Kent Farrington Flies to Victory at Vermont Summer Festival

Kent Farrington of Wellington, FL, rode Up Chiqui to win the $50,000 Vermont Summer Celebration Grand Prix, the final event of the six-week Vermont Summer Festival held July 9 through August 17 in East Dorset, VT.

Twenty-four riders tackled course designer Pierre Jolicoeur’s track with eight jumping clear to advance to the jump-off where it all came down to the tightest turns.

“I thought the first round was very friendly, just the right amount of riders went clear and we had a nice jump-off,” said Farrington. He noted that the jump-off also rode as expected, but the key to winning was turning hard and keeping Up Chiqui balanced. They finished clear in 34.95 seconds.

“You just have to let him do his thing,” Farrington said of the 10-year-old chestnut gelding who measures just under 16 hands. “I just have to keep him from going too fast and going crazy. He’s built like Sea Biscuit.”

Up Chiqui is owned by Alex Boone, WM Dobbs and Farrington, and has made numerous trips to the grand prix winner’s circle including at the 2007 Rolex/USEF National Show Jumping Championships.

Bill Lowry of North Scituate, RI, rode last in the jump-off and came closest to catching Farrington by finishing clear in 36.05 seconds. Lisa Rex and Fit 3, the winners of week two’s $30,000 Battenkill Grand Prix and week five’s $10,000 TSE Cashmere/Furla Open Welcome Stake, Presented by the Manchester Designer Outlets, finished third with a clear jump-off time of 36.10 seconds.

This marked Farrington’s third visit to the Vermont Summer Festival.

“It’s a great place to bring up young horses and young riders who are stepping up to the grand prix level,” he said. “I like that it’s laid back here, which is much different than a lot of the other big circuits.”

Up Chiqui is scheduled to show next at the Hampton Classic in Southampton, NY, followed by the Spruce Meadows Masters in Alberta, Canada.

$50,000 Vermont Summer Celebration Grand Prix – Final Results
1.Kent Farrington - Up Chiqui 0 0 34.95
2.Bill Lowry - Rio Corde 0 0 36.05
3.Lisa Rex - Fit 3 0 0 36.10
4.Hillary Dobbs - Marlo 0 0 37.05
5.Cortie Wetherill - Equinox 0 0 37.67
6.Danielle Torano - Ormsby Hill 0 0 40.21
7.Bill Lowry - Polygraaf 0 4 37.07
8.Timothy Hooker - Sirius 0 4 38.00
9.Kevin Babington - Caracas 1 86.16
10.Danielle Torano - Vancouver D’Auvray 1 86.83