Lexington, KY - It was slightly overcast today at the Kentucky Horse Park as riders gathered to compete in the Walnut Ring during the Kentucky Summer Horse Show. The Young Jumpers took center stage competing in the Five-Year-Old, Six-Year-Old, and Seven/Eight-Year-Old classes. Today's top ribbon winners included Kim Prince, Christian Heineking, and Mark Bluman in their respective classes.

Allen Rheinheimer designed today's designed today's technical tracks, which included a liverpool, an oxer-vertical double combination, and a vertical-oxer-vertical triple combination. In the Seven/Eight-Year-Old Young Jumper Qualifier, Kim Prince had an excellent first round aboard King of Hearts, owned by Chloe Reid of Washington, D.C., to advance to the jump-off. The duo left all the rails intact and stopped the clock in a speedy 39.573 seconds to claim the first place prize.

"We got King of Hearts last year as a seven-year-old and I share him with his owner," explained Prince. "She rides him a lot in the junior classes and this year has moved up to the High Juniors. I haven't ridden him much at all; this is our first Seven/Eight-Year-Old class. Chloe's doing Young Riders this week, so she wasn't able to show, so I got to ride him today. I thought it would be a good idea to see if I could qualify for the Finals at the Hampton Classic with him. If he gets in, she'll show him herself or she'll show him in the High Juniors. King of Hearts is a really big talent and we're very excited about him.

Prince continued, "He needs a very light ride, but he shakes his head a lot so you have to stay very focused because he will go around the turns shaking his head. It's been a bit of a challenge for 14-year-old Chloe to learn to ride him, but it's been good for her. He has all the ability in the world; we have great hopes for him. His jump is easy, but the rideability between the jumps is just now coming together."

Finishing second in today's Seven/Eight-Year-Old Young Jumper Qualifier was Shane Sweetnam with Everlychin De La Pomme, owned by Spy Coast Farm of East Setauket, NY, who were the first to show over the course and completed the jump-off in a faultless time of 40.829. Jill Knowles, of Lake Forest, IL, placed third with Fanta after they left each rail in its cup and stopped the clock at 41.901 seconds during the jump-off. Juan Ortiz of Wellington, FL, scored the fourth place award with the slowest double clear round, breaking the beam at 42.95 aboard Wauw.

Earlier in the day, the Six-Year-Old Young Jumper Qualifier was held in the Walnut Ring where Christian Heineking claimed the first-place honors aboard NTEC Selena, owned by Kai Handt of Wylie, TX. The duo completed a double clear effort in 38.476 seconds, almost a full second ahead of second place finisher Max Amaya and Cobalt, owned by Remarkable Farm of New York, NY, who stopped the clock at 39.171 seconds. Caitlyn Shiels took home the third place award for her fault-free short course aboard S&L Downtown, owned by True North Stables of Sheffield,MA, in a time of 43.161. Richard Cheska of Waukesha, WI, and Espoir managed to produce the only other double clear round, breaking the beam at 45.327 seconds for the fourth place honors.

The Five-Year-Old Young Jumper Qualifier victory went to Mark Bluman and Comtessa, owned by Gustavo Cepeda of Miami, FL, after they raced over the short course in a blazing time of 37.871 seconds. Shane Sweetnam placed second and third with Spy Coast Farm's Bretagne and Baldev after they completed fault-free rounds in 39.666 seconds and 42.288 seconds, respectively. The fourth place honors went to Willie Tynan and Catch A Cloud, owned by Sweet Oak Farm of Wellington, FL, the slowest double clear effort, stopping the clock at 43.672 seconds.

"Comtessa just started doing classes, she's really young and really green, but she has been doing great," noted Bluman. "She won a class last month and I really enjoying riding her. During the jump-off, there were a lot of spots where you could gallop because the jumps were far away, so I just galloped because she has a big stride. She needs a light ride because she's really sensitive, she's a real mare, but she's easy to ride."

Bluman added, "I love Kentucky horse shows. The facility is great and the horses love it here because of the footing and the jumps. Everything is perfect!"

The Kentucky Summer Horse Show will come to a close tomorrow following the $40,000 Kentucky Summer Grand Prix. This exciting event will get underway at 6:00 p.m. in the Rolex Stadium, with the nation's top riders competing for the winning title. On Wednesday, the Kentucky Summer Classic will be held at the Kentucky Horse Park, followed the 2011 USEF Pony Finals, the Bluegrass Festival Classic, and the KHJA Horse Show.

For more information about the Kentucky Summer Horse Shows, please visit www.kentuckyhorseshows.com.