A field of 53 horses–the largest ever since the event became a CCI**** in 1998–will start the Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event, presented by Bridgestone, on Thursday morning. All 53 horses that were presented to the ground jury and official veterinarian Wednesday afternoon were accepted for competition.

In addition to more than two dozen Americans hoping to be selected to ride in the 2010 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games, the starting field includes riders from Argentina, Australia, Canada, France, Great Britain, Ireland, and New Zealand.

Rolex Kentucky will get underway today despite transportation delays caused by the ash spewing from the erupting volcano in Iceland. American Phillip Dutton had planned to ride three horses at Rolex Kentucky and to ride Woodburn at the Badminton Three-Day Event, the second leg in the Rolex Grand Slam. But he was unable to fly Woodburn to England, so he'll be facing the monumental task of guiding four horses around the Rolex Kentucky cross-country course.

Boyd Martin, who like Dutton represented Australia before moving to the United States, will ride three horses