Pablo Barrios won Thursday’s ,000 Hagyard Lexington Classic with Zara Leandra at the Kentucky Spring Horse Shows, and currently leads the 2013 Hagyard Challenge Series. Photo: Rebecca Walton/PMG.

Lexington, KY – May 11, 2013 – Pablo Barrios has taken an early lead in the 2013 Hagyard Challenge Series. Barrios took home the top spot during Thursday’s $25,000 Hagyard Lexington Classic. The Venezuelan native rode Zara Leandra to a dominating first place finish with a double clear effort in 38.258 seconds. Richie Moloney is holding the second place position in the standings after claiming the second place award on Thursday aboard Slieveanorra. Olympian Margie Engle is currently ranked third in the standings after she went double clear with her veteran mount Indigo to earn the third place honors. The Hagyard Challenge Series is a summer-long series of seven show jumping events at the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington. The rider who accumulates the most points in the series will receive a $50,000 Leading Rider Award, presented during the Kentucky National Horse Show in September. The second event in the series will be next Thursday during the Kentucky Spring Classic at the Kentucky Horse Park. Hagyard Equine Medical Institute is one of the oldest and largest equine veterinary practices in the world. Founded in 1876, the institute offers a staff with qualifications unparalleled by any single non-university veterinary group in the equine industry, and Hagyard veterinarians have dedicated themselves to the health and well-being of the horse for more than 130 years.The facility at Hagyard Equine Medical Institute offers 13 Digital Radiology systems, 1.5 Tesla Siemens MRI, Nuclear Scintigraphy, a high speed treadmill, an on-site laboratory, an on-site pharmacy, full surgical services, 24-hour ambulance and emergency services, and Hyperbaric Medicine. The institute has practiced veterinary medicine for more than 133 years and is currently composed of over 60 experienced veterinarians, with 12 board certifications in specialty areas of Medicine, Surgery, Critical Care, and Theriogenology.Several generous sponsors have helped make this exciting series event happen. These gracious supporters include: title sponsor MWI Veterinary Supply, and presenting sponsor Zoetis, as well as Audi of Lexington, Dean Dorton Allen Ford, Hagyard Flex-tra HA, Johnson Horse Transport, Hallway Feeds, Kirk Horse Insurance LLC, Pike and Preston, and Stoll Keenon Ogden. For more information on the Kentucky Spring Horse Shows please go to www.kentuckyhorseshows.com. To learn more about the Hagyard Equine Medical Institute, please go to www.hagyard.com. 2013 HAGYARD CHALLENGE SERIES STANDINGSPLACE TOTAL RIDER1   250  PABLO BARRIOS2   170  RITCHIE MOLONEY3   150  MARGIE ENGLE4   100  ANGEL KAROLYI     100  KENT FARRINGTON6     80  SCHUYLER RILEY7     70  DEREK BRAUN8     50  BLYTH MARANO9     20  VICTOR SEGOVIA10   10   AARON VALE