Kent Farrington Claims Third US Open Championship CSIO5* Victory

What do you get when you gather the best riders at the FTI Winter Equestrian Festival, ask them to tack up their best horses and ride in a major Grand Prix during Nations Cup Week? An amazing jump-off. In the end, it came down to the smallest of margins, with Kent Farrington taking the blue ribbon ahead of Beezie Madden and Cortes ‘C’ by just 0.01 seconds. Farrington got the edge with a super snug turn to the last, and turned it on up the last line, encouraged by the big crowd at the Palm Beach Equestrian Center.

Farrington just paired up with Lauren Hough’s old ride, Blue Angel, at the start of circuit, and though they’re still getting to know each other, that mare’s just his ride.

“It’s a special horse that’s actually the type of horse I grew up riding, a more Thoroughbred-type,” said Farrington. “We had a lot of horses off the racetrack, and I used to race ponies as a kid, so I’m used to riding small, hot horses like that. That’s sort of right up my alley.”

This is Farrington's third victory in the US Open Championship. He also won in 2008 aboard Up Chiqui and in 2006 with Madison. The achievement with Madison was a very special one as it was when Farrington had just recently turned professional. He talked about the legendary show jumping stars he beat in that day's main event. “It’s just an honor to be in that class. To have the opportunity to compete against the riders I read about when I was growing up and to win against horses of that caliber is just a real thrill for me.”

Source: Chronicle of the Horse