November means shaggy horses, pumpkin spiced everything and holiday shopping

November 11, 2019

by Kate S. Spencer, Kentucky Three-Day Event “Super Fan”


Fall snuck up on us in Lexington, Kentucky. Almost overnight the hot, dry days morphed into icy rain, and temperatures plummeted 20 degrees. The horses in their pastures are sporting some seriously shaggy winter coats, and their humans are frantically searching through trunks and closets for those turnout sheets we are fairly certain we had cleaned, so where the heck are they? Hay is piled high in the barn lofts, and riders bundled in quilted jackets and fleece breeches are arriving at their barns with steaming mugs of coffee and multiple pairs of gloves. The horses love these cooler temperatures, so they run and prance and roll and play and we watch, sipping our coffee and silently begging them to be careful.


Fall is my favorite time of year in Lexington, not only for the colorful palette that graces the farms and countryside, but Land Rover Kentucky Three Day tickets are finally on sale! LRK3DE 2020 will take place again April 23-26 at the Kentucky Horse Park. Right now, 2020 tickets are the least expensive that they will ever be (prices will increase on December 6th) so now is the very best time to buy your tickets. And, there is NO BETTER GIFT than LRK3DE tickets for the holidays! My husband’s annual gift to me is a 4-day grounds admission ticket (he knows I like to choose my stadium seats myself), and there is no gift I appreciate or look forward to using more than this. If you have a birthday in December, like I do, ask for a reserved parking pass, too! You deserve it!


Though the eventing season is definitely winding down, there are still several competitions and schooling shows happening in areas that are unlikely to get snow this month, so if it seems like a loooooooooong time until LRK3DE, check out the events happening near you (the Carolinas, Florida, Georgia, California, Texas, Tennessee). This is a great time to see some of our favorite teams in top form, and to meet some of the up-and-coming horses showing promise for next season. Most horses not heading to Aiken or Ocala are at home, refining their skills, before they take a few wintry months off. They will be back to work by February, starting with dressage and jumping shows before moving on to eventing competitions in the Spring.


At a time of year when our thoughts turn to all of the good things and people in our lives for which we are thankful, I am truly thankful for all of the volunteers, planners, organizers, sponsors, fans, riders, and (especially) the horses that make the Land Rover Kentucky Three Day Event the BEST WEEKEND ALL YEAR! As a Super Fan, I appreciate all the work that goes into this event, and I am amazed that, every year, this event gets better and better.


So bundle up, put another log on the fire, cue up the Man From Snowy River, and enjoy pumpkin and peppermint season. See you in Lexington in April!

Coleman brings the win back to the USA at the Defender Kentucky Three-Day Event presented by MARS Equestrian

April 28, 2026
Lexington, Ky., April 26, 2026 Despite it being an American event, American champions have been hard to come by over the last 18 years in the CCI5*-L at the Defender Kentucky Three-Day Event presented by MARS Equestrian (K3DE), with only Tamie Smith’s 2023 win standing out in a sea of foreign victories. But Will Coleman has entered his name into the record books as just the second American in nearly two decades to take home the top prize. He and Diabolo added just 0.8 time penalties in the final phase to finish on a score of 28.1 and take home the trophy. Double-clear show jumping rounds propelled Caroline Pamukcu and HSH Blake (28.6) and Great Britain’s David Doel on Galileo Neiuwmoed (30.8) to 2 nd and 3 rd respectively. Overnight leader, New Zealand’s Monica Spencer and Artist, dropped three rails to fall to 7 th . “I probably can’t put it into words,” he said of his victory abord the Diabolo Group’s Holsteiner gelding. “It’s a surreal feeling; it’s something we all dream about. Winning (a five-star) is the hardest thing to do in equestrian sports, and I feel like (all the riders) deserve the win. It’s such a hard game, it takes so long to get good enough at it to contend at this level. “I have so much respect for the sport, and the horses and riders, so it feels like it’s unfair that I’m the only one that gets to take home the win,” he continued. “But I’m overjoyed for the horse and all who are involved in his journey — the owners, my family, my coaches, and our staff at home. I wake up most days feeling like the luckiest guy in the world and today I feel extremely lucky.” As the highest-placed American, Coleman is also the winner of the Defender/USEF CCI5*-L Eventing National Championship presented by MARS Equestrian for the U.S. riders.

Farrington flies to victory in the Kentucky International CSI5* $340,000 1.60m Grand Prix presented by Hagyard Equine Medical Institute at the Defender Kentucky Three-Day Event presented by MARS Eques

April 28, 2026
Lexington, Ky., April 25, 2026  Fresh off his win in the show jumping World Cup Final, world #2 Kent Farrington continued his winning ways by streaking home fastest in the jump-off with Descartes SR at the Kentucky International CSI5* $340,000 1.60m Grand Prix presented by Hagyard Equine Medical Institute part of the Defender Kentucky Three-Day Event presented by MARS Equestrian (K3DE), the penultimate stop on the Major League Show Jumping tour. Mclain Ward and High Star Hero put in a strong performance to stop the clock in 40.42 but couldn’t quite catch Farrington’s time of 39.92. Shane Sweetnam of Ireland and James Kann Cruz chased them both, but his time of 40.71 was only good enough for third. “I’m really excited about this horse,” Farrington said. “He’s just 9 and this is his first five-star, and we started it the right way. He has an incredible stride like a racehorse and I know he can eat up the ground.”
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