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Fence 30
Fence 33 Fence 32 Fence 31 Fence 30 Fence 29 Fence 28 Fence 27 Fence 26 Fence 25 Fence 24 Fence 23 Fence 22 Fence 21 Fence 20 Fence 19 Fence 18 Fence 17 Fence 16 Fence 15 Fence 14 Fence 13 Fence 12 Fence 11 Fence 10 Fence 9 Fence 8 Fence 7 Fence 6 Fence 5 Fence 4 Fence 3 Fence 2 Fence 1

THE CROSS-COUNTRY COURSE
In his 16th year as Course Designer for the Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event, Mike Etherington-Smith continues to provide course design that draws the best from horse and rider while at the same time educating even seasoned combinations in the art of riding Cross-Country.
We at Equestrian Events, Inc. firmly believe that the successes our riders and horses, and thus our country, have had over the past 16 years (and those of some foreign riders who have started horses here) are directly related to Mike's wonderful Cross-Country design and the thoughtful way he ensures that even if they make a mistake neither horse nor rider are physically or mentally punished but learn from the experience.
Mike E-S, as he is known around the world, is a resident of Banbury, Oxfordshire in England and a former Event and ShowJumping rider. Mike has a remarkable ability to think like a horse as well as a rider when it comes to the design and placement of cross-country obstacles. He has retired from his post as Event Director and Course Designer at the Blenheim CCI***, in which he served from that event's inception, to become Sport Director for British Eventing, the counterpart in England to our U.S. Eventing Association. He served as technical advisor for the Eventing World Championships of the 2006 FEI World Equestrian Games and is the first Course Designer to be named a second time to design an Olympic course, first at Sydney in 2000 and now for the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing. He also has been named Course Designer for the Eventing discipline of the Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games 2010 at the Kentucky Horse Park.

CROSS-COUNTRY TEST SPEEDS & DISTANCES
Distance Speed Optimum Time Time Limit
Meters M/Min Mins. Secs. Mins. Secs.
62701 570 11 00 22 00
1 - Approximate

THOUGHTS ON THIS YEAR'S CROSS-COUNTRY COURSE
By MICHAEL ETHERINGTON-SMITH (GBR), COURSE DESIGNER
OBSTACLE ILLUSTRATIONS BY YVONNE TODD
The challenge for the next Rolex Kentucky Three Day Events ('08, '09, '10) is to not give away too much about the plans for the cross-country for the Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games 2010 whilst at the same time building towards this target where the aim is to produce a course that has a different feel and look to it with some possible changes in layout and some new lines.

This year we go around the same way as last year with a few changes to the route and with several new fences. Given that the aim for the top riders this year is to get a spot on the team for the Olympic Games (Hong Kong in August), the thinking behind this year's course is to give the riders the opportunity to show the selectors that they and their horses are in good form and are full of confidence. There is as always plenty of room for mistakes to be made and I have tried to ‘slow down' the course a bit. In the last couple of years the footing has been almost perfect and so the time has been easily achieved – this year I hope to have made it a bit less manageable, but if we have great weather and the ground is good, then I expect that those on form will still get there.