It’s always hard to beat Kent Farrington, but this season it’s been nearly impossible. The Olympic team silver medalist has topped eight major four- and five-star classes on three different circuits in six weeks, amassing over $600,000 in prize money from wins alone after rides on four different mares.

“Somehow I’ve ended up with a lot of mares,” said Farrington, 44. “I don’t know if that’s coincidence or not, but I think they’re great, and I get along with them too. Mares typically have a lot of personality; if you can guide that in the right direction, you can have an incredible horse.”

In particular, Greya, an 11-year-old Oldenburg (Colestus—Contessa 126, Contender) owned by Kent Farrington LLC, has been on a roll, winning back-to-back five-star feature grand prix classes at the Winter Equestrian Festival in Farrington’s hometown of Wellington, Florida. Those wins came on the heels of a Longines FEI World Cup Qualifier victory at the Desert Circuit (California) with Toulayna. The two mares were his partners for last year’s Longines FEI World Cup Final (Saudi Arabia), where Farrington placed fourth.

We caught up with Farrington to hear about his strategies for keeping his horses at the top of their game, his thoughts on barely missing out on the 2024 Paris Olympic Games, and why he’ll be staying home from this year’s Longines FEI World Cup Final in Basel, Switzerland.

You and Greya just scored multiple five-star wins. Talk about her character. What makes her such a winner?

She’s the modern show jumper. She’s super careful. She’s very fast, and she has a great desire to want to compete. I think those things combined make her a great sport horse today.

You’ve brought Greya up through the levels since she was a young horse. What’s that process been like with her?

That’s what I enjoy the most. I find that really rewarding. I bought her as a 5-year-old, and I left her in Europe for a year. Then I took over at the end of her 6-year-old year and really started putting in the rounds when she was 7 and just built her up slowly. She was always extremely careful, so I took my time in producing the horse.

You had such a disappointment when Greya suffered from allergies at the Paris Olympic Games and you weren’t able to compete. Is she a difficult horse to manage in general, or was that a fluke?

No, she’s not. It was sort of a one-off. I don’t know what it was. I don’t know if it was the air conditioning in the tent, or she just wasn’t feeling great there. I don’t know exactly; it was just bad timing.

But what’s good timing or bad timing is always hard to say. Would the Olympics have been a little bit early for her? Maybe. That was sort of a tall order, let’s say. With her experience she would have been one of the youngest horses competing at the Olympics, so I don’t want to say she couldn’t have competed well, I think she would have, but it still would have been a big ask. That’s just the fact of the matter.

When I didn’t feel that the horse was in top condition there, I’m not going to risk a horse like her for an event. We always say it, but it’s true: You put the horses first, and that’s always going to be the way to go.

When did you know with Greya that she would be a five-star horse?

I don’t think you actually know until you do it. Until then it’s just speculation, so I’d say when I jumped a couple five-stars, and I felt like she was doing it well, then you think, maybe this horse can do it. I think until then you don’t really know.

How old are most of the horses you’re looking to buy?

I try and get them when they’re younger, because I think then you have more time, and I’m using it to my advantage. When they’re younger, I get to know them better, so I can build more of a rapport with the horse. I know everything about them, and I’ve gotten them into my system of riding and training earlier.

That’s my passion. I’m passionate about the sport, and I’m passionate about horses, and I’ve been doing that for a while. It’s fun to see it pay off with the nice team of horses that I have today.

It’s getting increasingly competitive to buy talented horses. What is your strategy for keeping horses in your pipeline?

They say it’s hard to find [a good young horse]. I think there are always opportunities to find good horses. It just might not be in the package that you want it to be.

Ideally I’d love to have the horse when it’s 7, but lots of times I have to buy them when they’re 5, because otherwise they won’t be available. But I have an open mind. Sometimes I buy them when they’re 9, but they don’t have experience yet, so they have the experience or training level of a 7-year-old.

I think it’s more having an open mind to opportunity, and that’s probably the best way to make sure you have horses in your group.

What qualities do you look for in a young horse?

When you’re a younger rider, the best thing you can do is get as much experience as possible riding every type of horse. I think when you’re a more experienced rider, what you want is to accentuate your riding strengths. So I’m looking for horses that maybe suit me better, or I suit the horses better. Therein lies an opportunity. If I can ride a horse that maybe everybody else can’t ride, then that means that there’s a bigger market [for me].

I’m not that big of a rider, so I can ride smaller horse. I’m comfortable riding a horse that’s extremely careful, so that’s another one of my strengths. One of my weaknesses or something I wouldn’t be as inclined to buy would be a big, physically strong or cold type of horse—not that I couldn’t do it, I think I could, but it wouldn’t be my strength. I think there are many riders that would look for that horse that would probably be stronger in the market than me.

Talk about how you design a schedule for each of your horses for the year.

I think the horses sort of tell you. You can’t look that far in advance. You have a rough idea of what you’d like to do but you adapt as you go. Does the horse feel too tired after an event to do another one? Or did you go to that event and didn’t end up jumping as much as you originally thought, so maybe you can pick up an extra? In these things I try to really be fluid and adapt to the situation.

You’ve been traveling all over the country to compete this winter. Are you going to continue to travel a lot or stay in Wellington for the rest of circuit?

Wellington is my home. I like to base out of Wellington and treat the Winter Equestrian Festival like separate shows [rather than a circuit]. I don’t think it’s the best to go in the same ring over and over again; I don’t find that productive training, or realistic for what I do the rest of the year.

Even when I’m in Wellington, I try to make sure the same horses aren’t going every single week. I’ll show there as much as the schedule suits. No horse will show so many weeks in a row.

Without a quadrennial championship this year, what are your priorities?

I want to keep doing the best sport, going to the best shows, and trying to do the sport at the highest level.

Are you thinking about attending the Longines FEI World Cup Final in April?

No, this year I don’t think that will suit me as I have a heavy outdoor schedule leading up to there. To go right on the heels of Wellington, the week after the [$750,000 Rolex US Equestrian Open Grand Prix], to go from that much outdoor showing to an indoor immediately after, I don’t think I’m in a position where I’d be confident enough to contend for a win.

Are you looking at the Rolex Grand Slam this year?

I like those shows. I think those are some of the best shows in the world, so if the horses are in form I’d love to go.

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This article originally appeared in the March 2025 issue of The Chronicle of the Horse. You can subscribe and get online access to a digital version and then enjoy a year of The Chronicle of the Horse. If you’re just following COTH online, you’re missing so much great unique content. Each print issue of the Chronicle is full of in-depth competition news, fascinating features, probing looks at issues within the sports of hunter/jumper, eventing and dressage, and stunning photography.