Lexington, KY – May 9, 2026 – It was all about speed and accuracy on Saturday night during the Kentucky Spring Horse Show’s main event, the $125,000 Hagyard Lexington Grand Prix CSI3*. A field of 38 international athletes was narrowed down to five combinations for the jump-off, where only the most careful had a shot at the podium. Canada’s Erynn Ballard and Chatadel PS were the night’s pathfinders, galloping home with the winning prize. Alexandra Worthington was last to go with De L’Oiseliere, and a careful clear would earn them second place. Aaron Vale was the fastest 4-faulter of the night with Helios Du Moulin to take home the third-place honors.
“This is a pretty great week,” expressed Ballard, who also won Wednesday’s Welcome Stake with Ben. “We came here last year for the first time, and we really feel that these two weeks in the spring are the best suited for our horses and our program to prepare them for the rest of the year. Chatadel PS is such a special animal. This is his first CSI3* win, and I can’t think of a better place or a better night to do it to set up for the rest of our year!”
Erynn Ballard and Chatadel PS
The Guilherme Jorge-designed course tested riders from start to finish with a long bending line to start, followed by a triple bar to a vertical-oxer double combination. The course continued with an oxer-vertical-vertical triple combination bending to a line of oxers, and finished with a rollback to the final wide oxer away from the gate. Five athletes were able to complete the first round without error, and the tiebreaker asked new questions, beginning with a new vertical after the first two fences and an ‘S’ turn to the second half of the double combination. They then galloped to an oxer near the gate and made a sharp rollback before bending to the final oxer going away from the gate.
Aaron Vale and Helios Du Moulin
Ballard was the first to clear the track in the opening round and first in the return order with Chatadel PS. The duo set the gauntlet from the start, leaving out two strides in the first line and never touching the brakes. They galloped through the finish line in a blazing 44.05 seconds, which would leave the rest of the class chasing them. Vale was next with Helios Du Moulin, and he came the closest to catching the time, but a rail at the penultimate fence and a time of 44.11 seconds would rank them third at the end of the night. The next two riders each had errors on course as well, so when Worthington returned with De L’Oiseliere she chose a different plan – going slow with a focus on leaving the rails intact. The strategy paid off, finishing with the only other fault-free effort and the second-place prize, while Ballard led her second victory lap of the week.
Alexandra Worthington and De L’Oiseliere
“I know that Chatadel PS is so fast and you don’t see it coming because he’s big, but the classes he’s won, he’s smoked them,” noted Ballard. “He can leave strides out like it’s nothing. From one to two, I did 10 strides in the first round, but then I did eight in the jump off. That set the pace – once you do a double leave out from one to two, you just go with it! I don’t think I had to pull on the reins anywhere. He wants to win as badly as I do.”
Chatadel PS is a 9-year-old stallion owned by Ilan Ferder that Ballard began riding when he was 7 years old, and they have slowly been developing. “His record shows that he is a winner, and he wins every single time we move him up to a new level, “ said Ballard. “I think that the possibilities for him are endless.”
Erynn Ballard and Chatadel PS
Ballard will compete again next week before heading to Europe, and then return to Ocala for their international weeks. The Kentucky Spring Horse Shows are now a staple for the team at Ilan Ferder Show Stables. “The national schedule is very good with two 1.45m national classes and the national grand prix,” explained Ballard. “You don’t see that very often, especially at 3* shows – I hope that more horse shows pick up on it, because it’s a much-needed division, especially on the East Coast throughout the season.”
Ballard concluded, “I love the cross-country field too, and I like that they let the FEI horses out there. It’s good for their heads, and it’s good for their fitness. The ring is big. We went from here to Spruce Meadows last year, and when we got here, I was like, ‘This is so great because it’s a big ring and you don’t realize how important it is to jump courses in a big ring to get your cardio to go to the next place like Spruce Meadows.’ I’d say for the foreseeable future, we’ll always be back here in May!”
FEI show jumping will continue next week during the Kentucky Spring Classic, which will feature another $62,500 Spring Classic CSI3* on Thursday, as well as the $125,000 Mary Rena Murphy Grand Prix CSI3*, presented by Hagyard Equine Medical Institute. Riders can also compete each Sunday during the $35,000 Commonwealth Grand Prix, presented by Sterling Equestrian/Forest Hill and the $15,000 U25 Grand Prix.
For more information on the Kentucky Spring Series please visit www.kentuckyhorseshows.com.