10 Things you May Not Know about the Land Rover Kentucky Three-Day Event
January 8, 2019
The Land Rover Kentucky Three-Day Event happens every April in Lexington, Ky., bringing tens of thousands of visitors from North America and around the globe to the Kentucky Horse Park over four days.
Known by its fans as “The Best Weekend All Year,” the longstanding Kentucky Three-Day Event offers something for everyone: the highest-level of equestrian competitors, the thrills of the sport’s three phases of competition (dressage, cross-country and show-jumping), tailgating, course walks with Olympic veterans, shopping, breed demonstrations, even glamping.
Want to know more? Here’s a quick primer on LRK3DE:
- The Land Rover Kentucky Three-Day Event (LRK3DE) has received the new Five Star status from the Fédération Equestre Internationale (FEI), the international governing body of equestrian sport.
- There’s no other event like the Land Rover Kentucky Three-Day Event in the United States or this side of the globe. A qualifier for the Olympic Games, World Championships, and the World Equestrian Games, Land Rover Kentucky is an Eventing competition of the highest level on the international stage. Since 1998, the event has been a Four Star event – the pinnacle of the FEI’s system and on par with the Olympics. The new Five-Star designation took effect Jan. 1, 2019, and makes Land Rover Kentucky one of only six annual Five Star three-day events in the world, and the only one in the Western Hemisphere.
- 2018 was the event’s 40th anniversary! In 1978, the then brand-new Kentucky Horse Park hosted the World Three-Day Event Championships (being held in the United States for the first time) which has evolved into the annual Kentucky Three-Day Event. The Kentucky Horse Park’s official opening was a week after the Championships. (The winner of the 1978 Eventing World Championships was a 28-year-old Bruce Davidson on Might Tango.)
- The world’s top Eventing riders head to Kentucky each spring to compete. LRK3DE fans get to experience the riding of incredible athletes like Oliver Townend (GBR), currently the No. 1-ranked Eventer in the world, who won the 2018 Land Rover Kentucky Three-Day Event. And Germany’s Michael Jung, now ranked No. 4 in the world and is the first Eventing rider to hold the Olympic, World and European titles simultaneously. Jung is Three-Day Eventing’s most decorated rider … ever. He competed – and won – the Kentucky event a record three years in a row (2015, 2016, 2017) all on the same horse, Fischerrocana FST. Jung is also one of only two riders to win the $350,000 Rolex Grand Slam of Eventing, which is awarded to any rider who wins the Land Rover Kentucky, Mitsubishi Motors Badminton and Land Rover Burghley Four-Star Events in succession.
- The world-renowned event has seen nearly 100% growth in spectators since 2013. In 2018, 80,000-plus spectators representing all 50 states and more than a dozen countries headed to the Bluegrass State specifically for the Kentucky Three-Day Event. More than 80% of those who attended were from outside Kentucky and 35% were recurring visitors who had attended the event for more than six years.
A 2013 study conducted by the University of Kentucky, the annual economic impact of a Kentucky Three-Day Event was estimated to be $14.2 million. - The organizer of the Land Rover Kentucky Three-Day Event is Equestrian Events, Inc. (EEI), a non-profit charitable Kentucky corporation initially established to produce the 1978 World Three-Day Event Championships. Headquartered on the Kentucky Horse Park grounds, EEI’s formal mission is to create competition opportunities to help prepare the U.S. equestrian team to compete worldwide.In addition to the Land Rover Kentucky Three-Day Event, EEI produces the Kentucky CSI3* Invitational Grand Prix and the 2018 and 2019 USEA American Eventing Championships, all to be held a the Kentucky Horse Park.
- Over the years EEI has also made financial contributions to charities that support local human and equine organizations and serve Lexington and the Commonwealth of Kentucky. Since 2011 the organization has donated over $900,000 to local charities. The Kentucky Horse Park and Kentucky Horse Park Foundation alone have received more than $1 million in gifts and contributions from EEI over the last 40 years.
- Each year Land Rover Kentucky Three-Day Event names an official charity and incorporates special fundraising activities into the event schedule. This year’s official charity is Bluegrass Land Conservancy, the largest accredited land trust in the Commonwealth of Kentucky formed to protect the land in Kentucky’s Bluegrass Region through permanent conservation easements. Since 1998, Bluegrass Land Conservancy has protected 95 miles of rivers and streams, 21,600 acres of prime farmland soils and soils of statewide importance, 63 farms that contain historic sites, 10.29 miles of scenic byway frontage and over 27,000 acres of 126 farms in 24 counties across the Greater Bluegrass Region. There will be a special fundraising dinner Thursday evening, April 25, to benefit Bluegrass Land Conservancy.
- In 2018, the Land Rover Kentucky Three-Day Event added the now annual Kentucky CSI3* $225,000 Invitational Grand Prix to the Saturday event schedule, after the completion of the Cross-Country phase of the competition. In addition to the Grand Prix, there will be a $36,000 1.45m FEI ranking class on Friday, following the completion of the CCI’s Dressage competition. Stadium seat tickets for Grand Prix on Saturday are required. Tickets are $5 (with $1 going to the 2019 official charity), plus tax and fees.
- LRK3DE grounds admission tickets also give ticketholders access that weekend to all Kentucky Horse Park attractions.
- It takes 2,000 volunteers working rain or shine to put this world-class event on!
The Land Rover Kentucky Three-Day Event returns to the Kentucky Horse Park April 25-28. Tickets to and more information about the event are available at www.KentuckyThreeDayEvent.com/tickets.
There are riders whose stories unfold quietly over time, and then there are riders whose journeys feel woven into the rhythm of the sport itself. Elisa Wallace falls into the latter category. A 5* event rider, trainer, and educator, Wallace has built a career defined by curiosity, commitment, and a deep belief in the horses she brings along. Long before she ever cantered out of the start box herself, Wallace experienced the Kentucky Three-Day Event as a spectator. Like many young riders, she watched from the sidelines, taking in the scale of the competition and the electricity that comes with a week where the entire eventing world seems to gather in one place. After spending time in several disciplines as a junior rider, she found her way back to eventing with a focus on understanding the process as much as the outcome. Over time, that approach became central to her program, with an emphasis on developing horses thoughtfully and building confidence step by step. In 2015, Wallace and Simply Priceless, affectionately known as Johnny around the barn, stepped up to the 4* level, now known as the 5* level, for the first time at the Kentucky Three-Day Event. It was a milestone moment, not because it marked an arrival, but because it marked a beginning. The pair returned to Kentucky two additional times between 2016 and 2018, gaining experience with each start and earning a loyal following of fans drawn to their bold cross country style and clear partnership. Propelling themselves onto the international stage, the pair were named alternates for the United States Olympic Three-Day Eventing Team for the Rio Olympic Games in 2016. That same year, Wallace and Johnny went on to compete at the Burghley Horse Trials, followed by the Badminton Horse Trials in 2017, with both events contested as 4* competitions at the time. From Kentucky to Burghley to Badminton, the partnership proved it belonged among the sport’s elite, showing grit, durability, and the ability to meet the demands of championship level eventing. As the years have passed, the Kentucky Three-Day has remained one of many familiar checkpoints along Wallace’s path. Returning with Renkum Corsair, Lissavorra Quality, Let It Be Lee, and Riot Gear, she has taken on the CCI4* and CCI5* levels, using the event as an opportunity to test progress and celebrate growth. Away from the competition arena, Wallace has become widely known for her work with American Mustangs and Off the Track Thoroughbreds; from championship wins to high profile retraining projects, she has helped shift perceptions around what these horses can achieve. In 2012, she earned her first Extreme Mustang Makeover win with Fledge, launching a chapter that would include multiple Mustang projects and titles. In 2018, Wallace claimed the America’s Most Wanted Thoroughbred title with Reloaded at the Retired Racehorse Project, held at the Kentucky Horse Park. She has even brought fan favorite Mustangs Fledge and Rune to the Chewy Demonstration Arena at the Kentucky Three-Day, showcasing their freestyle and liberty training while offering a glimpse into the depth of partnership beyond competition. Education and storytelling remain central to her work. Through clinics, digital content, and an open look into her training program, Wallace shares the reality of producing horses over time, celebrating small wins alongside major milestones and reminding audiences that progress is rarely linear. Whether galloping across the Kentucky Horse Park or cheering on fellow competitors, Elisa Wallace embodies what makes the sport so compelling: dedication, partnership, and the understanding that the journey matters just as much as the destination.
How Stepping Outside of Your Comfort Zone Shapes Who You Become By Sydney Zaikov
