Lexington, Ky. – An exciting week of competition is underway at the Land Rover Kentucky Three-Day Event presented by MARS Equestrian™ (LRK3DE) following the completion of the first horse inspection. A field of 38 combinations from five countries are competing for top honors in the CCI5*-L. The world-class event also hosts the Land Rover/USEF CCI5*-L Eventing National Championship presented by MARS Equestrian™. The highest-placed U.S. combination in the CCI5*-L earns the national champion title and will be presented with the Roger Haller Trophy. In addition, the LRK3DE hosts a CCI4*-S division running concurrently with the CCI5*-L.

Doug Payne and Quantum Leap won the 2022 Land Rover/USEF CCI5*-L Eventing National Championship presented by MARS Equestrian as the top-placed U.S. combination after finishing third overall. Payne (Rougemont, N.C.) and Quantum Leap—his and Jessica Payne’s 2011 RPSI gelding—aim to defend their title, though four past national champions are in the hunt for another title. 

Three-time national champion Buck Davidson (Unionville, Pa.) has a busy week with three mounts: Carlevo, Katherine O’Brien’s 2007 Holsteiner gelding; Erroll Gobey, a 2010 Holsteiner gelding owned by Cassandra Segal, Lisa Darden, and Natalie Sandler; and Sorocaima, his own 2011 Thoroughbred gelding. Two-time national champion Boyd Martin (Cochranville, Pa.) is riding 2019 national champion mount Tsetserleg TSF, a 2007 Trakehner gelding owned by Christine, Thomas, and Tommie Turner, and LRK3DE first-timer Contessa, a 2009 Holsteiner mare owned by Club Contessa. Five-time national champion Phillip Dutton (West Grove, Pa.) brings longtime partner Z, a 2008 Zangersheide gelding owned by Thomas Tierney, Suzanne Lacy, Ann Jones, Caroline Moran, Evie Dutton, and David & Patricia Vos. Two-time national champion Lauren Nicholson, (The Plains, Va.) rides Landmark’s Monte Carlo, a 2006 Irish Thoroughbred cross gelding owned by Jacqueline Mars, in their fifth LRK3DE appearance.

Competition Information

LRK3DE begins Thursday with the first day of dressage. The CCI4*-S dressage phase begins at 7:45 a.m. ET, while the CCI5*-L starts at 12:45 p.m. ET. The second day of dressage takes place on Friday, and combinations contest Derek di Grazia’s cross-country course on Saturday. The competition ends on Sunday with Steve Stephens’s jumping course deciding the winners of the LRK3DE and the Land Rover/USEF CCI5*-L Eventing National Championship presented by MARS Equestrian.

Event website | Schedule | Results

Tune in to the USEF Network powered by ClipMyHorse.TV for wall-to-wall coverage of the LRK3DE. Watch live for free with a USEF Fan account, or watch live and on demand with a USEF Subscriber Membership.

Follow US Equestrian

Keep up with all the action from the 2023 LRK3DE on the US Equestrian website and by following USA Eventing on Facebook and Instagram and US Equestrian on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and TikTok.

The USEF International High Performance Programs and the USEF High Performance Pathway Programs are generously supported by the USET Foundation, the philanthropic partner to USEF. High Performance Program support is also provided by the USOPC and USEF sponsors and members.