When the Longines FEI Jumping World Cup™ North American League 2026/2027 resumes on September 20 in Traverse City, MI, (Williamsburg), Kent Farrington (USA) will hope history can repeat itself.
The current World No. 2, Farrington recorded the first Longines FEI Jumping World Cup™ Final victory of his career in Fort Worth, TX (USA) in April 2026. He now rides a momentous wave of success heading into the new season, especially with his sensational mare Greya.
After recording another five-star tally at the Longines Hampton Classic CSI5 Grand Prix 2026 in Bridgehampton, New York (USA), Farrington and the 12-year-old mare will look to win the NAL’s first leg for the third straight year, having captured the season opener in the 2024/2025 and the 2025/2026 seasons. Traverse City has served Farrington well, proving to be a strong launching point to a successful World Cup season.
“Like I always say, I want to go if I think I can be a contender for the title,” Farrington said following his second consecutive Traverse City tally, adding “I have to see where the horses are in that moment.”
The moment was right in April 2026, as Farrington led at every stage of the Fort Worth Final. “The World Cup Final is special to me, because that’s what I grew up watching. I didn’t have access to high level shows, but we had video tapes of the World Cup Final, and I would get that every single year,” Farrington said. “I would watch it so much that I would burn through the tape on cassette, so to [win it] is really special for me, and I’m very proud to have my name on the trophy,” he added.
The first of seven NAL legs across three countries, Traverse City will offer valuable qualifying points towards a place in the 2027 Final, which will return to its most frequent destination in Gothenburg (SWE), where the event originated in 1979. Unsurprisingly, the initial line up looks strong.
Four other members of the world’s top 20 are expected to compete in the “Cherry Capital”. The elite group includes World No. 5 Shane Sweetnam (IRL), who is fresh off a victory in the Kubota Grand Prix, at the CSI5* Angelstone, ON (CAN), near Toronto, in September 2026; Longines FEI Jumping World Cup™ Final 2017 title holder McLain Ward, who won in Omaha, NE (USA); Daniel Bluman (ISR), who achieved his personal best when reaching sixth in the Longines World Rankings in August 2026; and Paris 2024 Olympic Champion Christian Kukuk (GER).
Roberto Teran Tafur (COL) is riding his own career high after finishing fifth individually in the FEI Jumping World Championship 2026 in Aachen (GER) with his longtime partner Dez’ Ooktoff. Teran and the bay stallion dropped just a single rail through five remarkable rounds of Jumping.
“My horse is 18. I have been with him already for seven years. I was hesitating for a second if I was going to come [to the World Championship] or not, but being in Aachen, I couldn’t miss it,” Teran said. “Dez’ Ooktoff is super sound, super fresh. He’s the sweetest. Before, I used to have to have him a little tired for him to perform at his best. Right now, I don’t have to work him as hard. And that’s paying off because he has now the brain to do it and I’m super excited,” he added.
The veteran combination is familiar with the US competition venue, having recorded a victory in the Traverse City CSI4 Welcome Stake in June 2026.
At season’s end, the NAL will offer 14 tickets to Gothenburg, the “Home of the FEI World Cup”. The berths are awarded to seven East US athletes; three West US athletes; and two athletes apiece from Canada and Mexico. The NAL has produced the Final winner on five occasions since 2012.
Following Traverse City, the league will head south of the border to Puebla (MEX) before visiting Washington (USA) and Toronto (CAN). The final qualifier of the calendar year will take place in Los Angeles, where athletes will get to compete in the same arena that will be used for Jumping at the 2028 Olympic Games. After a brief rest for the holiday season, 2027 will host two final qualifying events in Thermal (USA) and Ocala (USA) to finalize the NAL standings. Athletes’ four best results will count towards their World Cup qualification.
Catch all the action on FEI.TV.
Results here.
More News
