Kent Farrington on Orafina won the $62,500 3* Classic in Kentucky

Details: May 11, 2025; By Staff Writers

LEXINGTON, Ky.--Newly minted World No. 1 show jumping rider Kent Farrington on Orafino won the $62,500 Spring Classic CSI3* at the Kentucky Spring Horse Show/

Kent Farrington on Orafina Winslow Photography Kent Farrington on Orafina (Photo by Winslow Photography)Farrington won over four in the jump-off from a starting field of 68.

Farrington was clean in 37.50, beating second placed Francisco Goyoaga Mollet on Stakato Cornet, clean in 40.86, by 3 seconds, while Shane Sweetnam on Coriaan Van Klapscheut was third in 43.44 and Alex Granato on El Diablo Du Nord had a rail down for fourth

“The plan for the jump off is always let Orafina go Orafina speed,”said Farrington. “The first round is the hardest because you’re actually trying to slow her down the whole time, and then in the jump off you just let her run like she wants to run – that’s actually normally the easier of the two rounds. If I can get into the jump off, she’s normally a good contender.”

"(COURSE DESIGNER Bernardo Costa Cabral) had a lot of entries tonight,” said Farrington. “I think he used the time allowed to be a big factor in the class, which I think is smart. It’s a good way to separate the field without putting riders or horses in a position where they’re in trouble by building a class stronger than expected.”

“Orafina feels great,” said Farrington. “I gave her a long break. She had almost a year off from an injury, but started up strong in Florida. She won a few classes there, already won a few classes, and jumped some 1.55m. I keep her at this level. I brought her here before I go to Europe, so she’s done now for a little bit. She gets a rest, a little paddock time and I’ll pick back up with her up when I’m back in the States.”

Farrington took over the top spot on the World Rankings on Monday.

“It’s great,” he said. “I had to dust this armband off. It was a little dirty, hadn’t been pulled out in a while, but felt great to put it on again.”

“This is a wonderful place to bring young horses with a large warmup area, a friendly schedule with lots of different classes at different levels, so I can sort of bring some of my greener horses here and let them get some experience,” said Farrington.