When you think about the kind of year Kent Farrington has enjoyed, the dramatic conclusion in Sunday’s $216,000 FEI World Cup New York really could not have ended any other way. After guiding Gazelle over the final oxer to cement his victory over Charlie Jacobs, the big mare abruptly altered course after crossing the timers, hurling Farrington out of the saddle and onto the Old Salem turf. But the Olympic Silver Medalist nearly stuck the landing and even remembered to smile and bow to the judges.

When you’re good, you’re good.

“She spooked at something at the end of the jump-off,” Farrington explained. “She did that in the first round. She’s a really special horse. A lot of my horses are like that. I try to find horses that are careful, and that makes them a bit skittish and sometimes a little bit funny about anything moving fast or anything that looks a bit different to them. That’s their quality and that’s what makes them great and able to win a lot of classes. It’s also makes them a little strange sometimes and you don’t know exactly what they are going to do. I finished the round and I thought, ‘Oh that’s over,’ and I leaned forward to give her a pat on the neck and canter around the pond and she had a different idea to turn around and go back to the gate. So we compromised with a front flip and bow!”

It was an almost too perfect conclusion to a tough day on the Alan Wade’s highly demanding track, which only yielded two clears from 40 competitors. Going 8th in the order, Charlie Jacobs put in the day’s first clean round with his talented mare Cassinja S, then waited in silence like a pitcher working on a perfect game as the rest of the field took their swings. Amazingly, Jacobs remained the leader in the clubhouse all the way until the fifth to last pair, Farrington and Gazelle.

First to go in the jump off, Jacobs’s mare clipped the back rail on the third to last oxer, giving Farrington a clear path to victory.

“It means a lot to me because this is one of the Grand Prix’s I’ve never won in America,” Farrington said. “I thought Alan Wade built a difficult course today, which I think is well suited for a class of this prestige and prize money. With it also being a World Cup qualifier, I think it brings the best riders we have using top horses.”

Though he came up just a few inches short of the win, Jacobs now moved to the top of the Longines FEI World Cup Jumping North American East Coast League rankings.

“I am fortunate to have a really good team behind me,” Jacobs noted. “This is the third major grand prix in a row this summer that she has been second in. That speaks a lot to her consistency and her quality.”

American Lauren Tisbo held on for third place with her promising 9-year-old stallion Coriandolo Di Ribano.

Full Results from the American Gold Cup