Top Riders Tackle Challenging Terrain at Kentucky Horse Park: A Closer Look at the Defender Kentucky CCI5*-L Competition

The Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington will host this year’s Defender Kentucky CCI5*-L competition from April 24-28. The event, which will feature 47 horse-and-rider combinations, will showcase some of the top riders in the world. Among them are Oliver Townend, Ros Canter, Boyd Martin, and Tom McEwen, all currently ranked in the top four of the FEI World Rankings.

Notably absent from the defending champions are Tamie Smith and Mai Baum, who will be competing in the Cosequin Lexington CCI4*-S instead. This year’s competition promises to be an exciting showdown as several five-star regulars have entered, including Oliver Townend, Grace Taylor, Meghan O’Donoghue, Boyd Martin, Kirsty Chabert and Jessica Phoenix. These riders have also entered in the prestigious Badminton CCI5*-L event taking place in England from May 8-12.

It will be interesting to see how these riders perform in both competitions. For a full list of entries in the five-star event as well as the four-star event visit the links provided. It’s shaping up to be an exciting competition with top riders from around the world competing for top honors.