Kent Farrington (USA) and Amalaya Investments’ Voyeur concluded the Spruce Meadows ‘Pan American’ Tournament CSI 5*, presented by Rolex, with a masterful win Sunday. Competing in the $400,000 Pan American Cup, presented by Rolex, competition ended impressively as the three highest ranked American riders in the world claimed top honors. With Farrington leading the way, Beezie Madden (USA) finished second aboard Abigail Wexner’s Simon, and McLain Ward (USA) placed third riding Sagamore Farm’s Rothchild. Thirty-three entries contested course designer Guilherme Jorge’s (BRA) first round track, with nine combinations earning the chance to jump-off, and five clear rounds over the short course. Colombia’s Roberto Teran set the standard in the jump-off aboard ARK Partners LLC’s Arkos des Rosiers Z, clear in 42.36 seconds, to eventually fifth. Charlie Jayne (USA) and Alex R. Jayne’s Chill R Z immediately upped the pace, finishing with a time of 39.56 seconds to earn the fourth place prize. Ward jumped the next clear, and easily took the lead with his remarkable partner, Rothchild, in 38.98 seconds. The lead quickly changed hands, however, as Farrington and Voyeur blasted through the course in 36.71 seconds. Last to go, Madden and Simon jumped into second with their time of 38.09 seconds. Rich Fellers (USA) and Harry and Mollie Chapman’s Flexible clocked in at 38.14 seconds, but brought down the final fence to place sixth with the fastest four-fault round. Farrington won the same competition in 2014 aboard RCG Farm’s Uceko and was back this time aboard the talented Voyeur, a 13-year-old Dutch Warmblood gelding (Tolano van’t Riethof x Goodwill). Farrington and Voyeur most recently won the $400,000 RBC Grand Prix, presented by Rolex, during June’s ‘National’ Tournament and have been on a hot streak all season. On Sunday, the pair sprinted easily through the jump-off course to secure a substantial margin of victory. “I had the advantage in the jump-off today of going after McLain,” Farrington noted. “He is one of the most competitive riders in the world, and we always have a good rivalry between us, so I got to watch him go. Unfortunately, coming after me was one of my other rivals, also one of the best in the world (Beezie Madden). It was a tough day of sport today and I thought my horse was fantastic.” “My horse has a huge gallop,” Farrington commented on his jump-off. “Between the second and third fence I think I did one less stride than everybody else in the competition. The rest of it, I just kind of stayed on the same pace. He has a monster gallop, and he is naturally fast across the ground anyway and that is a big advantage in a field like that.” In the first course, Voyeur was exceptionally strong and caused Farrington to adjust his ride to accomplish the clear round. “When he is very fresh and he is really jumping, the downside is that he gets really strong,” Farrington explained. “He jumped out of the double really high, and coming towards the gate he got very strong with me. I had to do an extra stride that I did not plan on. It was a bit more work than I was expecting, but he pulled it off.” Madden worked hard for her clear round as well, as Simon was also extra strong throughout the first round. In the jump-off, she then rode the plan that she knew was best for her horse. “He was actually a little stronger than usual today,” Madden detailed. “I don’t know that I have ever shown him this many weeks in a big field, so I think it is catching up with me a little bit, but the good part about him is you get him to the jump even within range and he tries his heart out to make it over.” “When I have him in a jump-off, I almost don’t watch the others because I want to just stick to my plan and do what I know I can do,” Madden added. “I have some limitations with how much I can let him out of the bag, but he is surprisingly fast anyway.”
