In his first appearance at the Tryon International Equestrian Center (TIEC), Kent Farrington (USA) piloted Gazelle to a win in the $35,000 FEI 1.50m Suncast® Welcome, finishing the class in 43.76 seconds. Sharn Wordley (NZL) and Casper crossed through the timers in 47.387 seconds for second place, while Alise Oken (USA) and Hitchcock VD Broekkant collected third place with a time of 47.387 seconds. Major FEI competition continues at the venue with the $130,000 Asheville Regional Airport CSI 3* Grand Prix on Saturday, May 7, at 7:00 p.m Farrington, who currently sits in sixth on the FEI World Ranking list, took an efficient and educational approach to the track with Gazelle, capitalizing on opportunities to further the training of the 2006 Belgian Warmblood mare (Kashmir van Schuttershof x Diva ‘Ter Elsen’) as well as improve their communication throughout the course. Manuel Esparza (MEX) designed today’s course in the George Morris Arena, which saw ten combinations move forward to the jump-off round, while six pairs secured a double clear effort on the afternoon. “Manuel Esparza is an experienced designer and I’ve jumped his courses before in Calgary. They’re always designed very well. I think it was a great class measuring this for the welcome today,” commented Farrington. Gazelle’s scope and carefulness helped the pair around the short course, in which they finished nearly four seconds faster than second place finisher Wordley. Farrington has carefully built up the mare’s confidence and focused on sharpening her turning ability in the ring. Final Results $35,000 FEI 1.50m Suncast® Welcome 1. GAZELLE, 2006 Belgian Warmblood mare by Kasmir van Schuttershof x Diva ‘Ter Elsen’ KENT FARRINGTON (USA), Kent Farrington & Robin Parsky: 0/0/43.76 2. CASPER, 2006 Oldenburg gelding by Contender x Falubet SHARN WORDLEY (NZL), Sky Group: 0/0/47.387 3. HITCHCOCK VD BROEKKANT, 2007 Belgian Warmblood gelding by Canturo x Quilis an Boelaere ALISE OKEN (USA), Hi Hopes Farm, LLC: 0/0/47.538 4. LADRIANO Z, 2008 Zangersheide gelding by Lawito x Gambelle ILAN BLUMAN (COL), Blue Star Investments: 0/0/50.515 5. VDL WITTINGER, 2003 Dutch Warmblood gelding by Indoctro x Irusa AMANDA FLINT (USA), Amanda Flint: 0/0/50.558 6. BULL RUN’S TESTIFY, 2004 Selle Francais gelding by Dollar du Murier x Marquise Des Monts KRISTEN VANDERVEEN (USA), Bull Run Jumpers, Inc: 0/0/51.657 7. ONIRA, 1996 Dutch Warmblood gelding by Nimmerdor x K.Ylona D BRIANNE GOUTAL (USA), Remarkable Farms LP: 0/4/45.297 8. BINKIE, 2006 Dutch Warmblood gelding by Larino x Whisper B DAVID BLAKE (IRL), Pine Hollow Farm:0/4/50.095 9. CORNET’S GOLD 2, 2005 Westphalian gelding by Cornet Oblensky x Dinah L KYLE TIMM (CAN), Apex Equestrian Center: 0/4/51.043 10. SUPERBAD, 2004 German Sport Horse by Ludwig Von Bayern x Kora AMANDA FLINT (USA), The Coverboy Group: 0/NA 11. BULL RUN’S HOLY SMOKES, 2004 Belgian Warmblood mare by Wunder Boy van de Zuuthoeve x Belle KRISTEN VANDERVEEN (USA), Bull Run Jumpers, Inc: 4/69.64 12. CAROLIEN VH SCHEER-KASTEEL, 2002 Belgian Warmblood mare by Perhaps VH Molenvondel x Qalanka V Scheefkanteel Z VANESSA MANNIX (CAN), Vanessa Mannix: 4/71.31
