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The third to last rider of the day was Tim Lips of The Netherlands. He rode Concrex Oncarlos to a lovely test which was good enough to wrest the lead from Oli Townend by 4.5 faults, by far the largest lead over second place that anyone had held all day. Lips is the Three Day Champion of The Netherlands. (Tim and Concrex Oncarlos are pictured at the right.)

Tim commented at the Press Conference, "It's a long trip for us so it's nice to be on the top. I train with Anky van Grunsven for one year noe. I arrived on Thursday (a week ago) and saw the big stadium. It's my first time in America. It's fabulous!"

The second rider of the afternoon session Great Britain's Oliver Townend with Carousel Quest took over the lead from his compatriot William Fox-Pitt by .2 of a fault on a score of 46.5. This pair won the CIC*** at Thirleston Castle in Scotland, in 2008, and this year placed fifth at the Fontainbleau CIC*** in France.

Oli Townend said, "We'd all prefer to do a Press Conference on Sunday rather than today." commenting on the grounds and new stadium, he said, "It's spectacular! Next year is going to be phenominal!"

William Fox-Pittsaid, "The main arena has a wonderful athmosphere."

The Top Five After the First Day of Dressage:

1. Tim Lips (NED), Concrex Oncarlos - 42.0
2. Oliver Townend (GBR), Carousel Quest - 45.2
3. William Fox-Pitt (GBR), Navigator - 46.7
4. Jolie Sexton, Killian O'Connor - 47.3
5. Corinne Ashton, Dobbin - 47.5

(Pictured below at the Thursday afternoon Press Conference are l. to r. William Fox-Pitt (GBR), in third place, Oliver Townend (GBR), in second place, and Tim Lips (NED), the Thursday leader.)

The Thursday Morning Session

Eleven horse and rider combinations did their Dressage Tests on Thursday morning before the Ground Jury of David Lee (IRL), President, Nicoli Fife (NZL), and Marilyn Payne (USA).

William Fox-Pitt (GBR), the only rider with a chance to win a second leg on the Rolex Challenge, as he was the winner of last fall's Burghley CCI****, leads the Dressage with Navigator on a score of 46.7. (William and Navigator are pictured at the right.)

Jolie Sexton, of Martinez, California, riding Killian O'Connor, is in second place just .6 of a fault behind the leader. Sexton placed sixteenth at the Jersey Fresh CCI*** last year and placed third at the Galway Downs CIC*** this year. (Jolie and Killian O'Connor are pictured at the left below.)

Canada's Selena O'Hanlon 1.43 faults adrift of William in third place riding Colombo. Last year this pair placed fifth at the Red Hills Horse Trials in Florida and completed both the Rolex Kentucky CCI**** and the Olympic Games in Hong Kong. (Selena and Colombo are pictured at the right below.)

The Top Five after the Morning Session:

1. William Fox Pitt (GBR), Navigator - 46.7
2. Jolie Sexton, Killian O'Connor - 47.3
3T. Selena O'Hanlon (CAN), Colombo - 48.2
3T. Stephen Bradley, Brandenburg's Joshua - 48.2
5T. Phillip Dutton, Woodburn - 50.3
5T. Mike Winter (CAN), Kingpin - 50.3

* * *

Dutch Rider Tim Lips Leads European Sweep on First Day of Dressage at 2009 Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event; Sexson Tops Americans in Hunt for Twelfth Rolex/USEF National CCI**** Championship

By Joanie Morris

Lexington, KY – The 2009 Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event got off to a flying start at the Kentucky Horse Park. In the spectacular brand-new Main Stadium, 24 of the field of 50 went to task in the dressage ring. With a Rolex Watch, plenty of prize money and the Rolex/USEF National Championship on the line, the competition proved to be tough. Twenty foreign riders are taking on the Americans in 2009, many taking the opportunity to scope out the Kentucky Horse Park with the 2010 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games in mind.

Tim Lips put in a very impressive effort for The Netherlands on the classy bay gelding, Concrex Concarlos. With impressive paces and great confidence about him, Concrex Concarlos did very good flying changes and very accurate lateral work. His score of 42.0 was the best of the day.

“Its been a long trip,” said Lips after his ride. “Its great to be in the top then in the end, I’m really happy to be in the lead.”

The 13-year-old Dutch gelding and Lips represented The Netherlands at the 2008 Olympic Games in Hong Kong.

Oliver Townend and Andrew Cawthrey’s Carousel Quest, a flashy grey Thoroughbred gelding, inherited the lead from fellow British rider, William Fox-Pitt, halfway through the day. Townend is always a consistent performer in the UK but this is his first trip to Kentucky.

“It’s a great start,” said Townend who is on an overnight score of 45.2. “But I think we all prefer to be at these press conferences on Sunday night.”

The first group of riders on the first day of dressage produced some of the very best marks of the day, Great Britain’s William Fox-Pitt and Navigator put in a polished performance, typical of the top ranked rider in the world.

Navigator put in a very honest effort for Fox-Pitt and the Barts Ladies, who own the 10-year-old Australian Thoroughbred gelding as the fourth combination in the ring. Their score of 46.7 put them third at the end of the first day. Fox-Pitt knows that tomorrow defending these top three positions could prove difficult as there are plenty of formidable competitors to go into the ring.

“There are very good horses coming tomorrow,” said Fox Pitt. “The judges may be saving some of those nines and tens for the old pros tomorrow.”

Those include the 2008 Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event winner, Connaught, who goes at the end of the day on Friday with American Phillip Dutton. Dutton went early on Thursday with his first ride, Woodburn, and the pair lay tied for eighth halfway through the competition.

California pair, Jolie Sexson and Killian O’Connor, who recently won the Galway Downs CIC*** in their final preparation for this competition are the highest placed American combination after the first day. They sit fourth on a score of 47.3, in very good company at their first CCI****. The 11-year-old Irish/Selle Francais cross is owned by Tracy Bowman.

Fox-Pitt, is the only rider with one leg of the Rolex Grand Slam under his belt, having won Burghley CCI**** in 2008. The Rolex Grand Slam is a very formidable challenge, featuring three major international CCI****s: Badminton, Burghley and Rolex Kentucky. A cash prize of $350,000 is awarded to any rider who can win the three competitions in succession. It has been won once before, by Pippa Funnell in 2003. Fox-Pitt has two chances in this competition, he rides Seacookie tomorrow afternoon.

In 2009, Rolex Kentucky is included in HSBC Classics Series for the first time. The series includes the five major CCI****s in the world. With significant prize money on the line, the series begins with this event and culminates at the Les Etoiles de Pau in France in October. For more information about the HSBC Classics Series, please visit: http://www.fei.org/Disciplines/Eventing/Pages/HSBCFEIClassics.aspx.

For a schedule, live results, a link to the live feed and all the information about the Rolex Kentucky CCI****, please visit: www.rk3de.org.

Please contact Joanie Morris at jmorris@usef.org with questions.

The vision of the United States Equestrian Federation® is to provide leadership for equestrian sport in the United States of America by promoting the pursuit of excellence from the grassroots to the Olympic Games, based on a foundation of fair, safe competition and the welfare of its human and equine athletes.