April 28—Lexington, Ky.

William Fox-Pitt had the luxury of a noon cross-country ride time with Parklane Hawk, so he made sure to get up nice and early to watch.

“I was out there on course waiting to see the first few experts show us how to do it, and when they didn't get to me, I thought, ‘This isn’t a very good start,’ ” he admitted.

April 27—Lexington, Ky.

Allison Springer has been trying to win Rolex Kentucky with Arthur for years, but in their fifth start in the CCI**** together, she’s changing her tune.

April 26—Lexington, Ky.

Boyd Martin knows as well as anyone that Rolex Kentucky is no dressage competition, but it’s still a nice way to start your weekend by winning the first phase on the first day. He trotted into the Thursday lead aboard Remington XXV on 45.3 ahead of Karen O’Connor on Veronica (47.8) and Andrew Nicholson on Calico Joe (48.7).

The two-time Rolex Kentucky winner explains the challenges of riding the 2012 course.

I continue to be impressed by Derek di Grazia’s course design. These days I call him “the Bert de Nemethy” of cross-country course design. By that, I mean that his courses are slightly smaller, slightly narrower and appear slightly easier than what international riders expect.

April 25—Lexington, Ky.

The ground jury accepted all but one of the 58 entries presented at this afternoon’s first horse inspection for the Rolex Kentucky CCI****.

Brittany Kart was the unlucky rider to be spun. Her horse Llewellyn was held for re-inspection, and the ground jury did not accept him on his second presentation.

Diana Burnett’s Shigatzi and Kate Hicks’ Belmont were also held, but both passed upon re-inspection.