Farrington validating top-ranked world ranking
Reaching the top of your chosen profession is a grind.
Staying there, says Kent Farrington, is something he really doesn’t dwell on.
“I always said that I was going to stick to my plan and my schedule and I wasn’t going to chase points to try to be No. 1,” began Farrington, currently leading the FEI world rider rankings. “I was going to focus on the horses I had and winning big events, and it would happen naturally. I knew sooner or later I would hit it. It was great for my team; I have staff that’s been with me for 10 years and owners that have been there just as long. To be No. 1 in the world, I was more happy for them than for even myself.
“In terms of maintaining it, I just try to do my schedule, and it’s going to go how it goes. I want to focus on big classes, and if I’m No. 1 or No. 3, it is what it is.”
More days like Wednesday and it’ll go quite nicely.
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. In the first event in the International Ring, the 36-year-old rode Dublin to a jump-off victory in the Kubota Cup. A few hours later, he found himself once again in the winners’ circle — this time with his faithful 16-year-old Uceko, wresting the PwC Cup from seven others in yet another jump-off.
It went just about according to his plan of old.
“I had this thing when I was a little kid,” he began, grinning, “I’d go to every single show, and I’d say my goal was to win every single class I entered. I think it maybe happened once in my career. I joke around that’s always what I want to do, but I’m aiming for a lot of horses to do different things. The grey horse that won (Dublin), my goal is to build him to jump bigger things and grow his confidence here. For Voyeur, I want to get him ready for Aachen, so I’m just doing training rounds with him. Hopefully, Gazelle can have a little luck, and we can win the grand prix (on Saturday). If I can do all of those things, I’ll say I had a good week.”
The Chicago-born Farrington has an enviable stable of excellent horses, and when he needs the job done, he can still turn to the winning Uceko.
“He’s really been a great horse for my career,” said Farrington. “I got him at the end of his six-year-old year — he’s been a mainstay in my stable and sort of brought my career to an international level, and I owe him a lot for that. I’m very proud that he’s still able to go and win at his age.
“I pick the venues that he likes, pick the places where he wins and save him for those.
“It takes a bit of discipline, but in the long run, the horse wins more and lasts longer.”
Farrington did not have an easy task at hand in the PwC Cup jumpoff. Spruce Meadows newbie Fernando Martinez of Mexico, who on the weekend finished third in the Pan American Cup aboard Cor Bakker, added a second-place finish with the same partner. First out in the jump-off, he set a blistering pace of 44.83 seconds, which only two riders were able to better: Farrington and Canada’s Tiffany Foster riding her longtime mount Victor.
“I’m really pleased to ride him,” said Martinez of Cor Bakker. “He’s careful, and he’s fast. I’m learning at this level — this is my first time in the five-star, and I’m thrilled he’s taking me there.”
“He’s learning pretty fast,” quipped Farrington.
“It’s like a dream for me to be here,” Martinez continued. “We have nice shows in Mexico, but never against these guys. I’m just watching them on TV, and it’s amazing to be here.”