Farrington AND Gazelle Gallop for Gold in Hubside Grand Prix CSI5*

June 20, 2021

Kent Farrington, the current World Number Five, won the €200,000 Hubside Grand Prix CSI5* with the aptly named Gazelle, in a magnificent jump-off in Grimaud, Saint-Tropez on Sunday.

The many spectators present for this second 5* Grand Prix of the 2021 season of the Hubside Jumping had to contend with light rain and moderate winds. However, this didn’t dissuade the 38 riders who had entered this last class to take part in the final showdown. Germany’s Angelique Rüsen on Arac du Seigneur was the first to tackle the course of France’s Cédric Longis and had the first clear round. 

With time faults and jumping faults here and there, maybe it wasn’t quite as easy as it seemed…until the tenth competitor went into the Haras des Grillons’ huge ring and jumped clear, guaranteeing that there would be a jump-off. And what a fantastic week Marie Demonte (FRA) had in Grimaud! In the CSI5* Grand Prix, Marie chose to ride Vega de la Roche. The second French combination who managed to qualify for the jump-off, Mathieu Billot and Quel Filou 13, jumped thirteen fences (and sixteen efforts) with remarkable ease. Belgium’s François Mathy Jr., with the Selle Français Uno de la Roque, and Switzerland’s Bryan Balsiger, on Twentytwo des Biches, sailed around the course and qualified for the jump-off, which already featured five riders halfway through the class. 

After Ireland’s Michael Duffy, who also qualified for the jump-off with Zilton SL Z, the big names in show jumping demonstrated that they had not had their final say: Nicolas Delmotte (FRA) with Ilex VP, USA’s Beezie Madden on Garant, Julien Epaillard (FRA), Simon Delestre (FRA) with Berlux Z, USA’s Kent Farrington on Gazelle—all these big names were also qualified for the jump-off, which boasted twelve riders in total, of which five combinations were French and two were American. The American riders are in great form a few weeks before the Tokyo Olympics.

An Incredible Jump-off!

It’s a well-known fact that it’s better to be among the last riders to go in the jump-off than to be the opening one. This cost the first two riders, Germany’s Angelica Rûsen and France’s Marie Demonte dearly and each had one pole down. Mathieu Billot and Quel Filou 13 were the first double clear, but in a time that seemed beatable. Belgium’s François Mathy Jr didn’t improve on Billot’s performance and had one down on an oxer. But Switzerland’s Bryan Balsiger was successful and was faster by sixty hundredths of a second with Twentytwo des Biches. The second group of jump-off riders had the French Riviera spectators on the edge of their seats. While Balsinger was the rider to beat, Ireland’s Michael Duffy also jumped double clear, but was slightly slower.

Nicolas Delmotte (FRA) was slightly faster and entered into the lead temporarily. USA’s Beezie Madden and France’s Simon Delestre were also clear in terms of jumping, but didn’t improve on the leading time: the main threats for Delmotte were represented by the last two impressive riders to go.

Julien Epaillard (FRA) shaved one and a half seconds off the time of his fellow countryman. Had the die been cast? America’s Kent Farrington set off in the jump-off like a rocket: in the stands the public knew that if he jumped clear he would win the Grand Prix. His performance lived up to expectations: for his first ever participation in the Hubside Jumping, the current Olympic team silver medallist and winner of the prestigious Grand Prix of Aachen in 2019, won the 5* Grand Prix!

 Winner’s Circle 

“It’s always great to win a 5* Grand Prix, like this one here near Saint-Tropez, for my first participation in the Hubside Jumping. Maybe Sadri Fegaier could organize shows in the United States as I regularly win at his European shows.” (Kent and Gazelle have already won the Hubside Jumping de Valence’s Grand Prix twice, which Sadri Fegaier also organizes.) 

“More seriously, I would especially like to thank Sadri Fegaier and his team: we went through a difficult period and we need people like him, enthusiasts who do so much for our sport. I take my hat off to him for building a complex like this for horses and the sport, and for organizing such great shows. I went last in the jump-off and Julien Epaillard was in the lead.  He is renowned for going really fast, even in the States.  So I had to give it my all! I really focused on Gazelle’s natural speed, and I was extremely careful: for example, a double in the jump-off can be dangerous at these speeds. Additionally, I was really careful on the last oxer, I helped Gazelle and in particular on these two parts of the course, that could have been difficult for her. Next week, I am going to stay here to rest and then I will be competing in Windsor and we’ll see after that depending on how my horses are.”

Source: Press Release by Daniel Koroloff / Blizko Communication for Hubside Jumping