Kent Farrington and Creedance Secure $5,000 Win in Horseware Ireland Welcome Stakes

Kent Farrington and Creedance Secure $5,000 Win in Horseware Ireland Welcome Stakes

Kent Farrington (USA) and his well-known partner in crime Creedance, yesterday secured a win of $5,000 from the $35,000 prize fund in the 1.50m Horseware Ireland Welcome Stake CSI 3*, at Tryon International Equestrian Center (TIEC).

The TIEC class forms part of the Equus Events Tryon Fall CSI 3* competition. Farrington flew through the jump-off in tandem with Creedance, a 2007 Dutch Warmblood gelding (Lord Z x Notaris) owned by himself and R.C.G. Farm. The pair stopped the timers in 35.942 seconds to top the class.

Vanessa Mannix (CAN) rode into second place with her own Catinka 25, a 2009 Oldenburg mare (Catoki x Luxano) acquiring a jump-off time of 37.761 seconds.

Spencer Brittan (USA) took third with his own Uncle Blue, a 2008 Swedish Warmblood gelding (Chacco-Blue x Robin Z), stopping the timers in 39.258 seconds.

There were 47 horse and rider combinations set to tackle the first round, only eight of whom returned to the Michel Vaillancour designed jump off.

Said Farrington “My horse is naturally very fast, so for us, a good strategy is just kind of keeping his natural speed, and that’s usually good enough to win. He’s a top horse; he’s won big Grand Prixs all over the world.” Concerning the morning’s cooler temperature, Farrington commented, “He [Creedance] likes the cool weather. I think all horses like it. They prefer it a little bit colder; they have more energy and are more excited to jump.”

Having returned to the circuit following a leg injury last season, Farrington spoke of how he bounced back and it’s “business as usual”;

I’ve been back for a while. Exactly 12 weeks later, I was already showing 5* Grand Prix’s, so it really didn’t slow me down that much. It gave my horses a little more rest than usual, but since then it’s been business as usual.”

I just got back from Europe myself, so this is a good way to kick off our tour here,” he said of returning to compete at TIEC. Farrington plans to ride another of his well-known mounts, Gazelle, in Saturday night’s $132,000 Adequan® Grand Prix CSI 3*.

For full results from the $35,000 1.50m Horseware Ireland Welcome Stake CSI 3*, click here.