Lexington, United States – May 14, 2026 – An international field of athletes gathered at the Rolex Stadium on Thursday afternoon to compete in the $62,500 Spring Classic CSI 3*, sponsored by Kentucky Performance Products, during the Kentucky Spring Classic at the Kentucky Horse Park. Sixty combinations were narrowed down to 10 for a test of speed and accuracy during the technical jump-off. Erynn Ballard (CAN) laid it all on the line with Genius de Rance, speeding through the turns and galloping home for the day’s victory. Less than a second behind them was Celso Ariani (BRA) and Jip Van T&L Z for second place, while Alexandra Worthington (USA) and De L’Oiseliere rounded out the top three.

Course designers Anderson Lima (BRA) and Jason Shelley (USA) asked questions throughout the 13-obstacle track in the Rolex Stadium, which included a triple bar, an oxer-vertical double combination at the far end of the ring, and a vertical-vertical-oxer triple combination going towards home as the 11th question before the final line, which finished with a wide oxer near the gate. Ten combinations had all the answers in the first round and advanced to the tiebreaker. The jump-off began with a triple bar bending to a liverpool vertical, followed by a rollback to a bending line before making another sharp turn and galloping across the ring to the first part of the triple combination and galloping home over the final oxer.

Five of the jump-off qualifiers were able to produce a second clear round, but Ballard was the first to finish in under 50 seconds. She made tight turns and used her horse’s quick pace to race through the timers in a blistering 44.82 seconds with all the rails intact, leaving the remaining horses chasing her.

One round later, Worthington and De L’Oiseliere tackled the track, but their efforts to leave all the fences up came at a slower pace of 48.98 seconds, which would hold up for third.

The next event for Ballard will be Saturday night’s $125,000 Mary Rena Murphy Grand Prix CSI 3*, presented by Hagyard Equine Medical Institute. Riders will also have the opportunity to showcase their mounts during Sunday’s $35,000 Commonwealth Grand Prix, presented by Sterling Equestrian/Forest Hill and Saturday’s $15,000 U25 Grand Prix.

For more information on the Kentucky Spring Series, please visit http://www.kentuckyhorseshows.com.

Final Results – $62,500 Spring Classic CSI 3*, sponsored by Kentucky Performance Products

1) Erynn Ballard (CAN) & Genius de Rance – 0 / 0 – 44.82

2) Celso Ariani (BRA) & Jip Van T&L Z – 0 / 0 – 45.17

3) Alexandra Worthington (USA) & De L’Oiseliere – 0 / 0 – 48.98

Source: Press Release from Kentucky Horse Shows

Photos: © KHS / Winslow Photography

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