Hawley Bennett and Livingstone Top Canadians at 2005 Rolex Kentucky Three Day Event

Hawley Bennett & Livingstone. Photo ©Foxprints.ca

Despite poor weather and heavy rain over the weekend, Hawley Bennett, Lesley Grant and Peter Gray all successfully completed the Rolex Kentucky CCI**** held April 29 to May 1, 2005, at the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington, KY.

2004 Canadian Eventing Olympic team member, Bennett, of Langley, BC finished the Dressage test with a score of 62.2, putting her in 20th place aboard Livingstone, her 15-year-old Canadian thoroughbred gelding she co-owns with her mother, Gerry. The duo came out of the demanding Cross-Country phase with no jumping penalties, but added 58.4 time penalties to their Dressage score, which dropped them down one just one spot in the placings to 21st. However, after ending the difficult Show Jumping test with just three rails down, incurring 12 faults, Bennett ended the Rolex CCI**** as the top Canadian finisher with a final score of 132.6, in 19th place.

“I am so happy with my horse. The course was way tougher than it has been the last two years I have competed at the Rolex, but Livingstone tried hard,” said Bennett.

Lesley Grant of Mount Albert, ON wasn’t far behind Bennett, finishing with a final score of 136.8 with Timber Spirit, the 11-year-old English thoroughbred gelding she co-owns with her father, Anthony Grant. After a score of 76.8 in the Dressage test, which put them in 35th place, the pair made a comeback in the Cross-Country phase to finish with no jumping faults and 44 faults, moving them up to 22nd place. A Show Jumping score of 16 faults brought them up to a final standing of 20th place, right behind Bennett. This was the pair’s very first time competing at the CCI**** level.

“The Rolex definitely lived up to its reputation. It was the most beautiful, well organized and well run event I’ve ever been to in my life,” said Grant.

“I was very disappointed in our dressage test, however it was an atmosphere neither of us were prepared for, but in the cross-country he was unbelievable, I was so impressed,” said Grant. “Timber Spirit proved that he has a huge future and he can do it all and go all the way. He was a superstar. Our goal was just to complete our first CCI****, so to come home with a ribbon and some prize money was amazing.”

Peter Gray, a Canadian Eventing veteran and former National Coach of the Canadian Three Day Eventing Team, finished in 21st place with a final score of 143.4 aboard Balladeer Ted, the 12-year-old Irish Sport Horse gelding, who is currently owned by The Canadian Equestrian Team. The only other Canadian to compete at this year’s Rolex CCI**** was Rebecca Howard of Salmon Arm, BC and Big Wave Dave, who were sitting in 10th place after the Endurance phase, but unfortunately had to withdraw before the final horse inspection.

The winner of the CCI**** for the second year in a row was 2004 Olympic Silver Medallist Kim Severson of Keene, VA, and Winsome Adante, who led from start to finish, completing the competition with a score of 38.2. Finishing second, with a score of 55.2, was Australian Olympian Phillip Dutton riding The Foreman.

“Rolex was, as usual, a wonderful event, everything done to perfection,” said Grit High, Chair of the Selection Committee for Canadian Eventing. “The horses are all quality horses with scope. As a first CCI**** for both Leslie and her horse and for Peter and Balladeer Ted as a team, it was a very promising run. Hawley, of course, is no stranger to Rolex, this being her 3rd time there, as well as having competed at Athens, we know their capabilities,” she said.

On Sunday, May 8, from 4 – 5 p.m. EST, NBC-TV will present a telecast of the 2005 Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event in conjunction with the 2005 World Cup Final in Las Vegas, which will follow on air from 5 – 6 p.m.

The Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event CCI**** is one of the four, four-star level events in the world, and the only one held in North America. Full results are available on the official Rolex Kentucky Event web site www.rk3de.org.

The Olympic sport of Eventing encompasses three separate tests: dressage, cross-country, and jumping held consecutively. Each test ridden by the rider and horse in combination is scored individually but added together for the final results. The rider/horse combination with the fewest number of penalty points over the three days wins the competition.

Canadian Eventing is a committee of Equine Canada responsible for the sport of eventing in Canada from the grassroots to the international level. Canadian Eventing Committee is comprised of 12 members, including two rider representatives elected by the Elite Riders Association. Directed by the Strategic Plan for Eventing, all Eventing activities are administered by this committee via six sub-committees with the support of an Eventing Manager based at the Equine Canada office in Ottawa. For more information about Canadian Eventing, visit www.canadianeventing.com, or www.canadianeventingteam.com.