Lexington, KY-April 24, 2002-Ian Stark of Great Britain is in the early lead following Thursday’s opening phase of dressage at the Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event, presented by Bayer, held at the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington, April 25-28, 2002.

With a score of 44.40 penalty points, Stark, only the sixth rider into the ring, topped the leader board with the 12-year-old Jaybee, a New Zealand-bred thoroughbred gelding.

“This is Jaybee’s first three-day event run since he fell in the water at Sydney,” said Stark, 47, referring to his bad luck at the 2000 Olympic Games. “The new dressage test is asking a lot more of the horses in terms of their training, but Jaybee is very adaptable.”

American Kim Vinoski is in the hunt for her first Rolex win, having placed fourth in 2000. With Winsome Adante, the 28-year-old rider from Scottsville, VA, finished her opening phase of dressage with 48.20 penalty points.

William Fox-Pitt, 33, also traveling from England to contest the Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event, earned a score of 48.20 penalty points aboard Stunning, a 16-year-old veteran who carried Fox-Pitt to a team gold medal at the 2001 European Eventing Championships.

Although currently in fourth position with a score of 49.61, Olympic Champion David O’Connor, 40, of The Plains, VA, will be looking to defend his title with Tigger Too, an 11-year-old American thoroughbred gelding. Thirty-two of the record 63 horses entered in North America’s only Olympic-level three-day event competed in Thursday’s dressage competition, with the second half scheduled for Friday, beginning at 9 a.m. The challenging cross-country phase takes place Saturday and the event concludes with stadium jumping on Sunday. 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.

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.