkraus’ FRH Butts Avondale) is the final rider scheduled to make a trip from Europe for Kentucky; this pair were 13th at the 2019 European Championships.
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