A grand prix jump-off often comes down to strides—specifically leaving them out to save precious seconds. But Kent Farrington doesn’t like to get stuck on a number. When most of his competitors opted for nine or 10 strides down the first line in the jump-off for the $137,000 NetJets Grand Prix CSI3*, he took 12.
“I tend not to count in very long lines,” said Farrington. “I like to ride off what I feel the horse needs. She’s a small horse, so if you are running and jumping too long or too flat, you risk a rail, so I think it’s better to run up to the jump and get their hocks underneath them. It allows them to get more height and make a short turn about a stride out when I land. It’s different styles for different horses, but that’s what suited my horse.”
The decision paid off, as he topped the feature class of Week 3 of the Winter Equestrian Festival in Wellington, Florida, on Jan. 31 with Take The High Road LLC’s 13-year-old Holsteiner mare (Casall—U2 I, Corrado I) Austria 2.
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Watch Farrington make it happen, courtesy of WEF.
See full results from the $137,000 NetJets Grand Prix CSI3* on the PBIEC website.
