Kentucky Three-Day Event Trot-Up

During the first trot-up of the Defender Kentucky Three-Day Event today, Jennie Brannigan's thoroughbred, Twilightslastgleam, was not accepted and sent to the holding box. When presented for re-inspection, the horse was spun. Twilightslastgleam is 15 years old and has previously competed successfully at this event, finishing sixth at the Maryland 5 Star last autumn. Despite this development, Brannigan will still participate in the competition on her other horse, FE Lifestyle, which is also entered for the Badminton Horse Trials. As a result, she may only compete in the dressage phase here, depending on her plans for the Gloucestershire five-star event. A total of thirty-five horses were presented to the ground jury, which included Christian Steiner from Austria, Anne-Mette Binder from Denmark, and Peter Gray from Canada.

As is customary, horses arriving from Europe were presented first for biosecurity protocols. Among these were three British representatives, including Tom McEwen's Brookfield Quality and Harry Meade's Grafennacht and Et Hop Du Matz. A fourth British horse, Dyri, was presented alongside North American entries, as both horse and rider, Lucienne Bellissimo, are based in the region.

The warm weather, reaching 25ºC, influenced attire choices, with Jonelle Price of New Zealand wearing a smart white dress while presenting her horse Hiarado, and Matthew Brown from the US pairing yellow trainers with a blue suit for Alderwood. Some horses exhibited lively behavior, such as Katherine Coleman's Monbeg Senna, who reared during its presentation, and Brooke Burchianti's Cooley Space Grey, which playfully bucked after turning. Another surprise was Bronte Beach Z, ridden by Ema Klugman, who knocked over a plant pot during her presentation.