Thursday morning, July 24, 2025, during the second week of the Hudson Valley Jumping Tour®, kicked off international show jumping competition at HITS Hudson Valley with the $62,480 CSI3* Welcome. The second of three weeks in the highly popular series, which takes place in Saugerties, New York, the week promises both thrilling FEI CSI3* competition in the jumper ring, while the hunters vie for valuable points in designated World Champion Hunter Rider (WCHR) divisions. In a repeat performance, the Welcome win once again went to the number one-ranked rider in the world, Kent Farrington (USA), this time aboard new rising star Kanny-Fee.
Featuring an elite lineup of 35 A-list combinations, Ivan Tagle’s (ARG) first-round track asked questions appropriate of its heavy-hitting field. Despite its challenges, many athletes rose to the task, and the event’s jump-off field ultimately consisted of 12 entries, including Olympians Kent Farrington, Daniel Bluman (ISR), and Tiffany Foster (CAN). Despite dynamite efforts and double-clear rounds from all but three jump-off competitors, Farrington expertly piloted Kent Farrington LLC’s ten-year-old KWPN mare (Dexter R x Caricello) to a two-second lead in 35.80 seconds.
“Kanny-Fee is quite behind for her age, but I think she is a big jumping horse for the future,” explained Farrington. “She’s a very thoroughbred type with a giant stride and big scope, and she has a little bit of her own way of going. With those kind of horses, they have to find their own way in the ring, which might not always be conventional, but if they want to be careful and fast they can be great horses.”
