Riders (from left) Hawley Bennett-Awad, Phillip Dutton, Boyd Martin and Lindsey Jordan visit with Donte Proffitt (10) of London, Ky. (Michelle Dunn photo)
"Rolex Kentucky" returns to the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington on April 25-28. Prior to the start of competition, eventers Phillip Dutton, Boyd Martin and Hawley Bennett-Awad, along with reiner Lindsey Jordan, stopped by the hospital to visit with the young patients.
“It’s a privilege to spend time with these kids and their families. They show so much courage, and that’s really an inspiration,” said Dutton. “I hope that our visit helped to brighten up their day.”
Dutton is a two-time Olympic gold medalist and winner of the Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event in 2008. Martin rode on the 2012 U.S. Olympic team, and Bennett-Awad rode on the 2012 Canadian Olympic team.
“It was an amazing day visiting the children! They are so tough and really put in to perspective how blessed we all are. I’m so glad we were able to go,” said Jordan, who lives nearby, in Georgetown, Ky.
Kristi Lopez, the hospital’s director of public relations, said that the riders’ visit meant even more to the children. “We appreciate the riders taking time while they’re in Lexington for the Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event and Kentucky Reining Cup to come lift their spirits and spend time visiting with our young patients and their families at Kentucky Children’s Hospital,” she said.
The Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event, presented by Land Rover, is the Western Hemisphere’s only Four-Star Three-Day Event. It is part of the HSBC FEI ClassicsTM and features the world’s best horses and riders vying for their share of $250,000 in prize money as well as a shot at the $350,000 Rolex Grand Slam of Eventing, which is awarded to any rider who wins the Rolex Kentucky, Mitsubishi Motors Badminton and Land Rover Burghley Four-Star Events in succession.
Rolex Kentucky draws more than 50,000 spectators to the Kentucky Horse Park and is seen by millions more on worldwide telecasts. This year’s event features Olympic and World Equestrian Games medalists from Australia, Canada, Ecuador, Great Britain, Ireland, New Zealand and the United States and will crown the 16th Rolex/USEF National CCI4* Champion.
The event will be televised as the Rolex Equestrian Championships, presented by Land Rover, on NBC on Sunday, April 28, from 4:00-5:00 p.m. EDT. Leading up to the NBC telecast, USEFNetwork.com, presented by SmartPak, is offering live, wall-to-wall coverage of the dressage, cross-country, and show jumping phases. This coverage can be seen on computers, tablets, and smart TV/Google TV devices in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico. Google TV users can go to http://www.usefnetwork.com/googletv for an enhanced experience.
Throughout the rest of the world, FEI TV will air LIVE coverage of Saturday's cross-country and Sunday's show jumping competitions. To sign up for FEI TV, please visit www.feitv.org.