In the $73,000 CaptiveOne Advisors 1.50m Classic CSI5*, the final class of the day in the International Arena for the ninth week of the 2021 Winter Equestrian Festival (WEF), Kent Farrington (USA) and Creedance, owned by Farrington and Haity McNerney, were uncatchable for victory on Sunday, March 14.
A total of 59 horse-and-rider combinations took their shot against Alan Wade’s (IRL) track. Featuring a line-up of 11 entries, the jump-off promised to be a hard-won effort, but the Farrington was a force to be reckoned with and ultimately secured the win.
Wade’s top courses have been well-planned and challenging all week, and his last course of the week held true. A lengthy number of competitors missed the chance to return for the jump-off by a single unfortunate rail while several others suffered time infractions.
Combinations that returned for the jump-off included top athletes such as Farrington, Daniel Deusser (GER), and McLain Ward (USA). Sweden’s Henrik Von Eckermann was the first to complete the second track fault-free after crossing the timers in 35.10 seconds with the Portfolio Horses, LLC’s Glamour Girl. His effort with the 10-year-old KWPN mare (VDL Zirocco Blue x Moonlight II) was enough to secure the third place ribbon at the end of the class. Eduardo Menezes (BRA) flew into second place with his own H5 Quintol. He and the 16-year-old Oldenburg gelding by Quintender x Cento managed an efficient time of 34.83 seconds but was still well-behind the class leader.
Farrington returned late into the jump-off order with his winning 14-year-old Dutch Warmblood gelding Creedance (Lord Z x Notaris). The pair made it obvious they were a duo that would not be bested as they effortlessly cleared every obstacle and blazed through the timers in 34.12 seconds.
“[Creedance] is a horse that is hyper competitive in these style classes,” explained Farrington. “I put him specifically in today’s class instead of the grand prix because it is still early in the year and, as he is getting a bit older, I am choosing classes that he is more comfortable in to save him up for the rest of the year.”