Kent Farrington and Blue Angel win the Valentine's Grand Prix
A special $84,000 Salamander Hotels & Resorts Valentine's Grand Prix CSI 3* was held on Friday night at the FTI Consulting Winter Equestrian Festival (FTI WEF) with another exciting win for Kent Farrington (USA) and his speedy mount, Blue Angel. The pair has been on fire this season and topped the class almost three seconds faster than second place finishers Cian O'Connor (IRL) and Carlous Z. Australia's Benjamin Meredith and Bernadien van Westuur finished third.
On Friday night, Great Britain's Richard Jeffery set the course for 42 starters in the grand prix, held in the International Ring at The Stadium at PBIEC, with eight clear rounds to jump-off. Third to go in the order, Kent Farrington and Robin Parsky's Blue Angel slammed the door on the other competitors, not leaving little room for improvement on their blazing fast time of 36.58 seconds for the win.
Cian O'Connor and Ronnoco Jump Ltd.'s Carolus Z tried their best and finished second in 39.28 seconds. Benjamin Meredith and River Farm Sporthorses' Bernadien van Westuur finished third in 41.56 seconds. The only other pair to clear the short course without fault, Thomas Dresler (DEN) and Never Say Never, placed fourth in 42.52 seconds. Emanuel Andrade (VEN) and Hollow Creek Farm's ZZ Top VH Schaarbroek Z had the fastest four-fault round in 37.89 seconds.
Kent Farrington and Blue Angel kicked off the winter with a great win in the $125,000 Trump Invitational Grand Prix CSI 2*, presented by Rolex, in January and also had a great start to this week with a win in Thursday's $34,000 Ruby et Violette WEF Challenge Cup Round 6. The momentum of that win just one day prior definitely helped keep the pair on their toes for Friday night's class.
Final Results: $84,000 Salamander Hotels & Resorts Valentine's Grand Prix CSI 3*
1. BLUE ANGEL: 2002 AES mare by Luidam x Ascendant
KENT FARRINGTON (USA), Robin Parsky: 0/0/36.58
2. CAROLUS Z: 2003 Zangersheide gelding by Canabis Z x Toulon
CIAN O'CONNOR (IRL), Ronnoco Jump Ltd: 0/0/39.28
3. BERNADIEN VAN WESTUUR: 2001 BWP mare by Toulon x Wibramino
BENJAMIN MEREDITH (AUS), River Farm Sporthorses: 0/0/41.56
4. NEVER SAY NEVER: 2001 KWPN gelding by Heartbreaker x Jus de Pomme
THOMAS DRESLER (DEN), Thomas Dresler: 0/0/42.52
5. ZZ TOP VH SCHAARBROEK Z: 2001 Zangersheide gelding by Zandor Z x Latus I
EMANUEL ANDRADE (VEN), Hollow Creek Farm: 0/4/37.89
6. CORAL REEF VIA VOLO: 1998 BWP mare by Clinton x Heartbreaker
BEEZIE MADDEN (USA), Coral Reef Ranch: 0/4/38.50
7. OHLALA: 2003 Swedish Warmblood mare by Orlando x Cardento
LAUREN HOUGH (USA), The Ohlala Group: 0/4/40.23
8. WIRMA: 2003 KWPN mare by Hors La Loi III x Lux
BRIANNE GOUTAL (USA), Remarkable Farms LP: 0/4/40.45
9. ARISTO Z: 2004 Zangersheide gelding by Andiamo Z x Flamenco Desemilly
BEN MAHER (GBR), Jane Clark: 4/66.75
10. SOLERINA: 1999 Irish Sport Horse mare by Cruising x Diamond Lad
SHANE SWEETNAM (IRL), Sweet Oak & Spy Coast Farms: 4/66.83
11. ROCKY W: 1998 KWPN gelding by Libero H x Corofino
KAITLIN CAMPBELL (USA), Kaitlin Campbell: 4/67.54
12. ACORTE: 2003 Hanoverian mare by Acorado x Stakkato
AUDREY COULTER (USA), Copernicus Stables LLC: 4/68.62
Check the interview with Kent Farrington.