Steeped in Tradition

François Oosthuizen travels to Wellington in Florida, USA, to attend the prestigious 5* Rolex Grand Prix – the highlight of the three-monthlong Winter Equestrian Festival (WEF) – and visits the stables of Rolex Testimonee

- Kent Farrington

When He Was eight years old, Chicago native Kent Farrington saw an old photograph of his mother riding a horse – a discovery that would change his life forever. That instant he decided that he wanted to ride himself, not knowing that one day he would go on to become one of the best show jumpers in the world, winning prestigious tournaments around the globe and help team USA secure an Olympic silver medal at Rio 2016. But it was a long road ahead for the young rider, littered with many hurdles and obstacles along the way, before he turned professional in 1999 and his determination started to pay off...

“My very first lessons were at a carriage horse stable, where they had a riding lesson program. I went once a week for about a year,” Kent recalls. “I was really eager to to ride – I was a brave and aggressive kid – and then a trainer there asked if I was interested in riding some ponies on weekends. She said that she thought I could be good at doing some racing.” Kent went on to do a couple of pony races and set his mind on becoming a jockey, but that soon changed.

“I met a steeplechase jockey who told me that it’s really going to be tough – keeping your weight down is difficult and you end up in hospital at least a couple of times a year. I thought that it really doesn’t sound like fun, so I reevaluated doing steeplechase,” he says. “Then I saw a Spruce Meadows show jumping event on television, and that’s when I decided, okay that’s the direction I wanted to go. It was really a turning point [for me], I was probably 11 or 12...”