FAIR HILL, Md.--Led by world ranked number one Oliver Townend of Great Britain, four of the top 10 ranked riders are set to compete in the inaugural Maryland 5 Star at Fair Hill.
The list also includes the world numbers two, seven and eight plus luminaries such as Zara Phillips Tindall, 2006 World Champion, 2012 Olympic team silver medalist, daughter of Olympian and top course designer Mark Phillips and granddaughter of Queen Elizabeth II,as well as Olympians from five countries.
Townend will compete with his accomplished gelding, Cooley Master Class, winner of back-to-back Kentucky Three-Day titles in 2018 and 2019.
New Zealand Olympic veterans Tim and Jonelle Price, the the numbers two and seven ranked riders on the FEI Eventing World Athlete Rankings, are entered to compete on Xavier Faer and Classic Moet, winner of Badminton 2018.
Astier Nicolas of France, winner of team gold and individual silver medals at the 2016 Olympic Games, have joined a growing list of All-Star riders entered to compete in the inaugural Maryland 5 Star at Fair Hill.
RECENT NEW international entries also include Maxime Livio of France and Harry Meade of Great Britain.
The Maryland 5 Star at Fair Hill, one of only two 5 Star level events in the United States and just the seventh worldwide, is set for Oct. 14-17 at the newly constructed Fair Hill Special Event Zone in Elkton, Md.
The event’s prestigious 5 Star (CCI5*) designation is the pinnacle of the Olympic sport of Eventing, often described as an equestrian triathlon.
Joining Townend, who was also a team gold medalist at the Tokyo Olympic Games, are the members of the US. Olympic Team from Tokyo, Phillip Dutton, a seven-time Olympic veteran with two team gold medals and the 2016 individual bronze, Boyd Martin, a three-time Olympic veteran and world ranked number eight, and Doug Payne, sixth-placed individually at the 2021 Tokyo Olympic Games and World ranked number 20.
Joining them are the following Olympic veterans representing Australia, Canada, Great Britain, New Zealand and the U.S.
They include Clayton Fredericksof Australia, a– two-time Olympic veteran and 2008 team silver medalist, Canadians Hawley Bennett-Awad, a two-time Olympic veteran and Jessica Phoenix, two-time Olympic veteran, Leslie Law of Great Britain, a two-time Olympic veteran with two team silver medals and the 2004 individual gold, Joe Meyer of New Zealand, a 2008 Olympic veteran, Lauren Kieffer Nicholsona 2016 Olympic veteran and world ranked number 15, and Will Coleman, 2012 Olympic veteran a recently a member of the Aachen silver medal team.
In addition to the 5 Star competition (CCI5*-L), the event will feature a 3 Star competition as well, which is serving as the USEF CCI3*-L Eventing National Championship, and The Dutta Corp. USEA Young Event Horse East Coast Championships.
The four days of Eventing competition will feature Dressage Thursday and Friday, Cross-CountrySaturday over the new Ian Stark designed courses, and Show Jumping Sunday.