Kent Farrington and Up Chiqui won the $50,000 Vermont Summer Celebration Grand Prix to conclude the six-week 2008 Vermont Summer Festival on Sunday, August 17. Photo by David Mullinix Photography

August 17, 2008 – East Dorset, Vermont – Kent Farrington of Wellington, FL, rode Up Chiqui to win the $50,000 Vermont Summer Celebration Grand Prix, the final event of the six-week Vermont Summer Festival held July 9 through August 17 in East Dorset, VT.

Twenty-four riders tackled course designer Pierre Jolicoeur’s track with eight jumping clear to advance to the jump-off where it all came down to the tightest turns.

“I thought the first round was very friendly, just the right amount of riders went clear and we had a nice jump-off,” said Farrington. He noted that the jump-off also rode as expected, but the key to winning was turning hard and keeping Up Chiqui balanced. They finished clear in 34.95 seconds.

“You just have to let him do his thing,” Farrington said of the 10-year-old chestnut gelding who measures just under 16 hands. “I just have to keep him from going too fast and going crazy. He’s built like Sea Biscuit.”

Up Chiqui is owned by Alex Boone, WM Dobbs and Farrington, and has made numerous trips to the grand prix winner’s circle including at the 2007 Rolex/USEF National Show Jumping Championships.

Bill Lowry of North Scituate, RI, rode last in the jump-off and came closest to catching Farrington by finishing clear in 36.05 seconds. Lisa Rex and Fit 3, the winners of week two’s $30,000 Battenkill Grand Prix and week five’s $10,000 TSE Cashmere/Furla Open Welcome Stake, Presented by the Manchester Designer Outlets, finished third with a clear jump-off time of 36.10 seconds.

This marked Farrington’s third visit to the Vermont Summer Festival.

“It’s a great place to bring up young horses and young riders who are stepping up to the grand prix level,” he said. “I like that it’s laid back here, which is much different than a lot of the other big circuits.”

Up Chiqui is scheduled to show next at the Hampton Classic in Southampton, NY, followed by the Spruce Meadows Masters in Alberta, Canada.

The 2008 Vermont Summer Festival, held for its 15th year at Harold Beebe Farm in East Dorset, offered a total of $750,000 in prize money throughout the six weeks of competition, making it the richest sporting event in the state. In 2009, the Vermont Summer Festival will again offer six weeks of competition from July 1 to August 9. Visit the Vermont Summer Festival <http://www.vt-summerfestival.com/> website for more information.

        Rider     Hometown     Horse     Faults     Time
1     Kent Farrington     Wellington, FL     Up Chiqui     0:0     34.95
2     Bill Lowry     North Scituate, RI     Rio Corde     0:0     36.05
3     Lisa Rex     Westbury, NY     Fit 3     0:0     36.10
4     Hillary Dobbs     Sussex, NJ     Marlo     0:0     37.05
5     Cortie Wetherill     Wellington, FL     Equinox     0:0     37.67
6     Danielle Torano     Ft. Lauderdale, FL     Ormsby Hill     0:0     40.21
7     Bill Lowry     North Scituate, RI     Polygraaf     0:4     37.07
8     Timothy Hooker     Wellington, FL     Sirius 127     0:4     38.00
9     Kevin Babington     Ireland     Caracas 49     1     86.16
10     Danielle Torano     Ft. Lauderdale, FL     Vancouver D’Auvray     1     86.83
11     Hillary Dobbs     Sussex, NJ     Marengo     4     78.93
12     Holly Orlando     West Palm Beach, FL     Great Pleasure     4     81.59