Kimberly Vinoski Overtakes the Lead at 2002 Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event, Presented By Bayer, April 25 - 28

Lexington, KY-April 26, 2002-With a cross-country phase that saw a shake-up in the leaderboard, Kimberly Vinoski of Scottsville, VA, moved into first position in the Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event, presented by Bayer, at the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington, April 25-28, 2002.

Vinoski, 28, who was sitting in fourth position following the completion of dressage on Friday, posted a clear cross-country round, one of only four on the day, with Plain Dealing Farm's nine-year-old Winsome Adante to finish on her dressage score of 48.20 penalty points. Her faultless ride took place in the morning, before steady rain affected the footing.

"I would have been more likely to ride Winsome Adante in this afternoon's conditions because he is more familiar to me and handles this kind of footing better," said Vinoski, who withdrew her second entry, Royal Venture, scheduled to begin the cross-country phase at 3:40 p.m. Eight other riders also choose not to start the afternoon's cross-country competition. William Fox-Pitt, 33, of Great Britain was simply stunning with the 16-year-old grey New Zealand-bred Thoroughbred gelding, Stunning. He, too, ran in the morning and finished on his dressage score of 48.60 penalty points.

"It's the nature of the sport, you have to risk your luck," said Fox-Pitt simply.

Moving into third was John Williams, 37, of Middleburg, VA, and his 10-year-old Canadian Sport Horse gelding, Carrick, also went clear for the day to finish with a total of 52.61 penalty points.

Adding three time penalties to bring her total to 59.80, Amy Tryon, 32, of Redmond, WA, is currently in fourth position with her 10-year-old American Thoroughbred gelding, Poggio II.

"The rain changed things dramatically, it's almost like two different competitions for those that went this morning versus those that went this afternoon," said Tryon, who was wet but thrilled with her horse's performance.

The final test of the three-day event, stadium jumping, gets underway at 11 a.m. The Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event serves as the U.S. Equestrian Team (USET) Four-Star Championship and is a selection trial for this year's Eventing World Championships to be held at the World Equestrian Games in Jerez, Spain in September.

With entries from Australia, Canada, Great Britain, Ireland, and the United States, there is no shortage of star power as the world's best compete for $190,000 in prize money with the winner taking home $60,000 and a Rolex timepiece.

In addition to being an international equestrian event, the Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event has something for everyone - an International Trade Fair with more than 150 merchant and food vendors, Dog Agility competition and a variety of other entertaining attractions.

Outdoor Life Network (OLN) will broadcast the Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event on Saturday, April 27 from 7:00 - 8:00 p.m. EDT and Sunday, April 28 from 7:00 - 8:00 p.m. EDT while EuroSport will feature live coverage of the stadium jumping phase as well as taped highlights of the cross-country at 20:00-21:00 CET (2:00-3:00 p.m. EDT time).

For general information on the Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event, please call Equestrian Events, Inc. at (859) 254-8123. Up-to-the-minute results and a variety of additional event information can be obtained by visiting the official web site, www.rk3de.org.

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www.rk3de.org.

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