Good luck to all the riders — among the largest number ever entered in the history of America’s only four-star event.

Good luck to all the horses — including the 19 ex-racehorses among the current field of 69 (according to the Rolex site).

Spectators — You don’t need any luck, you have it, if you’re in Kentucky.  I’m envious.  I’m sure if I were there, I’d see everything.  As it is, I’m here working, and I know I’ll catch only some of the coverage available on TV or the computer.

The good news is that the coverage gets more extensive every year.  This year, Universal Sports Network will have highlights on April 28 from 10am to 12pm and so will NBC from 1:30pm to 3:30pm.

If you’ve got time to settle in for the duration, live webcasts will be available on the USEF Network and on FEI TV.  Did I mention that I’m envious?

I know I didn’t mention that the thing I miss most about my subscription (now lapsed) to the Chronicle of the Horse is Jimmy Wofford’s annual assessments and predictions.  I thought if I no longer found the Chronicle in my mailbox, I wouldn’t spend all that time reading it cover to cover.  So I no longer spend that time, but I don’t get to read everything Jimmy thinks about this year’s riders and horses at Rolex.

Balance is elusive, in the saddle as in all of life, for some of us (and probably most of us with horses).  Let’s hope everyone learns from the missteps at Rolex in the past, and puts balance foremost this weekend.