Kent Farrington Makes it a Double of Wins on Opening Day of Spruce ‘North American’
Kent Farrington Makes it a Double of Wins on Opening Day of Spruce ‘North American’
Kent Farrington and Dublin
Longines FEI World No. 1 ranked rider, Kent Farrington, was a double winner on the opening day of the Spruce Meadows North American, the fourth and final tournament of the summer show jumping series. The inaugural day of the show, presented by Rolex began with the Kubota Cup 1.50m competition and a roster of 71 top international athletes.
Continuing his winning ways at Spruce Meadows Summer, Farrington aboard his own and Tanma Corporation’s ten-year-old gelding Dublin (Cobra x Calido), made it to the finish line with the blistering fast time of 36.65 seconds.
“What a great way to start,” said Farrington after the victory. “I really wanted to use the Summer Series to build Dublin into a top international horse, and there is no place better to do than at Spruce Meadows. This venue offers great courses, wonderful materials, superb footing and fierce competition. It is the best for finding out how good a horse can be.”
A few hours later, Farrington found himself once again in the winners' circle. Entering the competition on RCG Farm’s incredibly talented Uceko, a 16-year-old gelding by Celano, the duo took control in the PwC Cup 1.55m. A starting roster of 41 top international athletes, representing 13 nations, would challenge the course designed by Varela. The challenging first round was mastered by seven pairs who went on to an exciting jump off against the clock.
The Chicago-born Farrington has an enviable stable of excellent horses, and when he needs the job done, he can still turn to Uceko, who has carried him to a truckload of victories over the years. “He’s really been a great horse for my career,” Farrington said. “I got him at the end of his six year-old year and he’s been a mainstay at my stable. Uceko really brought my career to an international level and I owe him a lot for that. I’m very proud that he is still able to go out and win like he did today.” Farrington continued, “Uceko is a special horse, he really has his own way to win – which is different from most of the other horses. He’s able to leave out strides that I don’t think many other horses can do while still leaving the fences up so that gives me a big advantage.”
Source: Noelle Floyd and Calgary Sun