"I always love coming here. There's so much tradition," Farrington said.
World No. 2 Kent Farrington (USA) unveiled a rising star Thursday night at the Royal Horse Show, besting a 10-horse jump-off Rexton in the $116,500 CSI5*-W Mad Barn Big Ben International Challenge.
It was an all-American podium. Farrington and the 9-year-old gelding crossed the timers of Bernardo Costa Cabral's (POR) 1.55m short course in 32.96 seconds. The 2024 Longines FEI Jumping World Cup™ Toronto winners, Alex Matz (USA) and Ikigai finished second (33.06 seconds), followed by McKayla Langmeier (USA) and Gangster WW (34.84s).
Kent Farrington (USA) and Rexton. All photos by Ben Radvanyi Photography
The Royal Horse Show, which runs Nov. 6-15, is part of the Royal Agricultural Winter Fair, the largest combined indoor agricultural fair and international equestrian competition in the world. A nine-day showcase of equestrian sport, the show features a wide variety of disciplines, from international show jumping and dressage to national show hunters, indoor eventing, and an array of unique horse breeds. The marquee event, the CSI5*-W Longines FEI Jumping World Cup™ Toronto—which Farrington won in 2017—is set for Saturday, November 14.
"I always love coming here. There's so much tradition," Farrington said. "There's a great crowd and great atmosphere. I'm happy to be back and happy to have a win."
Just one-tenth of a second separated the top two, but Farrington had the advantage of having a target to catch, jumping after Matz. He set himself apart with purposeful pace from the start and a particularly strong gallop to the last, urging his horse forward the entire final stretch.
"The plan was actually to push him a little bit and test him at a bit of speed, try to compete in the class to win," Farrington said. "I'm thrilled with my horse.Running down to the last, you go with a lot of trust, and I have a lot of trust with him."
McKayla Langmeier & Gangster WW
Farrington acquired Rexton earlier this year, but he's been watching the horse for a much longer period as they grey developed under Christoph Zimmermann and Janne-Friederike Meyer Zimmermann in Germany.
"I actually rode him once as a young horse, and he was quite green at that time," Farrington shared. "But I liked him, and then I circled back on him the last time I was in Europe, and we brought him home with us."
The Mad Barn Big Ben International Challenge is named after the legendary jumping partner of Ian Millar (CAN). Millar and Big Ben competed in three Olympic Games together and won consecutive editions of the World Cup Finals in 1988 and 1989—when Farrington was just nine years old.
"I watched all of his videos. I had Ian Miller's book when I was a kid, so actually it was a great moment in the sport for me as I got up to higher levels to get to know Ian. He was a a great kind of mentor to me early on in my career at the shows," Farrington recalled. "He would always give me advice when I walked the course if I had questions. He was very kind and so I'm always grateful for his advice that he gave me along the way."
Full Results: https://www.longinestiming.com/equestrian/2026/royal-agricultural-winter-fair-toronto/resultlist_129.html
SOURCE The Royal Agricultural Winter Fair