Kent Farrington on Landon won the $62,500 WEF Challenge Cup

Details: February 3, 2024; By SARA CAVANAGH

WELLINGTON, Fla.--U.S. team Olympic silver medalist Kent Farrington on Landon won the $62,500, CSI4* WEF Challenge Cup Round 4 on Thursday, Jan. 1.

Kent Farringtonon Landon winning the WEF Challenge Cup Sportfot Kent Farrington on Landon winning the WEF Challenge Cup (Photo by Sportfot)From a starting field of 54, 12 were clear for the jump-off designed by Anderson Lima of Brazil

Andres Bourns of Ireland withdrew from the jump-off, leaving 11 to compete.

Farrington, going in the second half of the jump-off order, was clean in 37.96 seconds

Molly Ashe Cawley on Loukas de la Noue was clean in 38.70 seconds to place second, and Canada’s Erynn Ballard was third, clean in 39.77 seconds on Libido van’t Hofken d’16, while Alex Matz on Junior Kannon was fourth, clean in 39.80.

“I love showing on the grass; I think that’s the best setting for horses in general,” said Farrington, who was a member of the U.S. Olympic squads in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and Tokyo, Japan. “It's great sport, and we’re lucky to have a wonderful field in Wellington."

“THE START of the course was pretty wide open and I tried to keep a normal stride,” said Farrington of his plan with Landon, the mount that won him a team gold medal at the Pan American Games in Santiago, Chile, last summer. “At fence four, my turn back there is probably where I won the class today.”

With Paris 2024 as a fixed goal in Farrington’s near future, Wellington is a time of preparation for him and his string of horses.

“I try to use it like a spring training where I get them up to some bigger level events if they're in form,” he said. “This is Landon’s first week out, and it’s off to a great start.”

“Florida is a great culmination of a bunch of different disciplines and high-level riders,"said Farrington, who now lives in Wellington. "It’s a place we call home and we're able to compete, develop, train and we can do everything and still stay in our own bed every night, so that's great for us who spend most of the year traveling. I love being here.”

Earlier in the day, Canadian Olympian Tiffany Foster won the CSI2* 1.45m on the derby field.

Riding Jetouelle-S, Foster was clean in 62.24 seconds, winning the one-round speed class by less than a second over Ireland's Jordan Coyle, who was second on Ariso in 62.91 seconds.

Fellow Irishman Conor O’Regan was third on Carmen de Bonnieres in a time of 66.65 seconds.