July 31, 2023 
Few things are certain in this world. But like a new Taylor Swift hit, tornados, and taxes, you can pretty much guarantee that American Olympian Kent Farrington will be winning, and winning a lot.
July 2023 has been another stellar month on the books for the 42-year-old rider, who came away with a win on July 1 in the CSI5* 1.60m Pan American Cup at Spruce Meadows with Landon, taking home the lion’s share of the $435,000 purse. A few days earlier in Calgary, he and Toulayna topped the 1.55m Canadian Utilities Cup CSI5*. The purse for that: $145,000.
Farrington’s flush July tour continued among the rolling cherry tree fields and aqua-colored lakes of Traverse City, Michigan. On July 16, he landed a one-two finish in the 1.50m CSI3* Grand Prix of Michigan, winning with the 9-year-old Zangersheide, Toulayna, and taking second on the 16-year-old KWPN, Creedance. On July 27, he cruised to another win with Creedance in the CSI3* Speed Stake and on July 30th, took second in the CSI3* Grand Prix with 9-year-old Oldenburg, Greya.
And that was just July.
Most people wake up covered in new mosquito bites in summertime. Kent Farrington wakes up blanketed in grand prix sashes.
In fact, a deeper dive into the American rider’s Jumpr App stats reveals he’s won over €10.6 million since 2013. Divided over a decade, that works out to be more than one million euros a year. Who says you can’t make a living at show jumping?
Unsurprisingly, Farrington’s fortunes tend to rise and fall with the horses he has, and where they happen to be in their grand prix development. Last season, by the rider’s own admission, was a time of development for his string, and his prize money total—€952,276, for shame!—reflects that process.
Throughout the last decade of show jumping, however, Farrington has cracked €1 million a year 50% of the time. His least lucrative year was 2013, when he raked in just under €174,000. (For reference, that’s roughly the annual salary of a U.S. senator.) At the time, aboard horses Blue Angel, Willow, and Uceko, Farrington climbed just eight podiums, four of them as the winner.
Compare that to his best year to date, 2017, when Farrington brought in more than €1.9 million and jumped far more classes—an average of 45 per horse—with top mounts Creedance, Dublin, Sherkan D’amaury, and Gazelle. That year, Farrington made 42 podiums, more than five times as many as in 2013.
Once again, nearly half (24) were wins, with 10 at the 1.60m height. Among them: big purses in Miami, Florida; Madrid, Spain; Valence, France; Spruce Meadows, Alberta; and Geneva, Switzerland.
But what’s really good news, if you’re Kent Farrington, is that the 2023 show year is looking to be on track with some of the rider’s best.
With five months left of the season on the calendar, Farrington, at press time, was trending around the €800,000 mark, with 23 podium finishes under his belt—12 of them victories. That averages a cool €114 or so a month, meaning if he keeps up this pace, Farrington will finish the year well over the €1.3 million mark in prize earnings alone.
It’s a feat he’s managed only four times since 2013, the last of which was four years ago. But with plenty of big-money classes still left on the show jumping calendar (think: the Spruce Meadows ‘Masters’ and CHI Geneva), and a string of horses that are rapidly proving their worth, 2023 is Farrington’s year to make it rain.
