Lexington, KY - April 30, 2005 - Virginia’s Kim Severson and her 2004 Athens Olympic mount Winsome Adante took another step closer to claiming their third Rolex championship in four years on Saturday at the 2005 Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event sponsored by Farnam. The pair posted a clear round on the challenging, and somewhat rain-soaked, cross-country course at the Kentucky Horse Park, poising them on a score of 38.2 to tackle the final day of competition – show jumping.

The pair, who brought home Individual Silver and Team Bronze medals from the 2004 Athens Olympics, was followed by Britain’s Leslie Law and his Coup de Coeur. The British horse/rider combination finished the day adding 4.4 penalty points to their dressage score to end their two-day effort on a score of 50.4.

Australia’s Phillip Dutton, who has three horses in the running at this year’s event, is sitting tied at third on two mounts – The Foreman and Nova Top. Each effort resulted in a day’s end score of 51.2.

Severson, the 2004 USEF Equestrian of the Year, felt that going in the afternoon offered up improved footing. Her first of two horses entered in this year’s event – Maguire – was the third in the order of go and only made it through the Steeplechase before being retired after pulling both front shoes between the first and second steeplechase fences. Winsome Adante was one of the last to take on the course.

“I had to keep telling myself that it was going well,” said Severson, in regards to what was in her mind while tackling the cross-country phase. “And I had to make sure that I kept it going well. I was way up on the clock, which I have a tendency to do, and I wanted to let off, but at the same time I was a little too chicken to do that. So, I kept going until the last.”

Severson felt that this year’s cross-country ride was comparable to last year’s as rain was the common denominator. “The footing was very similar to the going this afternoon. The changes in the course were good, and I thought they rode better than I had anticipated, especially the stops. I thought they would cause more problems, but I thought they were great changes.”

She was cautiously optimistic about what was in store for Sunday’s final test in the show jumping ring. “Show jumping is another day. We’ll see how it goes.”

Both Law and Dutton were open with their praise for the work accomplished by Severson and Winsome Adante, the 12-year-old bay Thoroughbred gelding who is affectionately known around the barn as “Dan.”

Dutton said, “I think she and Dan are one of the great partnerships of eventing, and I think they will go down in the history books as being that.”

Severson waxed poetic for a brief moment saying that one of her grooms had told her that it seemed like the pair always knew what the other was thinking. “That’s the feeling I get every single time I go out on him,” said Severson. “I just know what he is going to do, and he obviously knows what I am going to do. I don’t think I will ever be fortunate enough to have another horse like him.”

Law was equally pleased with the performance of his relatively inexperienced Coup de Coeur, an 11-year-old dark brown Thoroughbred gelding. “I was pretty pleased with him, really,” said Law. “He jumped extremely well, and he probably got a hair tired after the one-but-last fence, and I had to lift him up the hill a little bit. I think he is everything that we thought he was. He is a fabulous jumper…and possibly a European championship horse for us this year.”

“I love coming to Rolex,” said Law, who this year made his third appearance at the four-star. “It’s a great four-star three-day event. Over the years I’ve been coming, the cross-country course has gotten beefed up a little bit each time. It’s a great course for introducing a horse to the four-star level, and encourages the horses to jump and fills them with confidence, which is exactly what we want in the younger horses.”

Dutton was hard-pressed to single out the one mount he thought was best between his two third-place horses. “I don’t know which one went best,” said Dutton. “Hannigan was really exceptional. I thought the ground was a little slower at the beginning than it was in the afternoon. As for The Foreman, this is his first four-star, and he showed some greenness, but he is a very fast horse, and I couldn’t be more pleased with him.”

There was disappointment for Darren Chiacchia and his 13-year-old black Trakehner stallion Windfall 2. After readying to take on the cross-country course, the vet and the ground jury raised concerns saying that “something didn’t look right.” Shortly thereafter, the call was made to withdraw the horse from the competition, ending his bid to take this year’s championship after being tied in second place after dressage.

At fourth place after cross-country stands Jan Thompson and her Task Force finishing the day on a score of 56.2. Commenting on her mount and the day’s effort, Thompson said, “He jumped brilliantly, other than where we stepped on a corner. He’s just a smart horse, and he was full of fun at the end. I call him Jedi – because he is my Jedi warrior.”

Australia’s Andrew Hoy and his Yoeman’s Point are in fifth place, and Hoy characterized the day’s ride and his horse as “absolutely fantastic.” The pair sits with a score of 56.8 going into the final day of competition.

A sure sign of the rising popularity of equestrian sport across the nation, NBC Sports will air its first ever double-header for eventing and show jumping on May 8, showcasing two of the United States’ most prestigious events in 2005. The two-for-one broadcast will feature highlights from the 2005 Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event Presented by Farnam and the 2005 FEI Budweiser World Cup Show Jumping Final from Las Vegas and is scheduled to air from 4:00-6:00 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time (EDT).

By Brian Sosby