Conventional wisdom says that full Thoroughbred horses — once the mainstay of eventing — struggle with the demands of the dressage phase in the modern sport. New Zealand’s Monica Spencer and her Thoroughbred gelding Artist proved that wisdom wrong as they grabbed the top spot at the Defender Kentucky Three-Day Event presented by MARS Equestrian (K3DE) to sit in first in the CCI5*-L on a score of 22.3. She doesn’t have much cushion though, as fellow Kiwi Tim Price sits less than a point behind in second aboard Vitali (22.6), Tom McEwen and Brookfield Quality from Great Britain are hovering in third (25.1). The highest-placed American and leader of the Defender/USEF CCI5*-L Eventing National Championship presented by MARS Equestrian is Caroline Pamukcu and HSH Blake, her Pan Am Games winner, who sits fourth with a score of 26.6. Thursday’s dressage leaders Will Coleman and Diabolo sit 5 th (27.3). “‘Max’ was super today and gave me good energy in the test,” Spencer said of her long-time partner. “I’m really pleased with him.”