Sixty Horses Set to Compete at the 2014 Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event

Sixty-two horses were presented on this picturesque spring day at the first horse inspection for the Rolex Kentucky Three-Day event, which all competitors must pass before the start of dressage.

Five horses were sent to the hold box after their first jog in front of the ground jury: Madison Park, Parker, Houdini, Anthony Patch and Sir Oberon. The first three were accepted upon re-inspection. Laine Ashker opted to withdraw Anthony Patch rather than attempting another jog.

Unfortunately Rolex first-timers Ellen Doughty and Sir Oberon were not accepted upon their second jog. While this is surely an unexpected end to their first trip to Rolex, Doughty’s trip will not be in vain—she and her fiancé are planning to get married on the cross-country course this Friday.

Sixty horses are now set to proceed to dressage on Thursday and Friday; ride times can be found at www.rk3de.org.

As usual, the riders jogged their horses in their finest outfits, both for the pageantry of America’s only four-star event (the highest level in the sport), and a chance at winning a pair of Dubarry boots for the man and woman voted “best dressed” at the jog.

Who do you think dressed the best? Tell us your favorite in the comments.

Follow along with all of our 2014 Rolex and Kentucky Reining coverage at horseillustrated.com/Rolex2014.

Update 4/24/12 12:30 p.m.: An earlier version of this story misidentified Meghan O’Donoghue and Pirate. It has been corrected below.

William Fox-Pitt looked understated at the jog, but he’ll be formidable in the arena and on course this weekend with Bay My Hero (shown here) and Seacookie.	Will Andrew Nicholson defend his Rolex title? He’s here with the lovely Avebury to give it a go.
Marilyn Little made a shimmering statement as she presented the lovely RF Smoke on the Water.
Michael Pollard looks ready for the country club with Mensa G.	Meghan O’Donoghue is flowery and fabulous with Pirate.
Doug Payne looks dashing in his best suit, but he’s outshined by his wingman, Crown Talisman.	Parker seemed to think the point of the jog was to shove his human handler, James Alliston, into the decorative flowers. But eventually he agreed to trot long enough to be evaluated by the ground jury.
Orange you glad Allison Springer is riding at Rolex again this year? She’ll be competing with Copycat Chloe (shown) and her longtime partner Arthur.
Kentucky local Alexandra Knowles is enjoying her Rolex experience already with Last Call.	Katie Frei and her adorable Houdini looked ready for their closeup.
Canada’s Kyle Carter opted to have a secret service agent jog Madison Park for him.	Jan Byyny and Inmidair look very happy to be back at Rolex.
Californian Jennifer McFall added a splash of color with her shoes as she presented High Times.	Kristin Schmolze went with a sophisticated look as she presented Ballylaffin Bracken.