Calvin Van Het Wuitenshof and Kent Farrington. Flashpoint Photography.
To watch an interview with Kent Farrington talking about his two wins, please visit here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rjew7fEgycs. ?
Located in the beautiful town of Hampton Falls, NH, The Jumper Classic is New England's premier equestrian event. This elite level competition attracts the country's top riders, past Olympians and local equestrians who compete for over $200,000 in prize money. The Jumper Classic runs through Sunday, September 18, with the highlight class, the $75,000 Fidelity Investments Grand Prix, on Sunday.
Course designer Anthony D'Ambrosio of Red Hook, NY, designed the tracks in the Coldwell Bankers Previews Grand Prix Field this week. Riders and trainers enjoyed a catered breakfast, sponsored by PlaneSense, in the SmartPak Rider's Tent once again this morning.
"I thought Anthony built a very appropriate course. It was challenging and asked the right questions. I thought he had a very successful day," said second place finisher Charlie Jacobs.
While Farrington had the advantage of going last in the speed class, he had the opposite in the $75,000 Fidelity Investments Grand Prix. He and Calvin Van Het Wuitenshof went fourth in the first round and were the first clear trip, so they returned first in the jump-off. It didn't faze the nine-year-old Belgian Warmblood gelding by Kannan, however, as Calvin treated the second round like the speed classes that he is used to. Farrington sped through the course and barely pulled on the reins as Calvin showed stunning form. They set the pace at 40.493 seconds with no faults and couldn't be caught.
"My plan was to go really fast!" Farrington laughed. "You know that you have to put the hammer down to have a chance at winning a class like this when you know you're first in the order and have fast riders like Charlie and Kate coming after you. That horse is fast all by himself. I thought just go his normal fast speed. The vertical-vertical (double combination) is something that you normally have to slow down to and be careful, but on a horse like him that is that careful by himself, you can just ride it like a normal fence. That's a huge, huge advantage."
Nicholas Dello Joio and Scarface, owned by Tony Weight, went next in the jump-off but totaled eight faults in 45.391 seconds for fifth place. Andrew Bourns and his horse Gowran Park had a refusal and ended up with 10 faults in 55.494 seconds for seventh place.
Kate Levy and Lirving du Volsin, owned by Christian Woschenko and Kate Levy LLC, were the next pair to post a clear round. Their nice trip recorded a time of 48.797 seconds for third place.
Levy has brought back Lirving du Volsin from a slight injury this summer, and this was only their second class back together.
Immediately following, Charlie Jacobs and Leap of Joy, owned by Deeridge Farms, were able to go clear as well. Their quicker time of 44.799 seconds garnered them the second place ribbon.
"I certainly wasn't nearly as fast as Kent," Jacobs admitted. "I was hoping to take out a stride in the first line. I have a large horse with a huge stride, and I thought I could make up some time. I ended up doing the same as Kent and it started to back us off a little. I thought we were still fast and tidy, but nowhere near the speed that Kent scorched the earth with over the course!"
Quentin Judge and HH Calvano, owned by Double H Farm, posted an eight fault score in the jump-off with a time of 46.541 seconds. They collected the sixth place ribbon. The final pair in the class, Christine McCrea and Windsor Show Stables & Candy Tribble's Avenir, had the speed to go for the win, but with an unfortunate rail at fence number 10, they had to settle for fourth place in the class. They had a time of 40.961 seconds.
Farrington has only ridden "Calvin" since last December. "He didn't have tons of experience, so I've just been bringing him along," Farrington said. "He's a spectacular jumper, he's super careful, and he's very, very fast. I don't know where his end scope will be. He reminds me a lot of Up Chiqui. He's really catty and you can just run at jumps on him. I don't know if he'll jump a World Cup Final or something, but I think he's going to be a great grand prix horse."
The $15,000 Equine Insurance Services Speed Stake presented by Great American Insurance Group was the opening class of the day. There were 38 entries in the class, and the course offered different obstacles like the liverpool and small part of the Dover Saddlery Derby Bank. The early leader in the class was McLain Ward on Domino, owned by Blue Chip Bloodstock. Their tidy trip around the course posted a clear round and time of 81.339 seconds. That would hold up for second place in the class.
Third place went to Nicholas Dello Joio on Navarre D'olueis, owned by J Adalberto Roig. Although they had four faults, those were converted into seconds added onto their quick time. They had stopped the timers in 81.671, but they finished with a time of 85.671 for third.
While some had quick trips and others were clear, none were close to catching Ward's time until the final competitor in the ring. Farrington and Samar were fresh off their win in yesterday's speed derby. Farrington was neat through the first three fences, but when he had a rail at fence four, he “kicked into another gear” to finish the course. They stopped the timers in a blistering time of 77.124 seconds, and with four faults added, their time of 81.124 seconds was just enough for the win.
"I have a faster horse, to be honest," Farrington acknowledged. "He's a speed specialist. He can do turns that a lot of other horses can't do. He's incredibly brave, he has a massive stride. You can take risks that you wouldn't normally be able to do on another horse. I don't think a lot of horses can turn back as short as he can."
Regarding his phenomenal week at the Fidelity Investments Jumper Classic, Farrington said with a smile, "I've had some good luck here in Boston! This show has treated me well. As long as I keep winning, I'll keep coming back!"
Everyone at the Fidelity Investments Jumper Classic would like to thank the sponsors, exhibitors, and spectators that helped make this year's show such a great success. For more information, please visit The Fidelity Investments Jumper Classic website at www.jumperclassic.com or visit The Jumper Classic on Facebook!?
Final Results: $75,000 Fidelity Investments Grand Prix
1 50 Calvin Van Het Wuitenshof, Kent Farrington, WH Ventures: 0/0/40.493
2 148 Leap of Joy, Charles Jacobs, Deeridge Farms: 0/0/44.799
3 133 Lirving de Volsin, Kate Levy, Christian Woschenko/Kate Levy LLC: 0/0/48.797
4 182 Avenir, Christine Mc Crea, Windsor Show Stables & Candy Tribble: 0/4/40.961
5 310 Scarface, Nicholas Dello Joio, Tony Weight: 0/8/45.391
6 345 HH Calvano, Quentin Judge, Double H Farm: 0/8/46.541
7 19 Gowran Park, Andrew Bourns, Andrew Bourns: 0/10/55.494
8 411 Caballero, Alexandra Thornton, Dunwalke: 1/86.124
9 49 Valhalla, Kent Farrington, Haity McNerney: 1/86.275
10 30 Pjotter van de Zonnehoeve, McLain Ward, Louisburg Farm: 4/81.067
11 137 Turbo R, Peter Lutz, Kelly Tropin: 4/81.587
12 29 Vocas, McLain Ward, Louisburg Farm: 4/81.690
Final Results: $15,000 Equine Insurance Services Speed Stake presented by Great American Insurance Group
1 53 Samar, Kent Farrington, R.C.G. Farm: (4)/81.124
2 355 Domino, McLain Ward, Blue Chip Bloodstock: (0)/81.339
3 308 Navarre D'olueis, Nicholas Dello Joio, J Adalberto Roig: (4)85.671
4 196 Nougat Du Vallet, Katie Dinan, Grant Road Partners LLC: (0)/85.906
5 123 Flipper D'or, Brittni Raflowitz, McLain Ward: (4)/86.417
6 93 Candide, Peter Leone, Haphco, LLC: (0)/86.900
7 379 High Quality, Andrew Bourns, Andrew Bourns: (0)/87.638
8 149 Quidditch II, Charles Jacobs, Deeridge Farms: (4)/88.081
9 64 Waliba VDL, Danielle Goldstein, Danielle Goldstein: (0)/89.086
10 264 Katina, Jimmy Torano, Danielle Torano: (4)/89.158
11 348 Bull Run's Amazing Grace, Kristen Vanderveen, Bull Run Jumpers LLC: (4)/85.193
12 126 Nepal, Jay Land, Jay Land: (8)/89.694