WELLINGTON — Crowd favorite Kent Farrington and Greya won the much-anticipated $1 million Rolex U.S. Equestrian Open CSI5 Grand Prix on March 28 at Wellington International.
In front of a standing-room-only record crowd of more than 10,000, Farrington, 45, of Wellington and his 12-year-old Oldenburg mare posted back-to-back clear rounds, including the fastest jump-off to pocket $300,000, his biggest pay day and first grand prix win of the season.
In the final Saturday Night Lights event of the Winter Equestrian Festival, the No. 2 world-ranked Farrington had to wait out the last two qualifiers in the five-rider, eight-fence jump-off. Darragh Kenny of Ireland and Eddy Blue dropped the last fence and No. 4-ranked Richard Vogel of Germany and Gangster Montdesir had the time (42.87) but also dropped the last fence.
“I was watching Richie and then I closed my eyes,” Farrington said. “I heard the crowd go ‘awe’ and I did a fist pump.”
It was the first time in seven years a U.S. rider had won the grand prix. The U.S. Olympic team silver medalist was among six of the world’s Top 10 in the field of 40, one of the best ever assembled for a five-star competition.
Farrington’s jump-off time was 42.99 seconds ahead of Olympic gold medalist Ben Maher of Great Britain and 12-year-old Selle Francais Enjeu de Grisien (43.72), who pocketed $200,000. They were followed by Vogel ($150,000) and Kenny ($100,000). The top 13 finishers in the field won prize money.
“You never know if it’s perfect until the class is over, but I thought I put in a very competitive round,” Farrington said. “It’s always great to win at home. Wellington has become an equestrian community. I live here, my mom lives here. They get a great local crowd that comes out here and cheers for all of us, but particularly the American riders, so it’s exciting to win here at home.”
It was the 2025 Horse of the Year’s 10th five-star grand prix win. She was the highest-ranked horse in the field according to EquiRatings.
“You have some good horses, maybe even some great horses, and then you have horses that are an outlier athlete, like I believe she is,” Farrington said. “She can do everything. She’s fast, she’s careful, she’s scopey, she’s rideable, she’s an incredible horse.”
Wellington International debuted as part of the Rolex Series in 2025, joining a list of the renowned equestrian sport venues in the world, including Rome, La Baule, France, Falsterbo, Sweden, Dinard, France, Dublin and Brussels.
“The best riders come out, so we always have the highest level of sport, great prize money, and the prestige of a Rolex event puts us on the map,” Farrington said.
Farrington’s groom, Denise Moriarty, was awarded the Double H Farms Grooms Award for her care and preparation of Greya. Canadian Olympian Erynn Ballard won the overall Leading Lady Rider Award, presented by Martha W. Jolicoeur and Douglas Elliman, with 557 points for the season.
The course, designed by Brazilian Guilherme Jorge featured 18 jumping efforts. It was the 12th time Jorge has been the course designer for the final event.
“I live in Wellington, so it’s obviously very important for me to have a show like this and to be able to be the course designer at home,” Jorge said. “I think this year is probably the highest level that I have had on the final.”
Several of the top riders fell victim to the 18-efforts course in the opening round, including two-time defending champion and reigning Olympic gold medalist and No. 6-ranked Christian Kukuk of Germany. He and his Olympic mount, Checker 47, crashed through the second fence, a wall obstacle. Seventh-ranked Frenchwoman Nina Mallevaey saw her Top 5 winning streak end at 10 grand prix events after dropping a rail.
2026 Winter Equestrian Festival awarded $16.5 million in prize money
The 2026 Winter Equestrian Festival featured facility upgrades, new spectator experiences and millions in additional prize money, bringing the total to $16.55 million across 13 weeks of competition.
“We’ve always strived to elevate the sport in the U.S., and to be able to have a competition tonight with the level of the riders that are here is mind-blowing,” Wellington International President Michael Stone said. “I’ve been in the sport almost all my life, and to be able to sit here with these guys, it’s special. It’s what we’ve been trying to achieve, and it drives us to achieve more.”
Irish Olympian Shane Sweetnam was awarded the Dennis Dammerman Perpetual Trophy for $25,000 Leading International Rider Award. After devoting nearly 50 years to show jumping, David Distler was honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award, as a well-respected judge and FEI steward, among other roles.
On March 29, eight of the top 10 places went to U.S. riders in the $62,500 Vogel 1.45-meter grand prix. Campbell Brown and Colina Z won with a clear jump-off in 41.90 and pocketed $18,750. St. Andrew’s alum Ali Wolff and Hesperide du Breuil were third in 42.92 ($9,375).
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Kent Farrington wins $1M Rolex US Equestrian Open before 10,000
Reporting by Sharon Robb, Special to The Post / Palm Beach Post
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
