Lexington, Ky. – A rainy cross-country day at the Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event presented by Land Rover (RK3DE) proved influential at the Kentucky Horse Park. While 56 of the 64 starters did finish Derek di Grazia’s tough track, none were able to finish within the optimum time. Phillip Dutton rode determinedly to move into first and second in the Rolex/USEF CCI4* National Championship with Fernhill Fugitive and Mighty Nice, respectively. Defending RK3DE champion Michael Jung (GER) and fischerRocana FST had an excellent round to maintain their overall lead.

Dutton (West Grove, Pa.) and Thomas Tierney and Ann Jones’ Fernhill Fugitive were the pathfinders for the field, laying down a solid cross-country round over the challenging track. The 2005 Irish Sport Horse gelding came home confident with Dutton’s skilled riding. They added 4.4 time penalties to their dressage score to lead the Rolex/USEF CCI4* National Championship and sit second in the overall standings on a score of 47.5.

Riding as the penultimate competitor with HND Group’s Mighty Nice, Dutton had an excellent round in tough conditions. Rain throughout the day caused the footing to deteriorate, but Dutton and the 2004 Irish Sport Horse gelding made light work of the course. The duo collected 4.8 time penalties to head into the final phase in third place overall with a score of 49.8.

“I thought all three of my horses went well; it was not easy, especially as the day went on. Every time they galloped they were working at pulling out of the ground, but it was always safe,” Dutton said. “They did a great job with the course because the problems were spread throughout. I think it was a great learning experience for [my horses] and hopefully they will be better for it.”

Maya Black and Dawn Dofelmier’s Doesn’t Play Fair had a fantastic round in only their second RK3DE appearance to sit in fourth place overall. Black (Clinton, Wash.) gave the 2005 Holsteiner gelding an efficient ride, adding 4.4 time penalties to their score. They move forward to Sunday with a score of 49.9.

“For me, this is my second time at Rolex; I was here last year with the same horse, so that is as much experience as I have at this level. I wasn’t really concerned about any of the fences per say, I was more concerned about just getting around safely with my horse and making sure I did the best thing for him,” Black said. “Last year he got a little bit more tired, this year I was really pleased with how he galloped and recovered, so he definitely felt better. I was more wanting to be smart and ride the best I could.”

Lauren Kieffer gave Landmark’s Monte Carlo, Jacqueline Mars’ 2006 Irish Thoroughbred gelding, a confident ride in the horse’s first trip over a CCI4* track, adding 2.8 time penalties to their score for being only seven seconds over the optimum time of 11:15. As the U.S. competitor closest to the optimum time with no jumping penalties, Kieffer (Middleburg, Va.) was declared to have the Land Rover Best Ride of the Day, thus receiving a two-year lease on a brand new Land Rover Discovery Sport.

Michael Jung (GER) rode an aggressive cross-country round with fischerRocana FST, skillfully answering all the questions posed by the course. Jung and Brigitte and Joachim Jung’s 2005 Deutsches Sportpferd mare were the closest to finishing on the optimum time, going two seconds over and adding 0.8 time penalties to their dressage score. They have over a 12-point lead with a score of 35.2 heading into Sunday’s show jumping phase.

Watch the live stream on the USEF Network and catch every ride and all the action of the weekend. Get behind-the-scenes coverage on the USEF Network Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram accounts as well as on the USEF Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Snapchat accounts.

The second horse inspection takes place at 8:30 a.m. ET on Sunday with the show jumping phase beginning at 1:00 p.m. ET.

For more information about the Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event presented by Land Rover, visit rk3de.org.