Lexington, KY-April 24, 2002-With a record starting field of 63 horses, the stage is set for another exciting edition of the Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event, presented by Bayer, held at the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington, April 25-28, 2002.

With the completion of Wednesday’s horse inspection, where all 63 entries presented to the ground jury were accepted, the Olympic-caliber event is officially under way. The first phase, dressage, will be held over two days, Thursday and Friday, with the challenging cross-country phase taking place Saturday before concluding with Sunday’s final phase of stadium jumping. The Rolex Kentucky Three Day Event serves as the U.S. Equestrian Team (USET) Four-Star Championship and is a selection trial for this year’s Eventing World Championships to be held at the World Equestrian Games in Jerez, Spain in September.

With entries from Australia, Canada, Great Britain, Ireland, and the United States, there is no shortage of star power as the world’s best compete for $190,000 in prize money with the winner taking home $60,000 and a Rolex timepiece. In addition, the winner also has a chance at the $250,000 Rolex Grand Slam of Eventing, awarded to any rider who wins the Rolex Kentucky, Badminton and Burghley Four Star events in succession.