November 13, 2026 
Kent Farrington was just nine years old when Ian Millar and Big Ben made history with their back-to-back World Cup Final titles in 1988 and 1989.
Little did he know then that Captain Canada would prove to be more than just an inspiration on the TV screen.
“I watched all of [Big Ben’s] videos,” he said. “I had Ian Millar’s book when I was a kid. Actually, it was a great moment in the sport for me as I got up to higher levels to get to know Ian. He was a great kind of mentor to me early on in my career at the shows. He would always give me advice when I walked the course if I had questions. He was very kind and so I’m always grateful for his advice that he gave me along the way.”
Farrington is 45 now and the current World Cup Final champion. Come March, he’ll have the opportunity to match Millar’s record and has his own legend-in-the-making to do it in Greya.
But this week, it was another nine-year-old intertwining his career with the 10-time Canadian Olympian.
Aboard rising star Rexton, Farrington bested a 10-horse jump-off in the CSI5*-W Mad Barn Big Ben International Challenge—named after Millar’s famed partner—on Thursday at Toronto’s Royal Agricultural Winter Fair.
The pair crossed the timers of Bernardo Costa Cabral’s 1.55m short course in 32.96 seconds, beating Alex Matz and Ikigai by less than a tenth of a second (33.06).
For Farrington, it was an opportunity to test the gears on his developing partnership with the OS gelding.
“The plan was actually to push him a little bit and test him at a bit of speed, try to compete in the class to win,” Farrington said. “I’m thrilled with my horse. Running down to the last, you go with a lot of trust, and I have a lot of trust with him.”
While Rexton is a new ride for Farrington—joining his string from Germany’s Christoph Zimmermann and Janne-Friederike Meyer Zimmermann this past summer—he’s been on the world No. 2’s radar much longer.
“I actually rode him once as a young horse, and he was quite green at that time,” Farrington shared. “But I liked him, and then I circled back on him the last time I was in Europe, and we brought him home with us.”
It’s clearly a match. In 20 starts since August, they’ve jumped to five international victories—Thursday’s being their biggest yet.
