A Different View of Rolex

By Selena Frederick June 5, 2012

Every time I drive into the Kentucky Horse Park, my heart skips a beat. After a dry, dusty (but exciting!) winter on the SoCal Desert Circuit, the part of my nature that was imprinted growing up in Washington State starts dreaming about green grass, spunky horses and the unpredictability of a Kentucky spring. Landing in Lexington is a magic carpet ride over lush fields and stone barns lined with chocolate fencing.

The Rolex Kentucky 3-Day Event CCI is the only FEI 4* event in the American hemisphere, and athletes as well as enthusiasts stream in from all over the world to take part in this very special weekend at the Kentucky Horse Park. And while the main event is, well, the main event (April 26-29), a clever reporter with solid time management skills (and a willingness to lose sleep!) will find themselves caught up in adventures playing out off the beaten track. You know, stuff to do to kill time between seven-hour-plus stints photographing the competition.

You know you’re not in Kansas anymore when the first veterinary inspection, Wednesday, April 25, doubles as a fashion show. The Dubarry Best-Dressed Award went to Karen O’Connor, stunning in a white pants suit, pearls and heels. Doug Payne also received his pair of Dubarry boots as the most smartly turned-out of the men.

Where there are fashion victors there are also fashion victims, and that prize went to Philip Dutton, whose mount Mighty Nice spooked (crazy eyes over Lucy Wiegersma’s sixties-inspired op-art jacket?), fell and left the track wearing his own coat ― of dust.

The fact that this event preceded the opening night riders’ reception paved the way for me to feel under-dressed in my dirty paddock boots, muddy jeans, sweater and Northface vest. An eye-catching array of Land Rovers punctuated the path to Spindletop Hall, an antebellum manse built in 1935 (at a then-unheard-of sum of $1 million) and now owned by the University of Kentucky. Many of the nighttime functions were held at this opulent outpost, which serves as a private club for university faculty, staff, alumni and friends. Range Rovers served as lawn ornaments, offering added visibility for the title sponsor, Land Rover. (The company’s new light SUV, the Evoque, is very cute.)

Thursday, April 26, was the first day of competition, when roughly half the field of 50-odd starters performed the dressage test. This was followed by a press conference after which I immediately dashed off to grab my helmet and head over to the exclusive Rolex Ride-The-Course Tour with David O’Connor and Gina Miles.
Although by now it was late afternoon, the weather couldn’t have been more perfect ― sunny, warm, a slight breeze that carried the scent of freshly mown grass and the hum of our Olympic tour guides. Did I just die and go to horsey heaven?

Everyone seemed a bit shy as we climbed into our Western saddles. My little mount Cisco was a shaggy, feisty guy who reminded me of one of my past favorites, Esperado. Miles and O’Connor took us to some key spots, explained the challenges and helped put it in the context of what would be going through a rider’s mind.

The cross country track was strategized for the second year by Carmel-based course designer Derek di Grazia. Taking in this gigantic CCI4* course from the back of a horse completely alters one’s perspective. These cross country obstacles ― immovable and largely natural ― are intimidating when gazed at from a distance on the ground. Mounted and riding past you start believing that these competition horses either have built-in, invisible wings or their farriers put springs in their shoes, because the jumps become seemingly impossible. They are vast ― scopey and HUGE! My brain was on a continual loop: “How could I get an animal over that and stay on?”

By the time we were a few stops in, it was as if all the social and professional titles fell off and we were all just out for a trail ride. O’Connor totally pulled a “you’re from the West Coast and you probably ride in these Western saddles all the time.” Our other Olympic tour guide, Gina Miles, who is based in Templeton, CA, could have set him straight on that! Although I think he was just angling for tips for when he, his wife Karen and Miles rode over to the Alltech Arena to take part in the Ariat Kentucky Reining Championship’s $25,000 World Freestyle event on Saturday night, April 28.

That night, the media was made to feel very special at a dinner hosted by Alltech, an animal nutrition and feed company founded in 1980 by Dr. Pearse Lyons. Lyons is a biochemist from Ireland, and fortunately for the press, his interests include the chemistry of spirits. Alltech operates its own Lexington Brewery and Distillery, complete with two pubs where it hosts an annual press fete. The food was as yummy as the beverages ― Kentucky Ale, Kentucky Light Ale and Kentucky Bourbon Barrel Ale, all of which are brewed right on the premises and sold commercially.

Friday I got to observe a very intimate side of this professional community of riders as they assembled to memorialize Olympian Amy Tryon, who in April died unexpectedly at age 42. Being from Washington, I felt a kinship, even though I didn’t personally know Amy. It was a touching outpouring of love and appreciation by people including the O’Connors, U.S. eventing chef Captain Mark Phillips and Tryon’s husband Greg. Throughout the show, riders wore green ribbons around their arms in remembrance of Amy.

The cross country competition on Saturday was a rubicon, taking 20 of the 54 starters out of the running. This was the main event, what spectators from around the nation and the world came to see.

So what else does a crowd of 46,807 in paid attendance that weekend do? For starters, the covered pavilion is lined with rows (and rows) of vendors selling everything from rubber arena footing, to Point-Two-Air Jackets, to chips, salsa and spirits. Introduced to cross country Saturday was the tradition of “tail gating,” which proved to be quite a hit when it was introduced last year. Rolex opened up a few course-side slots attendees can purchase, enjoying the festivities with friends and kids while picnicking out of the back of their vehicles.

Considering that the course is almost four miles long, it’s difficult to take it all in. This year, Rolex remedied that by positioning a Jumbotron where everyone could see the riders’ every thrill, chill and spill. This year’s event had plenty of each, and lots of fun, too.

Short URL: https://theequestriannews.com/?p=10853