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Lexington, KY — February 14, 2006 — The Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event, presented by Farnam, one of the world’s most prestigious, action-packed equestrian events, is set to return to the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington, KY, April 27-30.

This year’s event, a United States Equestrian Federation (USEF) Selection Trial for the Eventing World Championships at the 2006 World Equestrian Games in Aächen, Germany, will be run under the “without Steeplechase” (short) format for the first time, consistent with requirements for FEI Championships. Last year’s Rolex Kentucky, a competition testing some of the most athletic horses in the world in dressage, cross-country and show jumping, attracted a record crowd of almost 80,000 people!

The Kentucky Horse Park was recently chosen as the site for the FEI World Equestrian Games in 2010. This will mark the first time the Games, which feature World Championships in seven equestrian disciplines, are being held outside of Europe.

As always, the Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event will host many of the world’s best horses and riders as they compete for one of the most coveted purses in the sport of Eventing and one of the most celebrated championships in equestrian sports. Heading the list of regular competitors at the Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event are Olympic and World Championship veterans, Pan American Games Medalists, and seasoned veterans of international equestrian competition.

At last year’s event, Kim Severson and Winsome Adante, winners of Individual Silver and Team Bronze Medals at the 2004 Athens Olympics, solidified their place in Eventing history by winning the challenging three-stage competition with penalty-free rounds in cross-country and stadium jumping. Few horses are able to win every phase of a three-day competition as Severson and Winsome Adante did at Rolex Kentucky last year. Their final score of only 38.2 dressage penalties gave the pair their third victory at Rolex Kentucky in four years (2002, 2004 and 2005), the first time this feat has been accomplished. (Kim is pictured at the right jumping the drop fence at Jersey Fresh on Royal Venture, last May.)

“We could not be happier to be hosting this world-class event again,” said Robin Cravens, President of Equestrian Events, Inc., producer of the Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event, “We want to thank our long-time title sponsor, Rolex Watch U.S.A., as well as our returning presenting sponsor, Farnam, for their generous support. Rolex Kentucky sets the standard for the highest level of equestrian sport, and this is only possible because of the support of these sponsors and so many others. We are extremely appreciative of their continued support.”

In Eventing, horses and riders prove their worth in three phases of competition—Dressage, the elegant display of harmony between horse and rider; Cross-Country, the exhilarating race over various natural obstacles; and Jumping, a test of the horse’s ability to still perform well the final day over a course of colored obstacles where a rail can be knocked off by the tick of a hoof. These three phases of competition test the all-around ability of the horse. No other equestrian sport tests horse and rider so completely.

The Rolex Kentucky Three Day Event is one of only five annual competitions in the world with the CCI**** classification and the only CCI**** in the United States. There are four levels of competition in Eventing, designated by stars (one star through four stars). As the number of stars increases, the degree of difficulty increases progressively. A Four Star Event presents the most challenging competition existing for horses and riders.

The $250,000 Rolex Grand Slam of Eventing is awarded to any rider who wins the Rolex Kentucky, Badminton and Burghley Four Star Events in succession. In 2003, Pippa Funnell of Great Britain became the first rider to win the $250,000 Rolex Grand Slam of Eventing. William Fox-Pitt, of Great Britain, won the Burghley CCI**** in England last September, which began the Rolex Grand Slam series anew. He will be seeking the second leg with a victory at the Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event in April. (William is pictured at the left above jumping the skinny after the Lake at the Mitsubishi Motors Badminton Horse Trials, last May.)

Held annually at the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington the last weekend in April, the Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event is organized by Equestrian Events, Inc. (EEI), a non-profit charitable corporation created in 1975 to stage the 1978 World Three-Day Event Championships, the first time those championships had been held outside of Europe. Following the success of those World Championships, the U.S. Equestrian Federation asked EEI to organize an annual Three-Day Event in the spring and the Kentucky Three-Day Event was born.

For more information on the 2006 Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event, presented by Farnam, please visit the Rolex Kentucky website at www.rk3de.org. To receive the event’s ticket brochure via mail, please contact Equestrian Events, Inc., PO Box 12110, Lexington, KY 40580-2110, (859) 254-8123 (9:00 am – 4:00 pm, M-F), (859) 254-5116 (fax), or rktickets@alltel.net.

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