Lexington, KY – May 17, 2025 – Show Jumping action came to a close on Sunday afternoon at the Kentucky Spring Classic as Delaney Flynn and Quotation claimed the victory in the $35,000 Bluegrass Grand Prix, presented by Sterling Equestrian and Forest Hill. They led the way with a brilliant double clear to finish just one second ahead ofErynn Ballard and New Star VD Berghoeve, who took home the second-place prize. Hallie Grimes and Ashton Dvo Z were the only other duo to complete a double clear for the third-place honors.
“We had a great few weeks,” smiled Flynn after her win. “Kentucky is a really good stopping point for us going up north to Connecticut. All the horses love it here. It’s great to be able to go ride out in the grass and have such a nice big ring to show in – the horses are extremely happy here!”
Delaney Flynn & Quotation
The Anderson Lima-designed track featured a technical course of jumps that traversed the expansive Rolex Stadium and included a vertical-oxer double combination and an oxer-vertical-vertical triple combination before the final line going past the gate. Seven combinations advanced to the jump-off, where they had to begin with an ‘S’ line through the ring before jumping a new bending line and then rolling back to the double combination and finishing over a new vertical next to the gate.
Hallie Grimes & Ashton Dvo Z
Flynn was the first athlete to return and complete a second clear effort aboard Quotation, a 10-year-old Belgian Sport Horse by Chacco-Blue, owned by the Windsor Show Stables. The duo stepped on the gas to the first fence and never held back. The winning pair took a risk through the middle and galloped quickly to the final delicate vertical. It paid off as they broke the beam in a fault-free 38.968 seconds to go to the top of the leaderboard. One round later, Grimes and Ashton Dvo Z produced the second double clear of the day. They were quick and careful, leaving all the rails intact to stop the clock at 40.969 seconds, which would hold up for third place. The only other double clear came when Ballard and New Star VD Berghoeve took to the tiebreaker track. The duo picked up a quick gallop and never touched a rail, but they crossed the finish line just one second slower than Flynn in 39.994 seconds for the second-place award, while Flynn returned to lead the lap of honor.
Erynn Ballard & New Star VD Berghoeve
“I’ve ridden Quotation for almost two years now, and in the last few months, he’s really stepped up to a different level,” explained Flynn. “All of the pieces have come together, and he’s extremely fun to ride – especially in the jump off. He can take a little bit of a risk, and he comes off the front rail really well. I’m really excited for the summer ahead with him and hopefully stepping up to the FEI level to see how we do.”
As her time at the Kentucky Spring Series comes to a close, Flynn concluded, “There’s a lot of different classes that you can choose from here, and if you have ones that are a little bit greener, it’s great to be able to move them up into bigger national classes before just throwing them into the deep end and FEI. It’s a great stepping stone and all the horses feel great and energized when we come here, so we’ll definitely keep coming back.”
The Kentucky Spring Series has officially come to a close, but plans are already underway for the 2026 Kentucky Summer Series. Presented by Rood & Riddle Equine Hospital and scheduled for July 22 – 26 and July 28 – August 2, 2026, each week will feature world-class hunter/jumper competition at the prestigious Kentucky Horse Park. Online entries are open at Show Management Systems. To learn more or view the prize list visit www.KentuckyHorseShows.com.