Team Competition
Olympic course designer Guilherme Jorge (BRA) set a 1.50m track for Friday’s 5* Team Competition presented by Trelawny Farm at CSI Greenwich, where eight teams returned to Trelawny Stadium looking to add points to their Season 6 campaigns.
The first round narrowed the field to four teams, with the Rainmakers, Trelawny Trailblazers, DIHP Roadrunners and Team KPF earning their places in the medal matches.
The Rainmakers were first into the ring after an eighth place finish at Leg 2 in Traverse City. The team finished Round 1 on four faults, a score that proved enough to punch their ticket to the second round and put them back into medal contention.
Season 5 champions Maccabi United faced a more difficult afternoon. Ilan Bluman (COL) and Acajou ran into trouble at the triple combination, and the team ultimately finished on 25 faults to place seventh overall.
Defending Greenwich champions the Trelawny Trailblazers returned to familiar territory inside Trelawny Stadium and advanced to the second round, keeping their bid for a home title defense alive.
Leg 1 winners the DIHP Roadrunners also moved forward after finishing the opening round on just a single time fault.
Team KPF: Kent Farrington (Rexton), Rodrigo Pessoa (Hard’rock AF) and Samuel Hutton (Etincelle d’Ellipse). (MLSJ / ERA\VIII)
Rounding out the final four was Team KPF. Fresh off their first win of Season 6 at Leg 2 in Traverse City, KPF arrived in Greenwich looking to carry that momentum into a second consecutive Team Competition win.
“This team has great team spirit and we’ve been successful in Traverse City already, so we want to try to continue and keep it up and finish at the top of the table in the league,” said KPF’s Rodrigo Pessoa (BRA).
The medal matches set the Rainmakers against the Trailblazers for bronze, while Team KPF and the Roadrunners advanced to battle for gold.
In the bronze medal match, Natalie Dean (USA) and Acota M were first to return for the Trailblazers, producing a clear round in 42.88 seconds and putting the pressure on the Rainmakers.
Jordan Coyle (IRL) and For Gold answered the challenge with a textbook clear of their own, securing bronze for the Rainmakers and their first podium result of the season.
Then it came down to KPF and the Roadrunners.
Kent Farrington (USA) and Rexton were first into the gold medal match for Team KPF and set the standard with a fast clear in 40.89 seconds. That left Daniel Coyle (IRL) and Callipo with a clear target as the final combination to challenge for the win.
Coyle was on the pace, but an unfortunate rail at the penultimate fence added three seconds to his time under the Table C format. The result put the Roadrunners into the runner up position and secured a second consecutive Team Competition victory for KPF.
“Riding with these guys is always enjoyable, and happy we got the win today,” said Farrington.
With wins in both Traverse City and Greenwich, Team KPF becomes the first team of Season 6 to claim back to back Team Competition victories.
The DIHP Roadrunners added another podium result to their season in second, while the Rainmakers completed the podium in third as Leg 3 continued at CSI Greenwich.
Complete results from the $200,000 5* Team Competition presented by Trelawny Farm can be found here.
$340,000 5* Grand Prix of Greenwich
Daniel Bluman and Corbie V.V. flipped the script in Greenwich on Saturday, returning one year after their runner up finish to take the $340,000 5* Grand Prix of Greenwich as the only double clear of the day.
A field of 33 combinations contested Olympic course designer Guilherme Jorge’s (BRA) 1.60m track at the Greenwich Polo Club for CSI Greenwich, with challenging weather conditions adding another element to an already demanding Grand Prix.
First into the ring, Simon McCarthy (IRL) and Igor GPH wasted little time showing the field that the course could be jumped clear, setting the standard as the pathfinders of the opening round.
As the class progressed, the triple bar at fence seven proved to be one of the most influential questions on Jorge’s track. Set at 1.90m wide, its back rail caught several combinations as riders fought for a place in the jump off.
By the conclusion of the first round, six combinations had advanced.
McCarthy and Igor GPH were once again first to return, this time finishing with eight faults and leaving the door open for the five combinations still to follow.
McLain Ward (USA) and Lestro VD Valckenborg were next to challenge. With several fast combinations behind him, Ward looked to use his horse’s stride to put pressure on the rest of the field.
“In the jump off I went early and I had some fast people coming behind me, and I wanted to use my horse’s stride,” said Ward.
The front rail of the third fence came down, leaving Ward on four faults and ultimately securing the pair third place.
Defending Greenwich Grand Prix champion Kent Farrington (USA) returned aboard Descartes SR looking to repeat his win from one year ago. Farrington was quick, but a rail at the B element of the combination left him on four faults. His time was enough to move ahead of Ward and ultimately secure the runner up position.
The result marked Farrington’s third straight second-place finish in an MLSJ Grand Prix this season, after matching results in Toronto and Traverse City.
“That’s frustrating in one sense, but in another it’s great performances with great horses, and I’m proud of that,” said Farrington. “Those seconds turn into firsts.”
Second last to challenge, Bluman entered the ring aboard Corbie V.V. having watched two of the fastest riders in the field take their shot. With no double-clear yet recorded, the lead was within reach.
“For sure, going after these guys and not before, in a jump off like this is a huge advantage,” said Bluman, referring to Farrington and Ward. “My best bet was to jump a clear round.”
Bluman and Corbie V.V. did exactly that, leaving every rail standing and stopping the clock at 44.26 seconds. The pair became the first double clear of the Grand Prix and moved into the lead with just one combination remaining.
Their performance would not be matched.
One year after finishing second to Farrington by just 0.03 seconds in the Greenwich Grand Prix, Bluman returned to reverse the order and take the 2026 title. Farrington finished runner up, while Ward and Lestro VD Valckenborg completed the podium in third.
The difficult weather conditions added another challenge throughout the afternoon, with both Farrington and Ward crediting the organizers for keeping the competition moving forward.
“Tough conditions today for the show. I thought they did a great job of making the event able to go,” said Farrington.
For Bluman and Corbie V.V., patience and a calculated jump-off strategy delivered the result that had eluded them by just 0.03 seconds one year ago.
Complete results from the $340,000 5* Grand Prix of Greenwich can be found here.
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