‘You feel a responsibility to deliver your best in their twilight years’ – emotions run high at Kentucky

Lauren Nicholson was emotional after her Defender Kentucky Three-Day Event dressage test yesterday on the 17-year-old Vermiculus. The pair scored 30.6 to hold equal third after this phase.

“It’s always like that with these older horses, especially the ones you’ve had since two-year-olds,” she said. “For all the people behind them and who follow them, you feel like you owe them something. It’s a relief when you don’t screw up. You feel some...