Tamie Smith's Mai Baum withdrawn from Kentuky Three-Day Event
- Details
- April 23, 2024
- By SARA CAVANAGH
LEXINGTON, Ky.--Tamie Smith's Mai Baum, the favorite to win the Lexington CCI4*-S. has been withdrawn from the Kentucky Three-Day Event, Thursday, April 25 through Sunday, April 28.
Both Kentucky 4 star and 5 star competitions serve as selection sites for this summer's Paris Olympics.
Tamie Smith on Mai Baum won the five star at Kentucky last year, which also served as a selection site, and, like many US Olympic hopefuls, was entered to compete in the CCI4*-S this time.
“Sadly, Mai Baum will be sitting out this Kentucky and resting up for an exciting summer,” Smith said in Horse and Hound, alluding to her hopes of taking the 18-year-old star to Paris 2024.
“They say timing is everything, and while I was away competing some of my other horses last weekend, Lexus (Mai Baum's barn name) was a bit wild and feeling exuberant and pulled away from his handler and tweaked himself. He wasn’t a 100 percent in time to make the trip across the country to Kentucky and we have elected to withdraw him.
“It can be difficult to withdraw your horse from a key competition, especially leading up to this summer, however, this decision is in his long-term best interest and the one thing we’ve never wavered from is our commitment not to compromise the well being of any horse,"said Smith.
If he is selected for the US team for the Olympics he will start as one of the favorites there and is likely to be up among the leaders from the first phase as he is particularly strong in the dressage.