Farrington one step closer to World Cup glory

Kent Farrington (USA) found himself in a familiar position Friday night at Dickies Arena in Fort Worth, Texas (USA). For the second day in a row, he led the victory lap at the Longines FEI Jumping World Cup™ Final.

After capturing Thursday's opening speed competition with Toulayna, he won the Second Final Competition with Greya, besting a seven-horse jump-off. The pair posted a winning time over Anderson Lima's (MEX) short course of 34.36 seconds. Eiken Sato (JPN) and Chadellano JRA were a half-second behind (34.90 seconds), followed by Kevin Staut (FRA) and Visconti du Telman (35.79s).

Farrington has his eyes set firmly on Sunday’s final two rounds of jumping, and his emotions were noticeably tempered after a second straight night of success, knowing the amount of jumping still between him and a first career victory in this championship. Farrington sits atop the overall standings after two rounds with 0 penalties; he has one rail in hand over three-time Champion Steve Guerdat (SUI).

I’m really thinking about the Final here on Sunday, so I’m trying to measure [Greya’s] efforts and measure my speed to put myself in the best position possible,” he said. “Hopefully we have some luck on Sunday.

The Essence of Time

Time played a strong factor in Saturday’s first round, with 20 percent of the 35-strong field incurring time penalties. That time crunch pushed riders toward more ambitious plans on course, and while rails fell throughout Lima’s 1.60m track, the combinations plagued riders most, with the final element of the triple combination and a delicate plank jumping into the final double repeatedly dashing riders’ hopes of a clear round.

It wasn’t until the 11th rider that the first clear effort came in, as Norway’s Oda Charlotte Lyngvaer cracked the code with Carabella vd Neyen Z in her World Cup Finals debut. It was another 11 riders until Sato, another first-timer, guaranteed a jump-off. He’d set a trend, with Katie Dinan (USA) and Rene Dittmer (GER) immediately replicating the feat. The final 10 riders saw three additional athletes add their names to the jump-off list, with Staut, Steve Guerdat (SUI) and Farrington executing successful plans on course.

When Lyngvaer and Sato both jumped clear again in the jump-off, it appeared as if the pace would get furiously quick, but these early riders put enough pressure on the rest of the field—as did the pressure of Farrington at the end of the start list. Rails fell for Dinan, Dittmer, and Guerdat, leading Staut—twice third overall in this Final, including last year in Basel (SUI)—to opt for a more conservative plan.

I have a 17-year-old mare. She’s jumping wonderfully, but she’s not that fast, honestly,” he shared. “There were some riders that had some faults in the jump-off, so I just went in trying to do a normal round.

That left Farrington with a simple advantage: footspeed.

I think I came with a faster horse, so that made it much easier,” he said. “I just rode her normal round, and her normal round tonight I thought would be fast enough to win the class.

Staut’s finish moved him into third in the overall standings with 6 total penalties. Sato is just behind him and in contention with 7 penalties—equal with Daniel Deusser (GER).

I’m very happy with second place [today]. Next to me is one of the fastest riders in the world (Farrington), and my horse is jumping really, really well,” said Sato, whose merits on the Western European League earned him a ticket to Fort Worth after he moved to Europe from his home nation of Japan. “I’m very happy to be here and to get in through the Western European League, so I’m proud of myself.

An Extraordinary Campaign

Farrington brought two talented mares to these Finals, but Greya stands out among the rest. The 12-year-old mare has won a remarkable 10 Grand Prix events at the highest level of sport, including a record-breaking seven in 2025 alone; Farrington has produced her since her 7-year-old season.

“I always have high hopes [for my horses]. I think you need to have a lot of imagination, and you have to keep high hopes for all your young horses that they’re going to make it [at the top level of the sport],” Farrington said. “I just try to let the horses decide what they’re going to do and do the best job that I can to produce them to the best of my ability and see where it lands us.

“That’s really the beauty of our sport, is building a rapport with a horse and, through time and training, a real bond with a horse,” he added. “Sometimes they surprise me with what they can do.”

The Longines FEI Jumping World Cup™ Final concludes Sunday, 12 April 2026 with the Third Final Competition. The top 30 overall athletes following Friday’s second round advance to this final two-round competition, which begins at 12pm CST.

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