April 28, 2025 
The number 13 may be unlucky, but it’s been a good omen for newly announced World No. 1 Kent Farrington’s top horse of all time, Gazelle.
That’s because the now-19-year-old Belgian mare, who retired in 2022, won a total of 13 5* Grands Prix in her career—more than any other horse in the last decade.
Among them are the Rolex Grand Prix of Aachen in 2019, the Rolex Grand Prix of Geneva in 2017, and back-to-back wins in the Queen Elizabeth II Cup at Spruce Meadows 2016-2017, just to name a few.
And while it’s fair to say that Gazelle is, to date, the best Grand Prix horse that Farrington has ever had (not to mention a legend in her own right), the bay #bossmare may not hold on to that former title forever.
Now in her 11-year-old season, Farrington’s OS mare, Greya, has won a total of five, 5* Grands Prix—two more than any other 11-year-old currently competing. These include the 2024 Longines FEI Jumping World Cup™ qualifier in Traverse City (pictured), and two 5* Grands Prix at Wellington International this February.
In yet another standout performance this weekend, Greya and Farrington took home the Kentucky International CSI5* Grand Prix at the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington. They did so by more than two full seconds.
First to return for the nine-horse jump-off, Farrington dared the night’s definitive inside turn back to the liverpool, keeping the throttle down from start to finish. Greya answered in kind, making the night’s toughest questions appear all but ho-hum.
“She’s a very special horse in terms of talent, probably on another level than even many of the great horses I’ve had,” Farrington said after the class. “But her character is very strong—it’s what makes her great, but it took time to build her up. She’s a boss mare—she runs the stable and is in charge and very confident in herself.”
That’s a description that’s not unlike another sharp, careful Farrington mare with footspeed to burn. But how do Greya and Gazelle stack up side-by-side?
For that, we need to go back to Gazelle’s own 11-year-old season in 2017, when she finished on nearly a dozen podiums, earning six, 5* Grand Prix wins—including the Rolex Grand Prix of Geneva—and pocketed more than €1,080,00 million in prize money. By that point in her career, Gazelle had already won eight 5* Grands Prix, and according to Jumpr, her stats were in the stratosphere.
In 18 rounds that year at 1.60m+, Gazelle jumped clear at 61%. But she finished in the top 10 in nearly as many rounds at that height at 75%.
Compare that to Greya, who, only a quarter of the way into her 11-year-old season, has already notched three, 5* Grand Prix wins to add to the two she earned as a 10-year-old in 2024. To match Gazelle’s record as an 11-year-old, Greya would need to win three more 5* Grands Prix this year, or one a quarter. She’d also need to double her podium count (currently at seven).
That’s not unheard of, especially given Greya’s track record so far. And she’s got the numbers needed to back it up.
In three classes this year at 1.60m+ Greya jumps clear at 67%, finishing in the top 10 in the same percentile. Not quite Gazelle’s jaw-dropping 75%, but good enough in most company to more than hold her own (Jumpr).
She’s also earned more grands prix in a shorter span in her 11-year-old year than Gazelle had by this point in the season (the latter mare earned her second victory toward the end of May, 2017).
Still a veritable, boss-mare toss-up? Maybe. But it sure will be a fun one to watch unfold.
