USA’s Kent Farrington and Jasper won the $131,600 Imperial Winning Round CSI 5* during the ‘North American’ Tournament at Spruce Meadows in Calgary, Alberta, Canada.
Riders had competed earlier during the week to qualify for the Imperial Winning Round (1.50m), with only the top 30 riders based on their placings from the Kubota Cup and the AON Cup eligible to compete. Canada’s Tiffany Foster and the quick gelding Brighton won the event in both 2016 and 2017 and were looking for a hat trick win in today’s event.
The top ten results from round one returned to compete in the Winning Round including fan favorites Kent Farrington, Eric Lamaze and last year’s winner Tiffany Foster. A rail in round one had Foster coming back first in the Winning Round. Then, with a time of 55.900 seconds, she laid down a clear ride aboard Brighton.
The remainder of the field was working hard to catch Foster’s fast time, and she held onto that lead until the final horse. Farrington was the only thing standing between Foster and her victory. However, the American and the 9-year-old Belgian Warmblood stallion (Heartbreaker x Wega van’t Gestelhof) left nothing on the line. They posted a clear ride with a time of 53.900 seconds to take the win.
This was the second win for Jasper, owned by Farrington and Tanma Corporation, at the Spruce Meadows Summer Series.