Press release from Wellington International

Kent Farrington won his second Adequan® WEF Challenge Cup in as many weeks on Thursday during week 5 of the Winter Equestrian Festival (WEF) in Wellington, FL. The 2016 U.S. Olympic team silver medalist and 10-year-old Zangersheide mare Toulayna (Toulan x Parco) could not be caught in a 12-horse jump-off in the International Arena.

From an original field of 52, Farrington and Toulayna, a horse he started developing as a seven-year-old and owns together with Rabbit Root Stables, put on a masterclass of speed and agility. Textbook turns throughout a sweeping course built by Gregory Bodo (FRA) landed Farrington the win with two seconds to spare.

“You could see his sophistication in the first round; it was not a huge course but there were faults everywhere,” said Farrington of Bodo, who has been tapped to design the courses for the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris this summer. “The jump-off wasn't typical. It used the entire arena running up and down, so I think it was an advantage for a well-schooled horse that can turn great, and Toulayna turns as well as any horse. One to two on a very short rollback suited me well and at the end I was able to cut into the double on an angle to bend my two strides coming home. I think that is probably where she made it up.”

Toulayna stopped the clock in 35.98 seconds ahead of Spencer Smith (USA). He finished second riding Theodore Manciais, a 17-year-old Selle Français gelding by Kashmir van Schuttershof owned by Ashland Farms, in 37.23 seconds. Irish Olympian Darragh Kenny took third on 12-year-old Oldenburg Eddy Blue (Eldorado vd Zeshoek) owned by Kerry Anne, LLC, in 37.79 seconds.