The Trewlany Trailblazers (Lillie Keenan/Chagrin D’Amour, Abdel Said/Max, Charlotte Jacobs/Rincoola Milsean) showed their grit and speed as they flew to the win in the $200,000 1.50m CSI5* MLSJ Team Competition, a popular new edition to the Kentucky International CSI5* Grand Prix presented by Hagyard Equine Medical Institute at the Defender Kentucky Three-Day Event presented by MARS Equestrian (K3DE).

“We had a lot of fun tonight because we won,” Keenan joked as they waited for their prizes.

The innovative design of the Major League Show Jumping’s team competition brings 8 teams of three riders together over a season. In the first round, all three riders jump a round, with their scores being combined. The top four teams after round one come back for round two, but this time, only two riders can compete. For the third and final round, all teams put forward their last rider (who cannot have competed in the second round) with the first-and second-placed teams’ riders jumping off for the gold and silver medals, with the 3^rd-and 4^th-placed teams’ riders jumping off for the bronze medal. In that final round, rails down add three seconds of time to their final time.

The first team to make the cut for round two was the Northern Lights (Kyle Timm/Glamour Du Chanu, Nina Mallevaey/My Clementine, Nicole Walker/Atout Des Trambles) who brought forward 7 penalties, followed by the Trewlany Trailblazers who carried only 4 faults forward from Jacobs. Maccabi United (Mark Bluman/Ubiluc, Thaisa Erwin/Koberlina TN, Daniel Bluman/Hummer Z) showed why they have been the dominant team all season with three clean rounds to bring forward zero penalties to round two. Not to be outdone, the Roadrunners (Laura Kraut/Kaylee, Erynn Ballard/Her Game Ball BG, Mclain Ward/First Lady) also delivered three clean rounds, though their slightly slower cumulative time ranked them second going into the second round.

In the second round 23 penalties from Mallevaey and Walker left the Northern Lights having to contend the broze medal round, while Jacobs and Keenan from Trelawny Trailblazers laid down two fast and clean rounds to put themselves in contention for gold. While Ward added 4 penalties to Ballard’s clean round to send the Roadrunners to the bronze medal round, clean rounds from Erwin and Daniel Bluman guaranteed their slot in the gold medal round.

In the bronze medal match the Roadrunners’ Kraut and the Northern Lights’ Timm faced off, but Kraut’s mount Kaylee stopped at the Liverpool at fence four, giving the bronze medal to Timm and the Northern Lights.

In the gold medal round, it was Trelawny Trailblazers’ Said and Max jumping off against Maccabi United’s Mark Bluman and Ubiluc. But, after Ubiluc lowered three rails, adding nine seconds to their time for a final time of 49.96, the door was left open for Said to bring home the win. Said did lower one rail, but his time of 46.21 was still good enough to take the top prize.

“Mark took a very fast route,” Said said. “I tried to keep up a little bit, but then had a rail and said, ‘I have to speed up.’ Luckily my horse is plenty fast. I’m very happy for this win with the ladies.”

Keenan’s horse is relatively young, but she felt that the Kentucky atmosphere only helped him. “The atmosphere of the week here is so special and the best horses grow in that circumstance,” she said. “Chagrin is only 9, so on the younger side, but he won the youngster cup in Aachen last year his first time jumping under lights, so I was pretty confident bringing him here. I knew he’d shine in that atmosphere. Mentally he’s so mature and he has all the pieces so as long as I do my job, we have the results.”

Jacobs was disappointed in her first-round rail but is just happy to be back with her long-time partner doing what they love. “Last year he had an unfortunate injury, but he’s very resilient. He’s an incredible animal who loves what he does and loves this sport. I’m happy and honored every time I go in the ring with him, because I knew I might not get to ever again, so being here is fun and I’m very grateful.

“He’s had an amazing season — the last four classes he jumped he won three of them,” she continued. “He hasn’t been back here in two years but he previously he won the welcome and was third in the grand prix here, so I felt he’d be good. I was disappointed in my riding in the first round, but I wanted to bring it home for the team and put in a solid clear (in the second round)."

From here, the team competition moves to Mexico, where the final rankings for the season will be determined. The show jumping action continues tomorrow night with the $340,000 CSI5* 1.60m Grand Prix, presented by Hagyard Equine Medical Institute.

Videos of all press conferences are available on the official Defender Kentucky Three-Day Event Facebook page.

Want to get a look behind the scenes with some of our riders and learn more about the sport of eventing? Check out Behind the Barn! Stream all episodes here: https://www.kentuckythreedayevent.com/behind-the-barn.

Catch up on all the news, photo galleries, and videos at US Equestrian's K3DE hub. You can sign up for US Equestrian's official K3DE newsletter on your member dashboard. 

Defender Kentucky Three-Day Event presented by MARS Equestrian

The Defender Kentucky Three-Day Event (K3DE) is a thrilling multi-day competition featuring Olympic-level riders and horses in what can best be described as an equestrian triathlon. Horse and rider pairs compete in three phases of the competition – Dressage, Cross-Country and Show Jumping – for $400,000 in prize money to those competing at the CCI5*-L level. K3DE is the largest and longest-running Five Star event in the Americas and as the United States’ premier event, it also serves as the Defender/USEF CCI5*-L Eventing National Championship presented by MARS Equestrian for the U.S. athletes. Rolex is the Official Timepiece and Event Partner.

Cosequin^® Lexington CCI4*-S

Introduced in 2021, the Cosequin^® Lexington 4*-S runs concurrently with the CCI5*-L competition, featuring the three phases of eventing – dressage, cross country and show jumping. The Cosequin^® Lexington 4*-S is a U.S. Equestrian Open Eventing Series Qualifier and offers $50,000 prize money. Tickets for viewing the Cosequin^® Lexington 4*-S are included when purchasing the K3DE tickets.

Kentucky International CSI5* presented by Hagyard Equine Medical Institute

Formerly known as the Kentucky Invitational, the Kentucky International made its debut at the 2018 Kentucky Three-Day Event as a CSI3* and was held as a CSI4* for the first time in 2024. After becoming a CSI5* in 2025, the international show jumping event makes EEI the only event organizer in the world to host both a CCI5*-L and CSI5* in the same week. More information on the Kentucky International CSI5* presented by Hagyard Equine Medical Institute can be found at https://www.kentuckythreedayevent.com/the-kentucky-international-csi5.

About Equestrian Events, Inc.

Equestrian Events, Inc. (EEI) is a non-profit charitable Kentucky corporation that was established initially to produce the 1978 World Three-Day Event Championships at the Kentucky Horse Park. Following the success of those championships, EEI established an annual event that evolved into the world-renowned Kentucky Three-Day Event, which draws nearly 90,000 spectators to the Kentucky Horse Park each year. EEI added the Kentucky CSI Invitational Grand Prix in 2018, which upgraded to the Kentucky International CSI5* for 2025, the Lexington CCI4*-S in 2021, and also produces other events. EEI is also hosting the United States Eventing Association (USEA) American Eventing Championships in 2026-2028. EEI supports several local and equine charities and over the last 20 years has donated more than $1.1 million to various charities. For more information, please visit www.eq-events.com.

For More Information:

Equestrian Events, Inc. – www.kentuckythreedayevent.com

Media Contact:

Marty Bauman, Press Chief, 508-878-2394, marty@classic-communications.com