Overnight leaders Monica Spencer (NZL) and Artist laid down a fabulous CC5*-L cross-country round on Saturday at the 2026 Defender Kentucky Three-Day Event presented by MARS Equestrian. Galloping across the Kentucky Horse Park, the longtime partnership demonstrated why they are ones to watch in the cross-country phase. They navigated course designer Derek di Grazia’s tough track with ease and held onto their lead heading into the final day. Spencer and Artist were one of four double-clear rounds over the challenging course to remain on their dressage score of 22.3.

“Max is a champion,” Spencer said. “He ran and jumped the whole way to the end, and he gave me a great ride today.”

In the pair’s seventh five-star event together, Spencer said she feels like she has matured since their debut at the level in 2023 at Adelaide. She has gotten more comfortable being in the lead and riding efficiently on cross country.

“It’s just maturity on my behalf, like learning on the approach to the jumps, you think of the jumps and on the landing of the jumps, you think of the time,” Spencer said. “I’m fortunate with him being such a good galloper that I can take my time setting up for the jumps and then push the button on landing and off he flies.”

Commenting on the course, Spencer said that di Grazia seems to give riders clear lines on course, but that doesn’t make the course easy.

“It was challenging the whole way and the accumulative effect of all those different challenges and then the time,” Spencer said. “The highlight for me was the finish line.”

Will Coleman and Diabolo Climb to Second

Even though it was Diabolo’s first five-star event, Will Coleman (USA) felt confident about the horse’s preparation. He elected to take the direct routes with the aim of meeting the time, which he did to have one of the day’s clear round. They stayed on their dressage score of 27.3, moving up from fifth to second.

Coleman had a busy day riding two horses in the four-star plus Diabolo in the five-star, but it was a great day with two horses—Diabolo and Very Dignified—sitting in second in the two divisions and another—Fahrenheit Addict—sitting seventh in the CCI4*-S.

“Diabolo had the most challenging day, having done the five-star, but I thought it was just sensational,” Coleman said of their round. “I’m going to be proud of him; I adore the horse. I thought he was magic today.”

When asked about the course, Coleman said he found it to be challenging but it rode to plan for him aside from one combination: the coffin at 7ABCD.

“I think part of that is just the approach itself is a little bit discombobulating coming around that hairpin turn. It was just very hard to get the horses to really settle on the line, and the terrain there just takes you so hard left,” Coleman said. “That was probably the only moment where I felt Diabolo be a little bit unsure of it.”

Caroline Pamukcu and HSH Blake Move Into Third

Caroline Pamukcu (USA) and HSH Blake were the last pair to go in the CCI5*-L division, and they did not disappoint. In the horse’s second five-star event, they were clear and relatively fast, adding just 2 time penalties to their score to sit on a score of 28.6. Their result moved them up from fourth to third.

“Blake is like my best friend, so it was just great to go out again and run another five star, and it was amazing,” Pamukcu said of her round. “He looked perfect even when I wasn’t, and he just took me around.”

The Final Phase Lies Ahead

Sunday’s stadium jumping phase will determine the final results of the competition. While the riders celebrated their rides on Saturday, they were pragmatic looking ahead to tomorrow.

“I’ll take a look at [my horses] after they have some fluids and have a rest. And tomorrow’s another day,” Pamukcu said. “I think I put the work in at home, doing a lot of fitness and they felt really good coming home, but again, tomorrow’s another beast.” 

Spencer agreed that letting the horses recover was the main focus before tomorrow. But she pointed out that something comes before Sunday’s stadium jumping.

“Our next phase is trot up, so we’ll do that, and then after that, then we’ll do jumping,” Spencer said.

Coleman quipped that riders don’t get to celebrate for long with each phase of eventing with another phase or another horse inspection.

“I think we’re all like one step at a time,” Coleman said. “Tomorrow is another day, but I’m just very just lucky to be here. It’s an awesome event.”

For More

For the full results, click here.

To visit the event website, click here.

To check out more of our coverage from the 2026 Defender Kentucky Three-Day Event, click here.

Thanks to Dechra for our coverage of the 2026 Defender Kentucky Three-Day Event. It includes lead-up events, rider interviews, competition reports, horse spotlights, photos, videos and more.