Thanks to Rolex, World of Showjumping got a stable tour with Kent Farrington at Spruce Meadows, where we got to meet Creedance and his groom Denise Moriarty.
“Creedance is eleven years old, and I have had him since he was seven,” Kent told about his Grand Prix partner for the weekend. “He did Spruce Meadows in the summer and got some experience on the field. That is why I brought him back now. I try to plan his whole week around the Grand Prix and not go in to the other classes to compete, just doing the rounds good enough to qualify and save him for the big class on Sunday. He has never jumped the Grand Prix here before, so it will be the first time for him. It will probably be the biggest class he has ever jumped. I hope for a little bit of luck, and the goal is to win on Sunday.”
“I only brought one horse here, so that again is a bit of being disciplined about what my goal is and aim for Sunday. Normally I want to win every class that I enter, but this week is just for Sunday. Normally I bring them all, but this year after the injury it is a bit different for me,” Kent explained.
“Creedance is a very small and slim horse,” Kent said. “He is very bold for a small horse; he is like a Jack Russel. He is kind of fearless and that suits him here, because even if there are really big fences, he attacks the jumps. Gazelle is a little bit shyer. She is a bigger horse with a bigger stride, but extremely careful, so you have to really measure her confidence when you go to an event. Creedance can kind of handle anything you ask for him; he has a short stature, but a huge heart.”
After coming back strong following the injury he sustained in February this year, Kent explained a little about his accident and the recuperation. “I was doing a small training round. The horse stopped and came back the other way so I flipped over his head. Actually, I landed on my feet, but one foot landed bad and the leg went in half and the bone came out. It was a big mess.”
“I had surgery that night and walked around on crutches less than 12 hours later. My routine was just to eat, sleep and train every single day to get back riding. And 12 weeks later I was back competing at 5* level. I came here for the summer shortly after and all came back together – we won two 5* Grand Prix classes and we were back to form. It pretty much feels normal now, but it bothers me every now and then – if it is really cold or if I’m not warmed up. So I stick to a pretty strong routine of training. It is nothing new, but it is even more important for me now,” Kent explained.
“I was world no. one for about a year and had a really strong season last year. Then to just do a training round and fall off, as well as being told that I would not be able to ride for at least four to six months was hard. I came back earlier thanks to good trainers and a good doctor, but it is scary. When I first tried to ride it was super uncomfortable and then it is a hard to imagine competing again and even harder to think about jumping a Grand Prix again. Then you need to control your mind, but it is a battle.”
On the question to how Kent prepares for bigger events like the CP ‘International’ presented by Rolex, he answered: “I try not to change much, I keep it more or less the same, it is more about to peak a horse for particular events and to chose the right horse for the right venue. A place like for example ‘s-Hertogenbosh might need a different horse than one you take to Aachen.”
As for tomorrow’s CP ‘International’ presented by Rolex, Kent hopes that Creedance knows that it’s serious business with a Major to jump. “I told him, so I hope he knows. I said ‘Listen, it doesn’t matter what you do for the rest of the week, it is all about Sunday’. Most good horses rise to the occasion when it is a bigger class – just like any other athlete – and he has done it for me before, so I hope he will do it again,” Kent smiled.
Text and photos © World of Showjumping