Lexington, KY - April 30, 2000 - Current Olympic and World Champion Blyth Tait of New Zealand galloped to victory in the Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event, Presented by Bayer®, at Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington.

Riding the 13-year-old Thoroughbred-cross, Welton Envoy, by Welton Crackerjack out of Minerva, owned by On Line Finance Ltd and Sam Barr of Great Britain, Tait scored 39.4 penalty points in a tight jump-off. Tait takes home $50,000 for his winning effort. "There was enormous pressure because we were all very close," explained Tait. Heading in to the final show jumping phase, less than 3 penalty points separated the top four riders.

Tait gave a lot of credit for the victory to his mount. "My horse tries his heart out and he's naturally a good jumper. I was just delighted to come through the timers clean." Commenting on his comeback from a broken leg, "The break in the leg is history as far as I'm concerned," said a victorious Blyth Tait, who broke his leg in a fall at his last four-star, 1999 CCI**** Burghley, GBR. "I have broken my leg before, so I'm getting some practice at it. It’s great to come back with a victory after that incident."

Scoring 39.8, just .4 penalty points from the winning score, David O'Connor of The Plains, VA took second place. A 1999 Pan American Games team Gold Medalist, O'Connor rode David Lenaburg's Rattle N Hum. O'Connor also finished sixth with his other mount, Custom Made. O'Connor's wife and the defending champion, Karen O'Connor, finished third with Jacqueline Mars' Prince Panache with a score of 42.6 penalty points.

When asked about the chances for another team medal at the 2000 Olympics, O'Connor said, "I think the depth of the U.S. team is getting stronger all the time," said runner-up David O'Connor, 1996 Olympic silver medalist, of the American hopes for Sydney. "In Atlanta, we were hoping we would get a medal. When we go to Sydney, we expect to get a medal. There's a big difference in the mentality. The feeling in the U.S. camp is very high."

Kimberly Vinoski of Scottsville, VA, who led coming into the final phase, knocked down one rail to place fourth with a score of 44.2 penalty points. Vinoski was paired with Over the Limit, a 12 year-old Thoroughbred gelding owned by Linda Wachmeister. Riding Jacob Two Two, 1999 Pan American Games team Gold Medalist Abigail Lufkin of Middleburg, VA finished fifth.

"I've learned that I have a very special horse," said Kimberly Vinoski of her experience competing in her first four-star event with Over the Limit. "On cross-country, he won't let me down and in stadium, he jumped his heart out. I'm gaining more confidence every time out."

The 2000 Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event, Presented by Bayer, is the only three-day event contested at the Olympic level in North America. Sydney Olympic course designer Michael Etherington-Smith also designed the Rolex course, the only domestic Olympic Selection Trial conducted at the four-star level for the United States Equestrian Team.

Photo by JJ Hathaway

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