Alec Does Rolex: Wednesday first horse inspection

Forty-six horses passed the jog at Rolex on Wednesday. Here’s the full report from John and a few snapshots from our photographer extraordinaire Alec Thayer.

Here’s the jog report from John:

Forty-six horses presented at the 2013 Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event first horse inspection and 46 horses will move on to the dressage.  Only one horse, Andrew Nicholson’s Quimbo, was held, but Quimbo passed on reinspection.  One horse on the entry list, Here’s To You, was not presented.  I spoke briefly with “Quincy’s” rider, Emily Beshear, and she told me that Quincy tweaked himself just before Rolex.  Although he’ll be fine, the timing was just bad enough that the best option was to save him for another weekend.  Emily is the daughter-in-law of Kentucky Governor Steve Beshear, and I’m sad that this pair’s weekend came to such an early end along with Emily and Quincy’s many fans in Kentucky.  Emily’s husband, Jeff, is a top sport horse vet and Quincy will be in the best of hands on his way to a speedy recovery.

It wouldn’t be Rolex without the Kentucky spring weather showing it’s dark side.  With a high of 44 degrees Fahrenheit, we were all just thankful that the morning’s rain gave up right before the jog.  The horses looked fresh and happy despite–or perhaps because of–the weather.

As is often the case in this sport, the riders looked considerably more sore than their horses.  Boyd is nursing a damaged ankle and shuffled his way down the strip with Trading Aces, Lynn Symansky’s is working through a sore back and a badly broken pinky and jogged in her hand brace, and Marilyn Little incredibly jogged with a separated shoulder that hospitalized her just a few days ago.

Maddie Blackman

Caitlin Silliman

Buck Davidson

Be sure to check out more of Alec’s work at ab3photography.com.

Go Eventing!