Lexington, Ky.—April 23

The horses in the trot-up for the Defender Kentucky CCI5*-L are perfectly braided with gorgeous shiny coats, and the riders presenting them don’t look too bad either. Some people spend weeks planning their outfits, while others have last-minute inspiration behind them.

Matt Brown is here this weekend with Alderwood for the five-star, and he explained the special meaning behind the bright yellow sneakers and yellow tie with dragons he sported along with a blue three-piece suit and a jaunty cap.

“In the lead-up to this event, I’ve been telling myself to ‘be like water,’ which is a Bruce Lee quote,” said Brown, Kennett Square, Pennsylvania. “In one of Bruce Lee’s movies [“Game Of Death”], he’s wearing a yellow jumpsuit. And so I picked the yellow shoes for that, and then a tie with dragons on it to represent him. Then my wife picked out the suit.”

Mary Bess Davis, who is making her five-star debut on Imperio Magic, turned to her best friend Jessica Pang to pick out her outfit of a white blazer over a black top and pants.

“I’m a mom, and I do all these things,” said Davis, Mansfield, Georgia. “So [my outfit] comes last, but she made sure I wasn’t going to look horrible. So there we go. But she always makes sure that I like it and everything else. But really, it goes on the back burner, and she has to help me a lot because that’s like the one place that I don’t prepare.

“My client, Mary Carol Harsh, also steps in [to chose my jog outfits] when Jessica isn’t available,” she added.

Davis’ family is here with her.

“My son bribed me and was like, ‘Mom, I have good grades. I don’t want to miss out on the experience. Can I miss Thursday of school?’ And I was like, ‘Yeah.’ How can you say no?”

British rider Harry Meade is here in Kentucky with two horses: Et Hop Du Matz and Grafennacht. He wore light blue linen pants with a linen jacket and shirt from English tailor Cordings.

Katherine Coleman, who rides for the U.S. but is based in England, is competing Monbeg Senna this weekend. She had a last-minute change to her outfit after the temperature climbed to the upper 70s today. She ended up wearing a flowered shirt, white pants and sneakers.

“I had a completely different outfit planned with a nice wool jacket, but then the weather was a bit different,” she said. “I had a wool jacket and boots, kind of normal, but I just went over to the Welligogs stand, and they kind of kitted me out with this fabulous shirt, and then Fairfax & Favor very generously got me the shoes.”

Caroline Pamukcu is here with two horses, She’s The One and HSH Double Sixteen, and she’ll be contesting her first five-star since becoming a new mom in January. She chose her outfit with help from friends Katie Trafton and Kelley Hutchison, whom she FaceTimed from her camper for fashion help.

Emily Hamel is in town from Aiken, South Carolina, and she’s riding her partner of nine years, Corvett, this week. She wore Fairfax & Favor boots and a wool jacket over a white blouse and dark jeans.

“I’ve had this outfit in the works for a couple weeks, I guess, but I didn’t know how hot it was going to be,” she said. “Then today, [when it was hot], I was like, oh, I’m committed to it.”

British-based Kiwis Jonelle Price and her husband, Tim Price, brought four horses between them: Hiarado for Jonelle, and Jarillo, Falco and Happy Boy for Tim. Jonelle wore a white dress designed by ME + EM and Tim wore a blazer with a tie and khakis. Jonelle said that the horses travelled well from England and arrived healthy and sound.

British rider Tom McEwen, who is one of Kyle Carter’s picks for a Top 10 finish in Kentucky with Brookfield Quality, wore navy slacks and jacket with a white shirt and navy tie by Schöffel with shoes by Fairfax & Favor.

“I was just going to go for a shirt but apparently wasn’t smart enough, so I put the jacket on as well, even though it’s a little warm for that,” he said.

The Chronicle is on-site at the Kentucky Horse Park with two reporters to bring you everything you need to know at coth.com, so you don’t have to miss a minute of the action. You can find all of our coverage from the week here. You can also follow along on Instagram and Facebook. Be sure to read our May 23 issue for more in-depth coverage and analysis of the event.