Michael Jung wins Lexington Three-Day with Lowest 5* Score Ever

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Michael Jung and Chipmonk

Michael Jung and fischerChipmunk FRH set a record for the lowest five-star score yesterday when they won the Land Rover Kentucky Three-Day Event on their dressage score of 20.1. In fact, Jung and Chipmonk made it look easy, which belied the incredibly tough cross country course and the competition. Michael also now holds the title of the most Kentucky 5* wins (four) and achieved the largest margin of victory (11.6 penalty points). H

Jung was the sole competitor in the 5* to finish on his dressage score, one of only three double clears in cross country (out of 43 horse and rider combinations), and one of six double clears in stadium.

Finally, there is video posted that is shareable, too. While I enjoyed watching the replays on the USEF site, I haven’t been able to add them to Equine Ink.

Michael Jung and Chipmonk were one of only three to go double clear in cross country.
Michael Jung’s showjumping round.

I’ve found two helmet cam video so far of the cross country course. They really give you a sense for how tough the questions were — the skinny fences are very narrow and come up quickly in the combinations. The corners would be easy to miss. The combinations combined elements in challenging ways and course designer, Derek di Grazia used the terrain to add to the difficulty — sometimes the course would require the riders to angle left while the ground dropped away to the right. The other thing that struck me was how long and tiring the course felt. That’s a lot of jumping efforts!

Fylicia Barr and Galloway Sunrise had no jumping fault and 14.8 time faults. The pair finished in 22nd place. I love when she says to her horse, “Wow mama, big stuff coming up!”

Elisa Wallace and Let It Be Lee withdrew during the course after three stops (Lee lost both front shoes on course and was also put off by the crowds) but two things stand out.

Watch Elisa Wallace and Let It Be Lee in their 5* debut. They withdrew after three refusals and it turned out that Lee had lost both front shoes, making it uncomfortable for him to jump. Despite their difficulties, Elisa’s encouraging and positive ride made it a pleasure to watch.
A few more highlights from XC
Yasmin Ingham reviews the XC course and its challenges. You really get a sense for the size of the fences and the terrain.

Coming in second was Yasmin Ingham, the youngest rider, riding in her first 5*. What a thrill for her. She’s definitely a rider to watch for the future. What an incredible thrill also for Jeannette Chinn, who owns Banzai du Loir with her mother (who was too ill to travel to America from the Isle of Man where they live). Yasmine and Banzai were just 7 seconds over the optimum time in their cross country ride and, when Boyd Martin and Tsetserleg pulled two rails in stadium, the pair moved into second place.

Charming interview with Yasmine after her stadium ride.

For the final standings, visit the Leaderboard.

Did you watch the 5*? What did you think?

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