Sunday 11-May-2025 Headlines
KENT FARRINGTON LEAPST TO NO. 1 SPOT IN JUMPING
The American is back at the top of the Longines Rankings...
US athlete Kent Farrington has become Jumping’s World No.1, bringing to an end Henrik von Eckermann’s record-breaking almost three years at the summit.
Farrington leads the way in the Longines Rankings for the second time in his career, having held the prestigious No.1 position for a year between May 2017 and May 2018.
The 44-year-old was helped to the top by a string of strong performances on home soil with horses such as Greya, Myla and Kanny-Fee. In his most recent outing, Farrington and Greya won the $400,000 Kentucky International CSI5* Grand Prix at Lexington (USA).
Farrington paid tribute to both Von Eckermann and his own "incredible" group of horses after returning to the top.
"I’m excited to return to World No.1 -- Henrik’s three-year reign has been incredibly impressive; it sets a high bar and deserves to be celebrated," said Farrington.
"This is an honour not only for me, but also for my team and everyone who helps support me in this sport. Reflecting back on 2018 when I last held the World No.1, I had an incredible group of horses, and today I’m very proud to be back with a totally different, but equally talented group.
"I’ve been riding most of my current horses since they were seven years old or younger and I really enjoy the process of developing them. It’s a rewarding journey and I’m excited to see where we can go from here."
Eight years after first becoming World No.1, the Wellington-based athlete remains one of only two Americans to top the Longines Rankings, the other being McLain Ward. Here is Farrington winning in Thermal (USA) earlier this year...
TWO-TIME OLYMPIAN:
Farrington is a two-time Olympian, who helped the USA win Team Jumping silver at the Rio 2016 Games with Voyeur. Farrington was on the same horse when he won a Team bronze medal at the FEI World Equestrian Games 2014 in Caen (FRA).
A two-time Team gold medallist at the Pan American Games, Farrington also won Individual gold in 2011 with Uceko in Guadalajara (MEX).
Farrington’s ascent marks the end of a significant era for the discipline of Jumping, as Sweden’s Von Eckermann had been at the top for a record 32 consecutive months since August 2022.
Behind Farrington, Great Britain’s Ben Maher climbs to No.2 followed by Von Eckermann. Olympic champion Christian Kukuk, of Germany, and Switzerland’s Steve Guerdat complete the top five.
--ENDS--
Source: https://www.fei.org/stories/sport/jumping/kent-farrington-leaps-no1-spot-jumping