Kent Farrington defended his Hampton Classic Horse Show Grand Prix title from last year with another win on Sunday.
Riding Zafira, Farrington posted a time of 38.51 seconds in the $250,000 FTI Consulting Grand Prix Show Jumping, beating Richie Moloney on Slieveanorra, who led by 40 seconds, and Georgina Bloomberg on Juvina, who had a time of 440. seconds.
Moloney, who hails from Riverhead, had two good days. He won the $40,000 Longines Cup on Saturday riding Carrabis Z and rode Slieveanorra to second in Friday's $50,000 Spy Coast Farm Grand Prix Qualifier.
Farrington, who is 32 and based in Wellington, Fla., was scheduled to ride Voyeur in Sunday's Grand Prix, but according to the Hampton Classic, Voyeur had a swollen ankle that morning. He rode Voyeur in the qualifying race on Friday.
“I thought maybe my chances weren't as good with her as with Voyeur, but I thought she could do it,” Farrington said of Zafira, a 9-year-old Dutch Warmblood, in a statement released via Classic. “That was a big step for her and she answered the question.”
Farrington joins the ranks of McLain Ward, Margie Engle, Michael Matz and Rodney Jenkins as the fifth rider to win the Hampton Classic Grand Prix in consecutive years, according to the horse show.
Bloomberg, daughter of New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, finished third in Sunday's Grand Prix. “The third-place finish was especially meaningful to Bloomberg, 30, for several reasons. First, she said the Hampton Classic will be her last appearance of the year since she is pregnant and expecting to give birth late this year,” the horse report said. in a statement.
