Farrington’s First At The U.S. Open $216,000 Grand Prix, But Hurricane Victims Come Out On Top 

New York City—Sept. 22, 2017

Kent Farrington and Creedance may have come through the timers first in the jump-off for the U.S. Open $216,000 Grand Prix, but they weren’t the real winners of the day.

As Creedance galloped into the ring to accept the blue ribbon announcer John Kyle revealed that Farrington had pledged his winnings to help the victims of the recent hurricanes. The $71,280 first-place check will be donated to Direct Relief, a top-ranked charity that works to improve the health and lives of people affected by poverty and emergencies. The organization currently has boots on the ground in hurricane-ravaged areas like Florida, Texas, Puerto Rico and other islands throughout the Caribbean.

“I thought of it a while ago, after everything that happened in Florida,” said Farrington, who hails from Wellington, Fla. “I think there was sort of a reality check, with the initial panic of watching the hurricane and worrying about what was going to happen and feeling so unsure. My mom was in Florida and was very nervous. When it wasn’t as bad as we initially thought there was some relief, but at the same time we realized people in other areas weren’t that lucky, and it was a lot worse than they expected. There’s so much devastation and a lot of people that are really in need of some help.”

Farrington came up with the idea on his own, but he discussed it with everyone on his team who supported him 100 percent.

“I have a longstanding relationship with the owners of this horse [Lara Kelly and Summer Paulos of R.C.G. Farm]—almost 10 years. They owned Uceko, who was sort of my first horse to do big sport. I discussed it with them, and they really liked the idea. They also have homes and families in Florida and some places that were really hit.”

Source: The Chronicle of the Horse