Dubarry of Ireland has stepped up once again to sponsor the fourth annual $20,000 Dubarry Team Challenge during the 2016 Kentucky Three-Day Event, Presented by Land Rover at the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington, April 28–May 1.
The Dubarry Team Challenge, which takes place during the individual CCI4* competition, is a friendly team competition that awards $20,000 in prize money while helping national teams prepare for the team competition at the Olympic Games this summer. Teams are selected to represent each nation based on their FEI World Ranking and the top four rankings per country will qualify to represent their nation in the Team Challenge. Mixed nation teams will be permitted, however, a nation cannot be represented on more than one team. Additionally, those competitors who qualify to represent their nation and enter more than one horse in Rolex Kentucky will have the opportunity to select which of their horses is on the team. Teams will be announced after the first horse inspection on Wednesday.
Each team will consist of either three or four riders and the winning team will be the team with the lowest total of penalty points after adding together the individual final scores of the three highest-placed athletes on the team. For the purposes of the final team classification only, a team member who fails for any reason to complete the competition will be awarded 1,000 penalty points. In the event of equality between any two or more teams, the classification will be decided by the best combined highest three placings.
The prize money will be awarded as follows: if there are four teams competing, the winning team will receive $8,000, second place will receive $6,000, third place will receive $4,000 and fourth place will receive $2,000. If three teams compete, the winning team will receive $10,000, second place will receive $6,000 and third place will receive $4,000.
“The Dubarry Team Challenge has added an exciting dimension to our world-class event,” said Lee Carter, executive director of Equestrian Events, Inc. (EEI), organizer of the Kentucky Three-Day Event. “The riders really enjoy participating in a team situation, especially during an Olympic year. And the Team Challenge makes the event more fun for the spectators!”
Throughout the competition, fans anywhere can check the live scoring page on the official Kentucky Three-Day Event website (www.RK3DE.org) or on the mobile app. Spectators on site are also invited to visit the Dubarry tent in the Sponsor Village.
This year’s world-class field includes riders from nine countries: Australia, Brazil, Canada, Germany, Great Britain, Ireland, Mexico, New Zealand and USA, with some riders entered with up to three horses. The entry list comprises Olympic medalists and World Champions including defending Rolex Kentucky champion and reigning Olympic gold medalist Michael Jung of Germany; double Olympic gold medalist Sir Mark Todd of New Zealand; 2000 Rolex Champion Blyth Tait of New Zealand, a four-time Olympian and former World Champion; Phillip Dutton of the U.S.A., a five-time Olympic veteran with two Team gold medals and the 2008 Rolex Kentucky Champion; and Kim Severson of the U.S.A., an Olympic veteran and three-time Rolex Kentucky champion.
Aside from the Team Challenge, riders compete individually for $350,000 in prize money (winner wins $110,000 and a Rolex watch!) and a shot at the $350,000 Rolex Grand Slam of Eventing, which is awarded to any rider who wins the Rolex Kentucky, Mistubishi Motors Badminton and Land Rover Burghley four-star events in succession.
