It was no surprise who sat atop the leaderboard at the end of the first day of dressage at the 2025 Defender Kentucky Three-Day Event. It was Michael Jung (GER), four-time winner of the event, with his talented fischerChipmunk FRH on an impressive score of 18.6. The pair is coming off winning the individual gold medal at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games last summer and seems to be in top form at Kentucky.
Fellow countrymen Clarke Johnstone (NZL) and Tim Price (NZL) were next two closet competitors, and they sit tied in second place on a score of 28.4. Price and Jarillo were the first pair down centerline and held the top spot until Jung’s test. Johnstone and Menlo Park delivered their own stellar test to secure their spot near the top of the leaderboard.
A total of 17 horse-and-rider combinations competed in the CCI5*-L dressage today. Dressage continues tomorrow with 17 CCI5*-L rides. The Defender Kentucky Three-Day Event CCI5*-L and the Cosequin Lexington CCI4*-S runs April 24-27, 2025, in Lexington at the Kentucky Horse Park.
Jung and fischerChipmunk FRH
In their last appearance at Kentucky in 2022, Jung and fischerChipmunk FRH clinched the win, and they are off to a strong start after day one. “I’m very happy to be here again. I really love this place and this show,” said Jung. “Everything is like you wish to have at a competition.”
Jung hasn’t competed fischerChipmunk FRH in an eventing competition since the Olympics, instead electing to compete in FEI jumping events in the leadup to Kentucky. “We had a really dry spring, so I just tried to prepare him at a few training places, we galloped at home and I really trust my horse,” said Jung. “I believe in him, and I think he does not really need special competitions to prepare.”
This trust between horse and rider carries over into their dressage warm-up routine. Jung focuses on getting fischerChipmunk FRH stretching, relaxing and not working him continuously in a frame for 30 or so minutes before their tests. “I need to trust him to get him as easy as possible and very with me going into the ring—concentrating and focused—and then I can ride him,” he said.
Johnstone and Menlo Park
Johnstone’s last appearance in Kentucky was the 2010 FEI World Equestrian Games™, and he said he was glad to be back at the Kentucky Horse Park. “I’ve really wanted to come back ever since,” said Johnstone. “It’s the most beautiful setting and venue. Actually, the people are all so welcoming and wonderful. It’s just a real privilege to be back here after all these years.”
Like Jung and his mount, Johnstone and Menlo Park also competed at the Olympics last year. “Overall, I was very delighted with how Paris went,” he said. “[We had] great dressage, great cross country and a rail in show jumping, which I was a bit annoyed about.”
Johnstone noted that Menlo Park was bred to be a jumper rather than a dressage horse, so they have worked on perfecting the horse’s dressage-phase performance. “I had to teach him to go with the hindquarters lower, the hind legs coming under and the shoulders coming up, so we have been gradually chipping away at that,” said Johnstone. “He has always been very reliable in the dressage, but just to get the shape better to pull in the bigger marks has really been the main focus over the past few years.”
Price and Jarillo
Price had a great start to the competition to sit tied in second with Jarillo and lie in fourth with Happy Boy—the second of his three mounts in the 5* with his third mount going tomorrow. “It was a good day with my two horses. A little bit of an unknown quantity at this level is Happy Boy, but he tried really hard and almost had a mistake-free test,” said Price. “Then, the same for the other guy [Jarillo]. We really want to go to come and have them do their best and deliver what they’re capable of doing. And I think both these horses did that for me today, so I am very proud of them both.”
While Jarillo completed his first 5* last year, Price said the horse is still developing into a top contender in electric atmospheres. “He is horse-shy and always a bit distracted and thinking about things, but that is getting better as he gets older,” said Price. “I think he has got the world in front of him.”
Price said he has worked with a couple of horse-shy mounts—notably his past superstars Wesko and Bango—but he meshes well with those kinds of horses. “I think I am quite good with them because I just stay a little bit soft and relaxed and go with them rather than create a brick wall that creates more tension,” said Price. “It’s just a matter of being good with all types of horses.”
Cross-Country Thoughts
The leaders agreed that the 2025 cross-country course is a tough track that will require riding with tact. Jung believed riders need to be economical to make the optimum time. “It’s a little bit twisty course this time, so you need a good line to have a smooth round and nice rhythm to the jumps,” said Jung. “You need to a take a little bit risk to have a good rhythm and not lose too much time on some places.”
Johnstone said the course will be a test for him and his horse, but he believed they are ready. “It’s certainly the biggest course I’ve jumped in a long time, but I think it’s beautiful, big and difficult,” said Johnstone “I think my horse is up for it. He’s a great jumper and quite easy to ride, but it still is the biggest track we have jumped in a long time.”
Price thought the course deserves attention from both the rider and horse. “It is a definite five star—a proper challenge—with questions all the way around the course,” he said. “Any little disruptions to a smooth round, and it’ll catch up to you either at the clock or with a problem.”
For full results of the Defender Kentucky Three-Day Event CCI5*-L dressage day one, click here. CCI5*-L dressage continues tomorrow starting at 1 p.m. ET. Click here for ride times.
To see photos of the CCI5*-L First Horse Inspection on Wednesday, click here.
Thanks to Kent Nutrition Group and Blue Seal for our coverage of the 2025 Defender Kentucky Three-Day Event. It includes lead-up events, rider interviews, competition reports, horse spotlights, photos, videos and more.
