Rolex: The Good, the Bad and The Ugly

The Rolex Kentucky Three Day Event is one of the most intense competitions in North America. ALthough I had the great luck to be able to go to the World Equestrian Games, I'd never been to Rolex. Until now.

Wow. The excitement and the tradition were truly astonishing. There are people who've been coming to the event for years--an annual pilgrimage to watch the world's greatest athletes (equine and human) compete in a fast, thrilling and dangerous sport.

I was comforted to see a few of the horses really misbehaving in the dressage. It's comforting for me to see a horse occasionally act up, knowing that even at this level, no horse or rider is flawless. Out on cross country, the fences are really that big, really that solid and really that wide. When you stand up next to them, it's really quite frightening to think of horses and riders flying over them. Sadly, in some cases they don't make--two horses had to be euthanized this time, and two riders were hospitalized. It isn't pleasant for any one to think about. Yet we still watch, we still find it thrilling.

And then there's stadium: It's tame in comparison to the Grand Prix course, but imagine the fatigue of going over those fences after that cross country run.

Rolex is challenge. It's pagentry. It's tradition, and most of all its an incredible view, up close and personal, of what it takes to be an athlete of world class caliber.