Eventing’s Best to Compete at Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event CCI**** Presented by Bayer

Lexington, KY—April 21, 2004—Eventing’s biggest names are ready to compete at America’s most prestigious equestrian competition, the Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event, presented by Bayer, running April 22-25, at the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington, KY.

The Event is hosting many of the world’s best horse-and-rider pairs as they compete for one of the most coveted purses in equestrian sports and one of the most prestigious championships in the sport of Eventing.

Husband-and-wife Olympians, David and Karen O’Connor of The Plains, VA, both past Rolex Kentucky champions, are back for this year’s event. David is the reigning Olympic champion, having won the Individual Gold Medal for the United States at the 2000 Olympic Games riding Custom Made. He was also a member of the Bronze Medal Team in Sydney riding Giltedge and previously won the Team Silver Medal at the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games. Karen was David’s teammate on both medal-winning occasions.

Other top U.S. riders competing include five-time Olympian and six-time Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event champion Bruce O. Davidson, Sr. of Unionville, PA, and 2000 Sydney Olympic Games Team Bronze Medalists Linden Wiesman of Bluemont, VA and Nina Fout of Middleburg, VA.

Other leading U.S. riders entered include the 2003 Pan American Championship Individual Gold Medalist Darren Chiacchia of Springville, NY, and Jan Thompson of Purcellville, VA, who claimed Team Gold and Individual Bronze Medals at the Pan Ams.

Additionally, 2002 World Equestrian Games Team Gold Medalists Amy Tryon of Redmond, WA, John Williams of Middleburg, VA, Kim Severson of Scottsville, VA, who won the Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event CCI**** in 2002 will compete in this year’s event alongside the Individual Bronze Medalist from the first FEI World Cup held in 2003, Gina Miles of Creston, CA.

International stars competing include Olympic veterans Stuart Black of Canada, Heidi Antikatzidis of Greece, two-time Team Gold Medalist Philip Dutton of Australia, 2002 FEI Global Leading Rider William Fox-Pitt of Great Britain who placed third at Rolex Kentucky in 2003 and Polly Stockton of Great Britain who was second at Rolex Kentucky last year.

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 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. In addition, the Cross Country portion of the Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event will air on the Outdoor Life Network (OLN) on May 9 from 5:00-6:00 p.m. EDT and will re-air on Friday, May 14 from 12:00 noon-1:00 p.m. EDT. The Stadium Jumping portion of the Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event, which will include a Cross-Country recap, will air on OLN on Sunday, May 16 from 5:00 – 6:00 p.m. EDT and will re-air on Friday, May 21 from 12:00 noon - 1:00 p.m. EDT. The Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event also will be broadcast in Europe on CNBC Europe, which will air coverage on Sunday, May 2 at 10:00 pm (Central European Time).

This year’s Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event will host two separate divisions. The CCI**** division, Kentucky’s hallmark competition with $190,000 in prize money, is a qualifying competition for the 2004 Olympic Games and includes the 7th competition for the USET Foundation Pinnacle Cup, signifying the zenith in Eventing competition. The U.S. Equestrian Federation requested that Rolex Kentucky also host a special competition, a Modified Four Star that is in part patterned after the format to be used for the Athens Olympic Games, for competitors who have already qualified for the Olympic Games. Recognized only by the U.S. Equestrian Federation, this division is open to U.S. Citizens and Foreign Riders residing in North America who as a combination with the entered Horse have qualified for the Olympic Games as per FEI rules and have been approved by their National Federation for entry. It will be the first time ever that horses and riders will run the shortened distance prescribed for Athens.

The Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event is one of only four CCI**** events in the world and is the only one held in the Western Hemisphere. The other Four Star events are the Mitsubishi Motors Badminton Horse Trials and the Burghley Horse Trials in Great Britain and Adelaide in Australia. The Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event is also part of the Rolex Grand Slam of Eventing that awards $250,000 to any rider who can win, in succession, Rolex Kentucky, Badminton and Burghley.

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.

Tickets for the 2004 Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event may be purchased at the Rolex Kentucky Ticket Booths at the Kentucky Horse Park beginning April 22. For full information on the Rolex Kentucky Three Day Event, presented by Bayer, please visit the official Rolex Kentucky website, www.rk3de.org.

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