Posted April 15, 2006

Eventing’s Best Expected to Compete at Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event CCI**** Presented by Farnam

Lexington, KY—April 13, 2006—As always, Eventing’s biggest names are expected to compete at America’s most prestigious equestrian competition – the Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event, presented by Farnam. This year’s Rolex Kentucky CCI**** returns to the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington, KY, April 27-30.

The Event will host many of the world’s best horse-and-rider pairs as they compete for one of the most coveted purses in equestrian sports and one of the most prestigious championships in the sport of Eventing.

Heading the list of U.S. riders entered are four of the five riders on the United States’ Bronze Medal team from the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens. Led by Individual Silver Medalist Kim Severson, the team also included Darren Chiacchia of Springville, NY; Amy Tryon of Duvall, WA; and John Williams of Middleburg, VA (as well as Julie Richards who is not entered at this year’s Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event).

Severson, Tryon and Williams were part of the 2002 Gold Medal World Championship Team and are defending champions.

Five-time Olympian and six-time Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event champion Bruce O. Davidson, Sr. of Unionville, PA and three-time Olympian Karen O’Connor of The Plains, VA, another Rolex Kentucky champion, also return for this year’s event.

Other Olympians entered are Stephen Bradley of Leesburg, VA; Mara Dean of South Strafford, VT; and Nina Fout of Middleburg, VA.

International stars are also expected to compete including Olympic veterans; Stuart Black, formerly of Canada but now a U.S. citizen; Andrew Hoy of Australia; Leslie Law of Great Britain; two-time Team Gold Medalist Philip Dutton of Australia; and William Fox-Pitt of Great Britain.

This year’s event, a United States Equestrian Federation (USEF) Selection Trial for the Eventing World Championships at the 2006 World Equestrian Games in Aächen, Germany, will be run under the “without Steeplechase” (short) format for the first time, consistent with requirements for FEI Championships.

The Kentucky Horse Park was chosen as the site for the FEI Games in 2010. This will mark the first time the Games, which feature World Championships in seven equestrian disciplines, are being held outside of Europe. This will undoubtedly make the opportunity to see the Rolex action from the Kentucky Horse Park that much more exciting for the many thousands of fans around the world who are thinking of traveling to Kentucky for the 2010 Games.

The Rolex Kentucky Three Day Event is one of only five annual competitions in the world with the CCI**** classification and the only CCI**** in the United States. There are four levels of competition in Eventing, designated by stars (one star through four stars). As the number of stars increases, the degree of difficulty increases progressively. A Four Star Event presents the most challenging competition existing for horses and riders.

The $250,000 Rolex Grand Slam of Eventing is awarded to any rider who wins the Rolex Kentucky, Mitsubishi Motor Badminton and Land Rover Burghley Four Star Events in succession. In 2003, Pippa Funnell of Great Britain became the first rider to win the Rolex Grand Slam. William Fox-Pitt of Great Britain won the Land Rover Burghley CCI**** in England last September, which began the Rolex Grand Slam series anew. He will be seeking the second leg with a victory at the Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event in April.

Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event organizer, Equestrian Events, Inc. (EEI), is a non-profit charitable corporation created in 1975 to stage the 1978 World Three-Day Event Championships, the first time those championships had been held outside of Europe. Following the success of those World Championships, the U.S. Equestrian Federation asked EEI to organize an annual Three-Day Event in the spring and the Kentucky Three-Day Event was born.

For more information on the 2006 Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event, presented by Farnam, please visit the Rolex Kentucky website at www.rk3de.org. Advance ticket sales are now closed, but General Admission tickets will be available at the Rolex Kentucky Ticket Booths at the Kentucky Horse Park beginning Thursday, April 27. Reserved grandstand seats and a limited number of Patron Club, Patron Plus and Equestrian Club subscriptions may be purchased at the Event Ticket Tent upon entry into the Horse Park. To receive the ticket brochure for the 2007 Event, send your name and address to Equestrian Events, Inc., PO Box 12110, Lexington, KY 40580-2110, (859) 254-8123 (9:00 am – 4:00 pm, M-F), (859) 254-5116 (fax), or rktickets@alltel.net.