It wasn’t a shocker when Kent Farrington headed to the top of the leaderboard — and stayed there — in the opening leg of Thursday’s FEI World Cup Show Jumping Final in Fort Worth, Texas.
Ranked number two in the world (number one, Scott Brash of Great Britain isn’t competing) Kent was clocked in 62.03 seconds over the one-round speed course with Toulayna, a 12-year-old Zangerheide mare he describes as versatile, reliable and naturally fast.
Kent enjoys his triumph.
“I’m pretty confident on this horse to do what I want to do,” the winner said, noting he wasn’t looking at what the 14 riders before him had done, or worrying about what the 19 yet to come after him would do.
Germany’s Daniel Deusser, a former World Cup champion, was just a stride or so off the pace in 62.21 seconds with Otello de Guldenboom, a 12-year-old Belgian warmblood stallion.
“My horse has a big stride. He’s not the fastest horse,” Daniel said, noting his approach involved seeking a smooth round over the route designed by Anderson Lima.
Daniel Deusser and Otello de Guldenboom.
Steve Guerdat of Switzerland, seeking to become the first person to win four Cup finals, was right behind in 62.49 seconds on Albfuehren’s Iashin Sitte, to stand third. He was hoping to have a top five finish, so third is a good spot. But as he noted, there are “still a lot of things to do,” observing that there are two strong riders ahead of him “and a lot of strong ones behind.”
After the class it was selfie time for Daniel Deusser, Kent Farrington and Steve Guerdat.
Ironically, Kent actually didn’t have the fastest round in real time. That belonged to fellow U.S. rider Lillie Keenan with the aptly named Kick On, clocked in 60.78 seconds as she started out with her foot on the gas pedal and never let up.
However, a rail down at 7A, the first fence of the second double, added a 3-second penalty to her time under the formula for the class, putting her fourth.
She was a late addition to the line-up when her mentor, McLain Ward, withdrew, still suffering the after-effects of a bad fall he took when a horse refused with him last month. He is on hand to coach Lillie.
Overall, it was a strong showing for team USA. Jacob Pope was fifth on Highway FBH in 63.89 seconds, while Aaron Vale, in the unenviable position of being first to go, stands sixth with a clean performance on Carissimo 25 (64.32 seconds). Lillie was the only one of the top eight to have a knockdown.
“I don’t remember when we had four in the top six on the first day,” said a delighted U.S. coach, Robert Ridland.
He commended Aaron for sticking to his plan as the first rider in the class.
“It didn’t surprise me. He knew his plan and it probably wasn’t going to change if he went first or thirtieth. When everybody sees the start being positive, it helps everybody.”
He knows the key to success in the final standings means, “Don’t lay it all on the table on the first day. If you want to be in the game. Ideally, you want to be in the top10 and go from there. And that’s what happened.”
Kent will switch mounts for Friday’s class to Greya, the mare on whom he won the $1 million Rolex US Open grand prix last month and the Winter Equestrian Festival.
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Riders’ positions in the order of go were determined by an unusual draw during a Wednesday party at Sundance Square (sponsor of the Cup show jumping final) in the heart of downtown Ft. Worth.
Derek Braun, the founder of the Split Rock tour that is presenting the finals, picked out hollow balls from fish bowls. Each contained a piece of paper with the name of a rider, who proceeded to come to the stage and select a cowboy boot (the evening was sponsored by Tony Lama boots) from a lineup of varied styles. The boots each had a number on the sole and that is how the riders learned where they would ride in the line-up.
Many of the riders, male and female, sported brand new cowboy hats that some styled to their own taste. Martin Fuchs, for instance, accessorized his with a jaunty feather. Katie Dinan wore a dress with a horse pattern topped off with a black hat. Kent Farrington went the opposite way; no hat, a white T-shirt and a jacket with jeans.
Switzerland’s Martin Fuchs shows Derek Braun of Split Rock the number he got at the draw party. (Photo © 2026 by Nancy Jaffer)
If you’re in the area and want to attend the show –the second round of jumping is Friday night, the dressage freestyle is Saturday night and the jumping finale Sunday afternoon — single-session tickets are available starting at $35. There are special pricing and package opportunities available for groups of nine or more. To purchase, contact Sydney at GroupSales@DickiesArena.com. Full ticket information is available online at https://www.fortworth2026.com/tickets, For more information, click here.