The United States Equestrian Federation (USEF), the National Governing Body for the sport of Equestrian, and Equestrian Events, Inc., (EEI), the organizer of the Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event, announced today that NBC-TV will present a 90-minute telecast of the 2004 Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event, presented by Bayer. The national network broadcast will be titled the “Rolex Equestrian Championships” and will air Sunday, May 2, from 1:30-3:00 p.m. Eastern Time.

"As America's Olympic Network, NBC is proud to broadcast the nation's premier equestrian competition," said Jon Miller, Senior Vice President, NBC Sports. "The 2004 Rolex Equestrian Championships will provide viewers a preview of the Olympic hopefuls as they prepare for the Athens Games."

Eventing evolved from cavalry competitions used to test the training and fitness of mounts. The competition consists of three distinct elements: dressage, cross-country, and show jumping. The horse-and-rider combination incur points as penalties, and the pairing with the lowest combined score from the three tests is the winner.

“This is a tremendous opportunity to showcase our sport on the nation’s number one television network,” said Jim Wolf, USEF Director of Eventing and Games Preparation. “Rolex Kentucky is our sport’s premier event and the USEF is excited about the chance to have it seen by a national television audience.”

As is tradition, the competition will be held at the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington, April 22-25. The event will host many of the world’s best horses and riders including riders from the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, Greece, New Zealand and France, as they compete for one of the largest purses in the sport of Eventing and one of the most coveted titles in all of equestrian sports.

“This is a proud day for EEI and for everyone connected with the Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event and the sport of Eventing,” said Jane Atkinson, EEI Executive Vice President and Rolex Kentucky Event Director. “Those who have worked so hard to make our event the best in the world, including our thousands of volunteers, can all take great pride that an unprecedented number of people are about to see why the Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event is so special.”

The USEF is responsible for selecting the human and equine athletes that will represent the United States at the Olympic Games in Athens, Greece this summer. The Rolex Kentucky CCI**** is a USEF selection trial for the 2004 Eventing Team. This year’s event will also include the 7th competition for the prestigious U.S. Equestrian Team Foundation Pinnacle Cup.

As has been the case for the past six years, the Rolex Kentucky telecast will be produced by Carr-Hughes Productions of Greenfield Center, NY. The company’s principals, Robert Hughes and his partner Jim Carr, a multiple Emmy Award winner, will serve as Executive Producer and Producer/Director respectively.

Stars levels (CCI****) are used by the Fédération Equestre Internationale (FEI), the world's governing body of equestrian sports, to denote the level of Eventing competitions. Four Star events, the most challenging level of the sport, are open only to experienced horses and riders at the international level. This level of competition is held at just four venues each year around the world, plus the Olympic Games and World Championships held every four years. Of the four annual events, the Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event is the only one that takes place in the Western Hemisphere. The others are at the Badminton Horse Trials and the Burghley Horse Trials in Great Britain, and at Adelaide in Australia.

As an added bonus for the riders, the $250,000 Rolex Grand Slam of Eventing will be awarded to any rider who wins the Rolex Kentucky, Badminton and Burghley Four Star events in succession.

Along with the exciting equestrian action, the Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event features an international trade fair with more than 125 merchants, the United States Pony Clubs Prince Philip Cup and a variety of other fun family activities and entertaining attractions.

For further information about the Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event, please call Equestrian Events, Inc. at (859) 233-2362 or Press Officer, Marty Bauman at (508) 698-6810, Classic.per@verizon.net. For ticket information please call (859) 254-8123, or visit: www.rk3de.org

.