FARRINGTON REPEATS INTERNATIONAL STRENGTH AND SPEED CHALLENGE CSI5*-W VICTORY AT ROYAL HORSE SHOW
FARRINGTON REPEATS INTERNATIONAL STRENGTH AND SPEED CHALLENGE CSI5*-W VICTORY AT ROYAL HORSE SHOW
Nov. 10, 2022
Kent Farrington of the United States opened the international division with a win riding Austria 2 in the $38,000 Jolera International Strength and Speed Challenge on Wednesday, November 9, at the CSI5*-W Royal Horse Show in Toronto, ON. Photo by Ben Radvanyi Photography
Kent Farrington of the United States opened international show jumping competition at the Royal Horse Show by scoring victory in the $38,000 Jolera International Strength and Speed Challenge on Wednesday, November 9, as part of the 100th Royal Agricultural Winter Fair in Toronto, ON. Competing over a “power and speed” track designed by Michel Vaillancourt, riders had to navigate eight fences fault-free within the 45-second time allowed before immediately advancing to the speed portion of the course. Of the 12 horse-and-rider combinations to jump clear through the first phase, Farrington and Austria 2 were the fastest in the speed phase, stopping the clock in 30.08 seconds. It marked a repeat victory for pair, who also won in 2019.
“Austria is a hyper-competitive modern show jumper, so almost any course suits her,” said Farrington of the 14-year-old Holsteiner mare (Casall x San Patrignano Corrado) owned by Take the High Road LLC. “She’s won some five-star grand prix classes and jumped at some of the biggest shows in the world, but as she’s gotten older now, I try to pick classes that I think are a little bit easier for her to jump. She’s a great winner and has been since day one, and I think she will be until the end of her career.”
Ireland’s Conor Swail, currently ranked number five in the Longines World Rankings, came the closest to catching Farrington’s time. Colombian Olympian Roberto Teran placed third with BP Wakita.
“It’s great to be back at the Royal,” expressed Farrington, who won the Longines FEI Jumping World CupTM Toronto in 2017. “I can see they put a lot of effort into the 100th anniversary of the show; the place looks great. The atmosphere and the crowd are always fantastic as well, so it’s a super start to one of my favorite shows of the year.
“There’s usually a strong field of riders here and this year is no exception,” added Farrington, 41, a U.S. Olympic team silver medalist. “We have several riders ranked in the top 30 in the world, which is great for North American show jumping. It helps to raise the level of the sport and gives a great glimpse of top-notch sport to a lot of the people here that might not see it on a regular basis.”