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Lexington, KY—February 28, 2006—A groundbreaking live webcast of Cross-Country action at the 2006 Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event, presented by Farnam, will give Eventing fans around the world an unprecedented opportunity to watch live action from one of the world’s most prestigious equestrian events.

This year’s Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event, presented by Farnam, returns to the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington, KY, April 27-30. The Event’s Cross-Country Day, regarded by many as one of the most exciting days in sports, will feature a live webcast of the action from the most famed spot on the Kentucky Horse Park course, the legendary “Head of the Lake” water complex.

Entitled, “Live at The Lake,” the webcast will run all day long and be available free of charge on the Event’s official website, www.rk3de.org. Equestrian Events, Inc. (EEI), producer of the Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event, received special permission from NBC, where a 1-hour special will be aired on Sunday, May 7 at 5:00 p.m. EDT, to show the action from the 4-obstacle complex (Fences 20abc and 21) live on its website.

“This is a fantastic opportunity for us to show Eventing fans around the world why so many people consider the chance to watch the action at the ‘Head of the Lake’ an absolute must,” said Rolex Kentucky Event Director Jane Atkinson. “We always have our biggest crowds gathered around the ‘Head of the Lake’ and we are indebted to NBC for its cooperation in allowing us to present this to Eventing fans who aren’t able to join us in Kentucky. The course will run in the opposite direction for the ‘Head of the Lake’ this year, with a big drop into the water, through the water over two of the marvelous ducks introduced last year, and then out a ramp and over a brush corner.”

The “Live at The Lake” webcast will feature narration by former Eventing rider Alden Murray. She will be joined by a variety of color announcers, including former and present Eventing riders, over the course of the day.

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. This will undoubtedly make the opportunity to see the Rolex action from the Kentucky Horse Park that much more exciting for the thousands of fans around the world who are thinking of traveling to Kentucky for the 2010 Games.

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.

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.

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 exciting run over natural terrain and 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.

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 and Ballincoola are pictured at the above right at the Head of the Lake, in 2005.)

Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event organizer, Equestrian Events, Inc. (EEI), is 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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