A few years ago, the only way to follow Rolex live online was through a Horse Radio Network live chat (read: delayed by 15 minutes) and paying Universal TV to watch the stream. Now we have FEITV for live and on-demand video, live streaming from USEF network, real live blogging from Eventing Nation, and radio coverage by Horse Radio Network. If only I had the time to follow them all!

For the American horse enthusiast, particularly in the English disciplines, Rolex is the event of the year. Here are all the ways you can join in the fun from the safety (IE no tornadoes) or your own home (or office)…

Watch Rolex Kentucky Three Day Event Live Online

Watch Free at USEF Network

Did you catch that? Free! Nearly all of Rolex will be streamed live through USEFNetwork.com. You can watch all of the dressage, all of the cross country (which is what everyone really wants to see anyway), and the early session of show jumping here. NBC will be airing the show jumping Sunday afternoon from 2 pm over the archaic television, so if you want to watch the finals you will have to tune in to your TV. Only downfall, I’m guessing USEF Network is only available in the US.

Thursday Dressage: USEF Network (9am to 3:30pm ET)
Friday Dressage: USEF Network (9am to 3:30pm)
Saturday Cross-Country: USEF Network (9am to 3:30pm)
Sunday Show Jumping: USEF Network (11:30am to 2pm) NBC Sports Television (2pm to end)

(Didn’t feel like retyping that info myself, so I stole it from Eventing Nation. Thanks John! Scroll down for the EN plug).

Outside the US? Subscribe to FEITV for Live Streaming

A live stream from Rolex Kentucky will be available on the subscription based site FEITV, brought to you by – well – the FEI. This is a great service for international viewers. The live stream for Rolex Kentucky is not available in the US. Or Canada. Or Mexico.

You can choose which service you prefer to use. Bonus, all FEITV coverage is also available on-demand post event. So if you can’t watch cross-country at 7:30 in the morning, you can watch it on FEITV Saturday night.

Want to watch just cross country? Get a day pass for $15.99.

Die-hard eventing fans who will sit through two grueling days of dressage? Monthly passes are $27.99.

International eventing fan in general and don’t want to miss anything ever? Get a full year pass for $79.99.

While the live streaming isn’t available in the majority of North America, the Rolex highlight videos on FEITV will be. If I’m not mistaken, these are free to watch. I’m also guessing that the post event on-demand video will be available to all subscribers.

Best Rolex Kentucky Blog Coverage By Eventing Nation

If you really want the inside scoop at what’s going on in Lexington this weekend, you need to go check out Eventing Nation. John et al do a million posts a day on eventing in general, but it’s always better when they are on the ground at the Kentucky Horse Park or other events.

There you can read the most up-to-date information on the horses, riders, and results, get a behind the scenes look, and perhaps even get some great video interviews and pictures from the lovely Samantha Clark.

Plus, Eventing Nation has teamed up with Chronicle of the Horse and USEventing.com to live blog the event. John didn’t say this in his post about it, but I’m guessing they are once again using Cover It Live for ongoing chat and discussion throughout the event. They’ll be posting pictures and commentary, and you can generally join in the discussion to ask questions and share your thoughts.

Side note: I so wish I could plug my very dear friend Courtney from Three Days Three Ways, but she is in California and won’t be at Rolex to get us the very best commentary on jog outfits, snazzy rainboots, and dogs. Hopefully she’s teamed up with someone there and will bring us some great photos anyways! So check out Three Days Three Ways just in case.

Entertaining Podcast Coverage by Horse Radio Network

Our favorite friends over at Horse Radio Network will be providing live, entertaining, and interesting online radio coverage of Rolex. My buddy Glenn and co-host Jamie will be doing Horses In the Morning Live each day, and Chris Stafford will be doing the Eventing Radio Show live each evening. Expect hilarity, great commentary, and some funny and cool interviews with riders, grooms, and anybody they can manage to dig up.

If you are lucky enough (or unlucky judging by the weather), to be at the Horse Park, you will find them recording in the Judges Box in the old indoor arena in the trade fair area.  Please stop by and watch.

HORSES IN THE MORNING live from 9:00am – 10:30am Eastern – Thursday thru Sunday

A light lively look at the fun and excitement of Rolex with Jamie Jennings, Glenn the Geek and Jennifer H.

The Eventing Radio Show live from 4:00pm – 5:30pm Eastern – Thursday thru Sunday

Join Chris as she wraps up the days events and speaks with the riders about their day.

You can! Ride the WEG cross country course with Aussie Peter Atkins and his horse Henny of Run Henny Run fame. Check it out:

The WEG course had 45 jumping efforts and took riders between 11-14 minutes to complete. Here are a few spots unique the course and to the Kentucky Horse Park to check out if you don’t want to watch the whole thing:

• Henny and Peter take the difficult options we discussed in the how to read xc options post at 1:35 and 2:25
• Sunken Road is at 6:21
• and Head of the Lake is at 7:24

Peter and Henny have been an internet sensation for a while now from posting the helmet cam videos from their competitions, known as “Run Henny Run.” Be sure to check out the Run Henny Run website, like them on Facebook, and go to the YouTube channel for videos from Rolex and other great events.

And the best part about pretending to be a rider at WEG was knowing that my little nobody thoroughbred Ace, who I got for mere pennies in the grand scheme of things, could actually be capable of competing at that level. You’d never find his lack of bloodlines or conformation in the dressage arena, but eventing – easily!

That was one thing that struck me most watching the eventing jog last Wednesday: it’s all about the heart when it comes to a great eventing horse. Glancing down through the jog order, I noticed that probably a good half of the horses weren’t even registered with a breed organization. Even my Ace has his jockey club papers.

Most of the unregistered eventing horses looked like thoroughbreds, and most of the registered ones were also thoroughbred. The Irish Sport Horses made a good showing, and other than that we had a handful of warmbloods.

I just love the fact that you don’t have to spend tens of thousands of dollars on a fancy horse that’s bred out the wazoo to be competitive in international level eventing.

Check out some of these event horses who placed in the top 20 at WEG who aren’t associated with a breed registry or aren’t fancy warmbloods:

Place/Name/Born/Breed/Color/Sex

#2 Cool Mountain /2000/ /Bay/Gelding
#5 Redesigned /2001/ /Chestnut/Gelding
#8 Vettori /1996/ /Gray/Gelding
#9 Port Authority /1998/TB/Bay/Gelding
#10 Neville Bardos /1999/TB/Chestnut/Gelding
#16 Jakata /1998/ /Bay/Gelding
#17 Gin & Juice /2000/TB/Bay/Mare
#18 Woodburn /1996/NZTB/Chestnut/Gelding

In contrast, check out the breeds of the top 10 horses in the Dressage Freestyle:
#1 Moorlands Totilas: KWPN (Royal Warmblood Studbook of the Netherlands)
#2 Mistral Hojris: Dutch Warmblood
#3 Ravel: KWPN
#4 Hunter Douglas Sunrise: Hannoverian
#5 Fuego XII: PRE Andalusian
#6 Warum Nicht FRH: Hannoverian
#7 Digby: Dutch Warmblood
#8 Pop Art: KWPN
#9 Victory Salute: Australian Warmblood
#10 Donnperignon: FWB

And here are the stats for my own boy Ace:

Wynsome Ace: 2000/Thoroughbred/Bay/ Gelding

Not too hard to tell where he would fit, is it?

It’s obvious that what makes a great eventing horse has to do with what’s on the inside rather than what’s on the outside. An eventing horse has to have a big heart. He has to be very brave. He has to be smart. He has to be willing. He has to be flexible. He has to be confident. He has to be careful.

What else do you think it takes to make a great eventing horse?

We of course had to start the day with photo op by the Rolex statue of Bruce Davidson Sr. before heading over to the morning eventing jog and then walking the cross course.

But on to the real topic for today: figuring out the options on the cross country course.

I’ve been aware for some time that a cross country course has required fences and optional fences, but didn’t really have any idea what the difference was or why taking an optional fence could be beneficial.

Basics On the Cross Country Course

A four star cross country course like the one at the World Equestrian Games is made up of almost 30 fences or combinations and long galloping lanes in between. This particular course has obstacles numbered up to 28. The trick is that some of them are single fences, and some are combinations of 2 or 3 fences in a row that count as one obstacle or “question” (I LOVE how cross country courses are phrased in terms of questions and answers).

The point of the cross country course is to get through without going over the allotted time. Refusals count against you, and a fall will get you disqualified. Other than, the only thing that matters is time.

You can see a slideshow of all the WEG cross country course jumps in order posted by John at Eventing Nation.

Options on the Cross Country Course

My first question to Courtney as we headed out from the start box was “what’s the point of optional fences?” I was thinking that it didn’t make a whole lot of sense, because you don’t get extra points for them or anything. She quickly and easily set me straight:

Options on a cross country course allow riders to take an easier fence or combination that leaves them less likely to land on their faces, but are on a longer path that takes more time.

That made sense right away. The trickier part was trying to figure out just how the options on the course worked. At the first combination with an option, Courtney walked me through it.

The first thing to know when reading a course is that all the fences have flags and numbers and/or letters. The red flag is always on your right, the white flag is always on your left. The number tells you where you are in the course, and the letters represent second and third (and sometimes fourth) jumps in a combination.

WEG Cross Country Question 5

Here’s the first combination Courtney walked me through:

And here it is marked up so that we can figure out how it works:

With just the number/letter labels and the red and white flags, Courtney was able to figure out how this option worked.

The Difficult Option

The green arrows show the difficult option, pointing in the direction the horses will take the fence. The shortest route would be to take the log labeled 5AB (it counts as both) into the water, straight to the fish jump labeled 5C in the water. First, what makes this option difficult is the steep drop after the first fence, as it’s sitting up on the bank. Second, 5C is actually angled to line up with 5B, so it’s a bending line to get to it from 5AB. The angle of this photo doesn’t really do either of these justice in the slightest. It’s the shortest, fastest route, but it’s a significantly more difficult one.

The Easier Option

The easier but slower option is marked with the blue arrows. You can see it’s a long, serpentine path starting over 5A, the frog, heading away. There’s a barrier after the frog, requiring riders to take a longer approach to 5B into the water. But 5B is on a flatter surface, so there’s not the long drop after the fence into the water. And longer, straighter approaches make setting up for a fence easier. Riders will lose a good bit of time they’ll then have to make up with a fast gallop later on.

Cross Country Option 7: The Ditch

This option was a little trickier to figure out, but I did it! Here’s a quick look at the whole set:

And the side view so you can see the ditch (I guess they don’t call them coffins anymore because it sounds a little morbid):

This one I managed to figure out all by myself. I was so proud. Here it is all marked up:

The Difficult Option

The green arrows are showing off the difficult, but straight and fast option. If you look at the side view above, you’ll see that this is harder because fence 7A is so close to the ditch. It looks to me like a bounce; the horses land off the fence and immediately hop the ditch, and then only have a stride or two before the corner. Definitely fast. Definitely difficult.

The Easier Option

The blue arrows indicate the long path for the easier option. You can see that fence 7A is set further back from the ditch, giving riders a little more time to set up on landing. But they have to circle all the way around to get to it from the opposite side. They also have a long, curving path to get back to the corners. Longer paths are easier and make for more time to set up a jumping effort, but you can see riders who go this route will lose a lot of time.

So there’s your quick crash course in how to read cross country fences and options. I think it’s quite a fun game to walk to the course and try to figure it out. If you ever have the chance to do so, I would highly recommend it.

And be sure to follow both Three Days Three Ways and Eventing Nation for the very best coverage of World Equestrian Games Three Day Eventing.

But yesterday morning I got to do something very fun, a first for me: the eventing jog.

The horses were dressed to the nine’s with shiny coats and hooves, fancy browbands, full braids, and even a few quarter marks. The riders were dressed to match their teams as they presented their horses for the ground jury. Each horse was inspected for soundness at a trot and then either accepted, put into a hold box to trot one more time, or not accepted. Only one horse didn’t end up making it past the jog, and individual from Mexico, who was very obviously not right at the trot.

We also found out during the jog that the United States’ Kim Severson had to pull out of the eventing team competition because her horse Tipperary Liadhnan had cellulitis infection. As a result, Karen O’Connor was moved up to compete with the team instead of as an individual.

So here are the final horses and riders who will be competing in World Equestrian Games Eventing this week.

US WEG Eventing Team

Phillip Dutton and Woodburn

Originally from Australia and a Hall of Famer in that country, Phillip Dutton began competing for the US in 2007. He has two Olympic team gold medals under his belt for Australia, and was on the US team in Beijing in 2008. Phillip and Woodburn were second at Rolex this year, and are known for great dressage tests and solid cross country.

Buck Davidson and Ballynoe Castle RM

Buck Davidson grew up in the eventing world, the son of the legendary two-time world champion eventer Bruce Davidson (that’s his dad on the Rolex statue just outside the new outdoor stadium!). Buck and Ballynoe (barn name Reggie) were non-traveling alternates for the 2008 Olympic Games, and make their debut on the world stage here at WEG. Dressage is the weakest link for this pair, but they have good jumping and cross-country to offer the team.

Boyd Martin and Neville Bardos

Boyd Martin is another Australian native who relocated to the US and began competing for the Americans in 2009. He spent his first years in the US working for Phillip Dutton before going out on his own. He has wins at the Jersey Fresh 3* and Fairhill 3* under his belt here and the 2003 Adelaide 4* in Australia. Boyd and Neville Bardos are known for their clean, fast jumping rounds.

Karen O’Connor and Mandiba

I think Karen O’Connor is the sweetheart of American riding – for her poise, talent, and decorated riding career. She has Olympic eventing team medals, Pan American game team and individual gold medals, and has been name US Female Equestrian Athlete of the Year 10 times. She and Mandiba represented the US in the 2008 Olympics. They have strong dressage and show jumping, but need to be careful out on the cross country coming off a refusal at the AEC’s.

US WEG Eventing Individual

Becky Holder and Courageous Comet

Becky and Comet were my favorite pair on the US Olympic Eventing team two years ago, and they are still enjoyable to watch. Becky and Comet are coming off the win at the American Eventing Championships earlier this month has a 2nd and 3rd place finish at Rolex Kentucky. They have fantastic dressage performances and decent show jumping, but sometimes struggle on the cross country.

A few more riders may be named following the final WEG trial at Luhmuhlen CCI4* June 17-20, 2010. Up to 18 horse/rider combinations can be submitted on the Nominated Entry, which is due August 16, 2010. All combinations on the short list will be required to compete at the 2010 Land Rover/USEA American Eventing Championships which takes place on September 9-12, 2010 in Fairburn, GA.

Here are the horses and riders currently on the Eventing short-list:

Buck Davidson/BallyNoe Castle RM/10/Irish Thoroughbred/G/Carl and Cassandra Segal
Buck Davidson/My Boy Bobby/14/Irish Sport Horse/G/Carl and Cassandra Segal
Phillip Dutton/The Foreman/14/Thoroughbred/G/Ann Jones
Phillip Dutton/TruLuck/13/Thoroughbred/G/Ann Jones and Rebecca Broussard
Phillip Dutton/Woodburn/14/NZ Thoroughbred/G/Ann Jones, Mardie Faucette and Acorn Hill Farm
Will Faudree/Pawlow/11/Irish Thoroughbred/G/Jennifer Mosing
Becky Holder/Courageous Comet/14/Thoroughbred/G/Tom & Becky Holder
Boyd Martin/Neville Bardos/11/Australian Thoroughbred/G/Windurra USA, LLC
Boyd Martin/Remington XXV/14/Hanoverian/G/Henley House Stables
Karen O’Connor/Mandiba/11/Thoroughbred/G/Joan Goswell
Amy Tryon/Leyland/10/Thoroughbred/G/Elisabeth Nicholson

Are your favorites on the list? Who else would you like to see nominated?

Learn about three day eventing at the World Equestrian Games.

Re-live Rolex via Peter Atkins’ exhilarating helmet mounted video cam; we ask him what’s next – web cam for WEG? We also find out how Frances Stead keeps producing all these beautiful Clifton Event Horses from her base in New Zealand, how she found her Aussie rider Jock Paget, and what their plans are for the super talented 4* horse Clifton’s Promise this summer. And fresh off a very impressive debut at Badminton, the first Portugese Rider ever to complete, and with his sights firmly set on Lexington, Duarte Seabra. Plus all the latest 2010 WEG news you need to know. Listen in…

2010 Radio Show Episode 90 – Eventing Extravaganza (Samantha gets her way!):

• Hosts: Samantha Clark and Glenn the Geek
• Guest: Peter Atkins – see his helmet cam video at www.runhennyrun.com.



• Guest: Frances Stead & Jonathan Paget from www.cliftoneventers.com.



• Guest: Duarte Seabra (see show notes picture above.)
• News: Following Rolex last week, seven of the US horses were asked to stay at the Kentucky Horse Park by the USEF, and be thoroughly evaluated by a veterinary panel, to assess their soundness and suitability as potential members of the US eventing team at the Alltech FEI 2010 World Equestrian Games later this year.
• News: Reigning US National Champion Four In Hand driver, Chester Weber has announced that he will train and compete in North America this summer in preparation for the 2010 Alltech World Equestrian Games to be held later this year here in Lexington, Kentucky.
• News: Dressage Canada has announced it’s selection of combinations for their European Tour of four competitions, which, according to coach Robert Dover will give them great exposure and experience as they build a medal contending team for the Alltech FEI 2010 World Equestrian Games.
• News: The Hunter discipline will make its debut on the world stage at the 2010 FEI World Equestrian Games at the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington, Ky.
• News: Representatives of the Kentucky Department of Travel & Tourism, Alltech and the FEI World Equestrian Games will be touring 15 cities in eastern Kentucky next week to raise awareness of this world-class sporting event to be held at the Kentucky Horse Park Sept. 25 – Oct. 10, 2010.
• News: A public meeting was held in Midway, a few miles from the Kentucky Horse Park last week, and the majority decision means that a company may now bring in a temporary campground for visitors to the Alltech FEI 2010 World Equestrian Games later this year
• News: Brentina, whom Debbie McDonald rode to Olympic and World Equestrian Games medals and a World Cup title, has given birth by embryo transfer to her first baby, a colt by the Hanoverian stallion Damsey.
• News: Six winners will be headed to the Alltech FEI 2010 World Equestrian Games thanks to Farnam’s Countdown to Lexington Sweepstakes.
• Please support our sponsors because we would not be here without them:

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Check out William Fox-Pitt’s winning rides at Rolex Kentucky 2010

William Fox-Pitt Jogs Cool Mountain

Fox-Pitt and Cool Mountain’s 2010 Dressage Test

At the Head of the Lake on Cross Country

William Fox-Pitt and Cool Moutain’s Winning Stadium Jumping Round

Recaps and Coverage

Visit Eventing Nation for the full results and Rolex 2010 analysis. Visit Three Days Three Ways for everything behind the scenes at Rolex, including rider interviews, shopping, style, fans, and much more.  And listen to the Eventing Radio Show for daily coverage with special guest hosts, interviews with riders, and lots more.

Eventing Radio Show Episode 77 – Rolex Final Report, William Fox-Pitt Wins:

• Picture: They started the 2010 Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event in the lead and finished it that way. Great Britain’s William Fox-Pitt jumped a double-clear show jumping round with Cool Mountain on Sunday to clench his first Rolex Kentucky victory. Phillip Dutton and Woodburn jumped into second place after a faultless trip, while Becky Holder caught only one rail with Courageous Comet to finish in third place. Photo by Josh Walker from useventing.com.
• Co-Host: NBC Color Commentator Donna Barton Brothers
• See all of our coverage.
• Follow the Chronicle of the Horse coverage here.
• See the final results here.

Please support our sponsors, we could not provide this extensive Rolex coverage without them:

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Day 2 of Dressage at the 2010 Rolex Kentucky Three Day Event as William Fox-Pitt takes the lead on Cool Mounting.  Listen in as we speak to the leaders after Dressage and we look forward to Cross Country on Saturday….

Eventing Radio Show Episode 75 – Rolex 2010 Dressage Day 2, William Fox-Pitt Leads:

• Picture: With four leaders after four sessions of dressage at the Rolex Kentucky Three Day Event, Great Britain’s William Fox-Pitt took the lead aboard Cool Mounting, scoring a 42.8. Allison Springer, aboard Arthur, remains tied with Karen O’Connor and Mandiba with a score of 43.7, while Kim Severson and Tipperary Liadhnan marched into fourth place with a score of 44.8.  Photo by Josh Walker from useventing.com.
• See all of our coverage.  See the entry list here.
• Follow the Chronicle of the Horse coverage here.

Please support our sponsors, we could not provide this extensive Rolex coverage without them:

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