THE five-star Longines FEI Jumping World Cup 2024/25 is now underway, with the first leg of the North American League taking place at Traverse City, Michigan, USA on Sunday, with a host of other classes also being held at the venue over the course of the weekend.

American rider, Kent Farrington, who is currently number 10 in the world, rode Greya to claim the $340,000 CSI5*-W Longines FEI Jumping World Cup win on Sunday, during the Tournament of Champions at Traverse City, where some of North America’s top riders were joined by combinations from around the world in front of a large crowd of spectators.

Ireland’s Alan Wade had the task of building a course to challenge the 35 starters and that he did, as just seven of them managed to jump clear rounds to get into the jump-off. The first of these was Farrington on board the 10-year-old Oldenburg mare Greya (Colestus x Contender), who set the time to beat at 37.19 seconds.

“I went first, and I thought the class would be fast, but I didn’t think that it would be wild,” said Farrington following his win. “I thought I had done a pretty aggressive round and that someone would have to try hard to catch it. It got a little closer [to the final fence] than I would have liked, but we had luck on our side today.”

For Farrington, having a class of this calibre at the start of the United States autumn schedule is a step in the right direction for the sport in his home country.

“I think that this is great for American show jumping,” he stated. “You’re starting to see some new faces like Sam [Hutton] and Abdel [Saïd] and this whole team coming from Europe, and I think that says a lot about the venues and the prize money that we have. The support that we’re getting from the industry and sponsors is great for our sport and great for North America.”

Samuel Hutton (GBR) took the runner-up spot with Melusina Bvl Z. Making their journey worthwhile, Hutton made a great attempt with AS Sport Horses’ 10-year-old Zangersheide mare (Mylord Carthago HN x Air Jordan Z), finishing less than 0.2 seconds behind Farrington, stopping the clock at 37.36 seconds. Alise Oken (USA) took third place on High Hopes Farm’s 13-year-old Dutch Warmblood mare, Gelvera (Quality Time TN x Numero Uno) in a time of 38.44.

Shane Sweetnam and James Kann Cruz (ISH) (Kannan x CSF Telly Cruz x Cruising), bred by Patrick Connolly, finished best of the Irish in the class. They jumped a clear first round, but picked up four faults in the jump-off to finish seventh.

Conor Swail and Vital Chance de la Roque took the runner-up spot in the $32,000 Storm Ridge Capital 1.45m Speed class at Traverse City (USA) \ Traverse City Horse Shows

Sensational

Farrington first discovered Greya as a five-year-old in Europe and kept her overseas for a year before importing her and beginning to work with her in his stable. From there, it’s been a careful, calculated and exciting development process.

“She’s a sensational horse,” he said. “She was always extremely, extremely careful. She had a bit of a wild personality, but she’s always been an exceptional athlete and a special horse. I’m very proud of what she’s developed into. We’re still at the very start of her career. I’m excited to see where it goes.

“We went to World Cup Finals last year (in Riyadh), and it went great. It was a big step up for [Greya],” Farrington reflected. “I would like to do it [again] with two horses, like I did last time. I would say [Basel] is definitely in my sights. Hopefully my horses are in good form when that time comes around.”

Farrington has assumed an early lead in the North American League standings with 20 points. Oken sits second with 17 points, followed by Daniel Bluman (ISR) with 15 points.

League debut

The qualifier was the first of seven being held in the North American League season and also the first to be held at Traverse City Horse Shows, making it a special occasion for the venue.

“It means everything for us to host this event,” stated Traverse City Horse Shows event director Matthew Morrissey. “I want to thank the FEI for placing their trust in us and hosting this event. We’ve been here for 10 years at this venue, continually making improvements, improving our team, and I think we put on a great event today.”

Wade has built courses in this ring for many years, including for the American Gold Cup and he said afterwards: “There’s a certain set of specifications that you have to follow, but unless you have faith in a surface and fence material - which I always have - and it isn’t every day you would build such a strong course,” he affirmed.

“The horses have been jumping amazing all week. In the qualifier on Friday, I thought horses jumped very well. We were setting a fair test, hoping that the better horses would get to the top. As it was the first [FEI] World Cup™ qualifier of the season, I think it was a good start to the season.”

The show had got underway last Thursday, when Co Down’s Conor Swail made a strong start, taking runner-up spot in the $32,000 Storm Ridge Capital 1.45m Speed class, with the 15-year-old gelding Vital Chance de la Roque.

From 64 starters, 27 combinations jumped clear, with time being the deciding factor. Swail’s time of 58.07 seconds wasn’t quite good enough to beat McLain Ward and First Lady, who won the class in 56.32.