In front of a standing-room-only record crowd of more than 10,000 at Wellington International, hometown favorite Kent Farrington won the much-anticipated $1,000,000 Rolex U.S. Equestrian Open CSI5 Grand Prix.
Farrington, 45, of Wellington and his 12-year-old Oldenburg mare Greya posted back-to-back clear rounds including fastest jump-off to pocket $300,000, his biggest pay day and first grand prix win of the season.
“I knew it was going to be a tough competition. I really trusted [Greya’s] speed tonight,” Farrington said. “I tried to go fast enough to put pressure on the others but not take any ridiculous risks. I think the plan luckily paid off. You never know if it’s perfect until the class is over, but I thought I put in a very competitive round.”
Asked to describe Greya in three words, Farrington replied, “My favorite horse.”
It was the first time in seven years a U.S. rider had won the grand prix. The U.S. Olympic team silver medalist was among six of the world’s Top 10 in the field of 40, one of the best ever assembled for a five-star grand prix.
In the final ‘Saturday Night Lights’ event of the Winter Equestrian Festival, the No. 2 world-ranked Farrington had to wait out the last two qualifiers in the five-rider jump-off. Darragh Kenny of Ireland and Eddy Blue dropped the last fence and No. 4-ranked Richard Vogel of Germany and Gangster Montdesir had the time (42.87) but also dropped the last fence.
“I’ve been in the sport almost all my life and to be able to sit here and watch a Grand Prix like tonight, it’s mind blowing how good it was,” said Michael Stone, President of Wellington International. “The fact that the crowd silenced when the riders and horses were on course, you could hear a pin drop, and then as they came down to the last fence, everyone was cheering. It was really amazing.”
Farrington’s jump-off time was 42.99 seconds ahead of 2020 Olympic gold medalist Ben Maher of Great Britain and 12-year-old Selle Francais Enjeu de Grisien, runner-up in 43.72 who pocketed $200,000.
“It’s always great to win at home. Wellington has become an equestrian community,” said Farrington, whose stable is down the street from the showgrounds. “I live here, my mom lives here. They get a great local crowd that comes out here and cheers for all of us, but particularly the American riders, so it’s exciting to win here at home.”
It was the Greya’s tenth five-star grand prix win. She was the highest-ranked horse in the field according to EquiRatings.
“You have some good horses, maybe even some great horses, and then you have horses that are an outlier athlete, like I believe she is,” Farrington said. “She can do everything. She’s fast, she’s careful, she’s scopey, she’s rideable, she’s an incredible horse.”
Wellington International debuted as part of the Rolex Series in 2025, joining a list of the renowned equestrian sport venues in the world, including Rome, Italy; La Baule, France; Falsterbo, Sweden; Dinard, France; Dublin, Ireland; and Brussels, Belgium.
“The best riders come out, so we always have the highest level of sport, great prize money, and the prestige of a Rolex event puts us on the map,” Farrington said.
The course, designed by Brazilian Guilherme Jorge featured 18 jumping efforts. It was the 12th time Jorge has been the course designer for the final event.
“I live in Wellington, so it’s obviously very important for me to have a show like this and to be able to be the course designer at home,” Jorge said. “I think this year is probably the highest level that I have had on the final.”
The 2026 Winter Equestrian Festival featured facility upgrades, new spectator experiences, and millions in additional prize money, bringing the total to $16.55 million across 13 weeks of competition.
“I’ve been in the sport almost all my life, and to be able to sit here with these guys, it’s special,” Stone said. “It’s what we’ve been trying to achieve, and it drives us to achieve more, make it better, and to continue onwards and upwards.”
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