Kaitlin Townsend’s Whizs Bronze Star (West Coast Whiz x The Bronze Star x Rollin With The Flow), ridden by Pete Kyle, scored a 225 for second place and earned $5,500. Kyle, always a crowd pleaser and dressed in shorts and a t-shirt, was Good To Go To Mexico (Toby Keith) after his long cold winter in Whitesboro, Texas.

Doubleknotyourreeboks (Reeboks Kid x Double R Odds x Double R Doc), owned by Heather Johnson and Larry Thew, was ridden by Johnson, Ringgold, Ga., to a score of 223 for third place and $4,250. They got the crowd going riding to Taio Cruz’s Dynamite and they were indeed explosive.

The Ariat Kentucky Reining Cup was held in conjunction with the Rolex Kentucky Three Day Event spectacular. Spectators were most appreciative of the efforts put forth by four Eventing contestants as they performed their Freestyle reining routines.

Olympic medalist Gina Mills sat on a reining horse for the first time at 8:30am, the morning of the competition, yet she looked right at home on Hollywood Aces (Hollywood Dun It x Dots Miss Ace x Docs Sidewinder) owned by Bob Thompson, Pilot Point, Texas. They rode to Pink’s Let The Party Begin.

Hamish Cargill came all the way from Australia to ride Rosanne Sternberg’s Don Julio Whiz (Topsail Whiz x Ms Maggie Jac x Hollywood Jac 86) to the tune of Men At Work’s A Man From Downunder.

Karen O’Connor, Ocala, Fla., a multiple Olympic medalist and 10 time US Female Equestrian of the Year rode Chexy Dunit (Hollywood Dun It x Chexy One x Poppa Chex) owned by Sarah Willeman’s Turnabout Farm, Hamilton, MA., to Cindy Lauper’s Girls Just Want to Have Fun. O’Connor started her pattern with classic dressage maneuvers, but her grin got wider with each slide stop and spin.

Far and away, the “Eventing Does Reining” super-star was Olympic Gold Medalist and USEF President, David O’Connor, also of Ocala. Riding Tim Roper’s Paid By Corona (Paid By Chic x Hobbys Bonney Boss x Docs Strawboss), O’Connor performed to Bob Seger’s Old Time Rock And Roll, scored a 214.5 and earned sixth place.