Kent Farrington & Voyeur fresh off victory at Spruce Meadows, win Prize of Europe in Aachen…

Becoming a regular Rolex winner, Kent Farrington earned another fantastic win in what can only be described as a month of pure domination. Winning the ATCO Power Queen Elizabeth II Cup at Rolex-affiliated show grounds Spruce Meadows, in Calgary, seemed to set the pair up for another victory, this week in Aachen, taking home the Preis von Europa, presented by Turkish airlines.

The 33-year-old Pan American medalist, from Chicago, literally flew to victory with his 12-year-old KWPN gelding Voyeur – very much in keeping with the new Top Level Sponsor. The scoreboard showed the unbelievable time of 47.82 seconds as Farrington crossed the finish line of the 410-metre long jump-off course with its eight obstacles. Seventeen horses and riders reached the jump-off after riding clear in the first round. The representative of the “Stars and Stripes” outstripped his fellow competitors. Because, even the Portuguese rider Luciana Diniz, who came second, known for her speed, acquired a time of 3.24 seconds slower than Farrington. With his victory in the main jumping competition of the first day of the show, which was also a qualifier for the Rolex Grand Prix on Sunday, Farrington took over from the British team Olympic gold medallist Ben Maher, who won the Prize of Europe last year with his mare Cella.

Things went more smoothly for Diniz, who jumped clear in the first round with Lady Lindenhof in the fastest time, but ultimately she wasn’t able to match the fantastic performance of Farrington – who rode after her in the jump-off on the Holy Grass in Aachen. Third place went to the Irish rider, Shane Breen, who had previously been in the lead with the Westphalian-bred horse Confident Of Victory – the same was true for Meredith Michaels-Beerbaum, who was the Best German rider in the competition finishing fourth with the nine-year-old Fibonacci, followed by Frank Schuttert and Christian Ahlmann.

“My horse is quite naturally very fast and I have a lot of trust in him, so I just let him run,” was how Farrington commentated about his ride. The American has succeeded in winning three international jumping competitions within just three weeks. He now plans to ride his gelding in the Rolex Grand Prix on Sunday too. “I hope that I qualify,” commented the ambitious rider, who is also on the US Team long-list as a potential participant for the World Equestrian Games in Normandy.

Source: CHIO Aachen

Turkish Airlines-Prize of Europe | Main Stadium – CHIO Aachen 2014