Lexington, United States – July 31, 2025 – A field of top athletes gathered at the Rolex Stadium on Friday morning to compete in the $25,000 Kentucky Summer Classic, part of the Kentucky Summer Horse Show Series presented by Rood and Riddle at the Kentucky Horse Park. Following the first round of competition, five combinations returned for a test of speed and accuracy during the technical jump-off. As the first to return, James Billington (GBR) laid it all on the line with Lemonade WB, speeding through the turns and galloping home for the victory. The remaining riders had rails down as they tried to chase Billington’s effort. Separating themselves by time, it was Loic Cannaert (BEL) and Vivianne Blue PS placing second, just ahead of Vanessa McCaughley (USA) and Eldorado’s Edition in third place.
“I jumped Lemonade WB last week in the Welcome Grand Prix, and she’s new to this level, so she made a few green mistakes, but she felt great in that ring,” explained Billington after his win. “It’s a great arena and it was great courses. I jumped her today for the first time since Saturday night and she felt amazing – she really learned from last week.”
Course designer Jasen Shelley tested riders with a technical 12-obstacle track that utilized the expansive Rolex Stadium. It featured an oxer-vertical double combination in the middle of the arena, and riders had to finish over a delicate vertical-vertical double combination near the gate before galloping away from home over the final wide oxer. Five pairs advanced to the tiebreaker, which began with a sharp bending line to a tight rollback before going to the first double combination, and finished with a bending line to a new oxer.
Billington was the pathfinder of the day with Lemonade WB, producing the first clear round of the day and returning at the top of the order for the jump-off. With several fast riders behind him, he knew that he could not leave the door open and picked up a fast gallop to the first fence. Lemonade WB jumped each obstacle easily and sailed through the timers in 40.974 seconds to leave the rest of the field chasing them.
Loic Cannert (BEL) was next with Vivianne Blue PS, but a rail jumping into the double combination would incur 4 penalty-points and their time of 43.369 seconds would hold up for second place.
Vanessa McCaughley (USA) and Eldorado’s Edition tried to challenge Billington’s round, but they also added 4 faults to their score after lowering the height of the second obstacle, and their time of 43.443 seconds would be just shy of Cannaert for third place.
“To be honest, I never really walked the jump off courses with her because sometimes she’s strong, sometimes she backs up a bit,” noted Billington. “I never really know what I’ve got, so my plan was just to get from A to B as fast as possible and feel what I’ve got underneath me. I knew I could make some tight turns back to the verticals, and I knew I could be fast to the double. She’s so careful, and that all worked out, and then it’s up to everybody else. Luckily, today it was good enough!”
Lemonade WB is a 9-year-old Royal Dutch Warmblood by Hermitage mare owned by Samantha Mackenzie. Billington began riding her three years ago and is very excited about her future saying, “She’s new to this level, but she’s incredibly careful, so we just have to take the time a bit with her, but I think she has all the ability. She felt amazing today. These were some big jumps and she felt like she did it easily. I’m really excited for her. I’m going to move her up to some FEI classes and just keep going and we see how it goes.”
Billington is a British rider, but his team is based in Kentucky this summer and he has been enjoying his time at the Kentucky Horse Park. “It’s amazing here,” he concluded. “We are lucky enough this summer we’re based here, so I can come here every week that the show is on. The horses are super happy here. They all jump amazingly, and that’s a credit to the facility and the organization and all the people behind it, because when the horses are really happy, that makes us riders happy.”
The next highlight event in the Rolex Stadium will be Saturday night’s $50,000 Kentucky Summer Grand Prix. Show jumping riders will return for more exciting competition during the Bluegrass Festival and KHJA Horse Shows, which will be held in just a few short weeks. For more information on the Kentucky Summer Series please visit http://www.kentuckyhorseshows.com.
Final Results – $25,000 Kentucky Summer Classic
1) James Billington (GBR) & Lemonade WB – 0 / 0 – 40.974
2) Loic Cannaert (BEL) & Vivianne Blue PS – 0 / 4 – 43.369
3) Vanessa McCaughley (USA) & Eldorado’s Edition – 0 / 0 – 43.443
Source: Press Release from Kentucky Horse Shows
Photos: © KHS / Winslow Photography
