LEXINGTON, Ky.--Monica Spencer of New Zealand on the thoroughbred Artist continues to lead after cross country at the Kentucky CCI5-L, but Will Coleman on Diabolo moved up into second and Caroline Pamukcu on HSH Blake finished third.

Monica Spencer on Artist (Photo by Sarah Miller for MacMillan Photograph)With a double clean cross country round, no jumping and no time faults, Spencer leads on 22.3 and has a rail in hand going into show jumping.

“‘Max’ was a champion today,” Spencer said of the 15-year-old Artist. “He ran and jumped the whole way to the end, and gave me a great ride.”

Coleman also was double clear cross country to stay on his dressage score of 27.3, and Pamukcu is on 28.6 after adding just two time penalties cross country.

Spencer has owned Artist since he was a 4-year-old, and has produced him to this level.

“I just think I’ve matured and learned how to go out in the lead, which was where it fell apart a few years ago,” she said. “So just maturity on my behalf and learning on the approach to the jumps, to think of the jumps, and on the landing to think of time.

“He’s such a good galloper, I can take my time at the jumps and push the button on landing and off we go,” said Spencer, who recently moved to this country to be closer to more top competitions than in her  homeland.

 

DIABOLO was competing in his first CCI5*-L, and Coleman, who also had two rides in the CCI4*-S, was thrilled with him.

William Coleman on Diabolo (Photo  by Sarah Miller for MacMillan Photography)“I had good rides on all three horses today,” he said. “Diabolo had the most challenging day with it being his first 5-star, but I thought he was just sensational. I couldn’t be prouder of him. I adore this horse and I’m so proud of him.”

Pamukcu was equally happy with her horse, who has competed with Pamukcu at both the Olympic and Pan American Games, where they won team silver and individual gold.

“Blake is my best friend, so it’s great to go around another five star. He was perfect when I wasn’t and he took me around,” she said.

Pamukcu had three horses in the CCI5*.

She was first out on HSH Tolan King and finished with a clean jumping round and 12.8 time penalties and then retired on She's The One.

She was assessed penalties on both Tolan King and Blake for dropping a flag, before a review by officials deemed the penalties incorrect.

“All three are very different,” Pamukcu said. “Tolan King is amazing, but not super ridable. You have to be very natural with him and ride off of feel. She’s The One got a little careful, and I pulled her up but she’s an amazing mare. She tries so hard and it’s not her fault. On Tolan King I kicked a flag with my foot, and they put the penalties on. They then review and take them off if there isn’t a violation, and then the same thing happened with Blake.”

The veterinary inspection is Sunday morning, before the show jumping.

“We don’t get to celebrate for very long in this sport,” Coleman said. “There’s always a trot up or another phase, so you just to take it one step at a time. Tomorrow’s another day, but for now I’m thankful to be here. This is an awesome event. The whole weekend is fabulous, this is a fantastic sport and we saw it today, it was a fantastic day of competition.”

 Caroline Pamukcu on HSH Blake (Photo by Sarah Miller for MacMillan Photography)Of the 29 horses who started the cross-country phase, four were double clear: Spencer, Coleman, David Doel on Galileo Neiuwmoed and Sophia Hill with Humble Glory.

There were 13 additional clean jumping rounds with only time added, and three others had no stops or refusals, but either had a frangible pin or knocked down a flag resulting in additional penalties.

Four riders retired on course, and there was one fall, but 24 pairs completed the phase.

Tamie Smith stayed in the lead in the CCI4*-S, but on a different horse.

Tamie Smith’s day didn’t exactly go to plan.

First, she withdrew Kynan before the start of cross country and then retired on overnight leader Danito after fence 11.

But on Lillet 3 she added just 1.6 time penalties to stay on top in the 4*-S on 31.3.

She has a fence in hand over second placed Will Coleman on Very Dignified, who had 4.4 time penalties to finish on 35.8, and Mia Farley on Invictus, with 5.6 time penalties, is third on 37.9. 

“She was super,” Smith said of Lillet. “There was a lot of trouble out there and it’s always nerve wracking to see things not riding to plan, but she went out there and was a little race car."

“The way Derek di Grazia has you turning, it’s really hard to get close to the time unless you are on a fast, fast horse. I added in some places and maybe could have been a little faster,” she said.

Tamie Smith on Lillet 3 (Photo by Sarah Miller for MacMillan Photography)“She was awesome,” Coleman said Very Dignified. “She’s a bit tricky in the warm ups so we tried to time it to just trot right in. She can be hard to get into the start box, and I got it wrong by about five seconds so was a bit late. This is actually her first advanced run of the year. I’ve been trying to build her up slowly as I’m not sure what I want to do with her this year. That’s another horse I really, really like. She’s a very strong-minded mare but I love her, she was super amazing today and gave me a great spin.”

“I think today I went out there with an open mindset,” Farley said. “I wanted to go fast but it was quite hard. I wish I was a little quicker everywhere, but I was super happy with Invictus, he read everything and he came back in most places I asked him to.”

Sharon White and Claus 63, who was second overnight, added 12 time penalties to drop to fifth, while Dan Kreitl on Carmango was just ahead of them in fourth with 6.4 added.

None of the 42 who competed in the 4* finished inside the time.

Smith was the fastest, with Great Britain’s Isabelle Cook and Cymoon “F” Z having the second fastest trip of the day to add just 2.3 time penalties, and Coleman and Very Dignified the third quickest of the day with 4.4.

The event concludes Sunday with the final phase of the competition, the show jumping phase.

You can watch every moment of the Defender Kentucky Three-Day Event presented by MARS Equestrian live for free on the USEF Network powered by ClipMyHorse.TV and on ESPN+.

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The event will also be broadcast on:

· ESPN 2 - Sunday, May 10 at 8:00-10:00 a.m. ET

· ESPNews – Friday May 22 at 6:00-8:00 p.m. ET

The Kentucky International CSI5* Grand Prix will be shown on ESPNews on Sunday, May 3 at 7:00 a.m. ET.