Traverse City, MI – August 10, 2025— In the first grand prix of the 2025 Major League Show Jumping (MLSJ) season, world no. 1 Kent Farrington (USA) returned to the Great Lakes Equestrian Festival, presented by B&D Builders, and did what he does best by capturing his fifth five-star grand prix victory in under one year with his special mare Greya. In the $340,000 B&D Builders CSI5* Grand Prix, they left nothing to chance in a 15-horse jump-off, and took home the title.
Farrington and Greya are comfortable in the Turtle Creek Casino & Hotel International Ring, where they have now won two five-star grand prix in under one year, capturing one of the final classes of the 2024 season in the Longines FEI Jumping World Cup™ Traverse City and now the first of the 2025 season.
“It just feels great to have a horse like this to ride at all,” Farrington said of the 11-year-old Oldenburg mare (Colestus x Contender). “No matter what venue I take her to, she can always deliver and she did that again today. I’m thrilled with the horse and I feel very privileged to have an athlete like this underneath me.”
Farrington had seen half the order take on Marina Azevedo’s (BRA) short course before stepping in, so he knew which areas could be problem spots, but the pair effortlessly sped around in 38.31 seconds. His confidence in Greya was high since the beginning of their partnership, but as the mare gains experience she just keeps getting better.
“She’s very fast; she’s almost more like a cat than a horse,” he continued. “She’s really quick across the ground, incredibly careful at the jumps—she’s just a different level horse which is an advantage in a jump-off like today.”
Going early in the jump-off, Julien Anquetin (FRA) held the lead with Blood Diamond du Pont until Farrington came in. He ended up in second place, with Lillie Keenan capturing third aboard Fasther.
Anquetin’s podium finish put his team, the DIHP Roadrunners, into the lead after the first week of MLSJ action for 2025. Sitting just behind in second is Helios, with the Trailblazers sitting in third, all just one point ahead of the next.
Farrington has been an MLSJ team owner for three seasons and continues to be a staple along the tour, which allows him to jump at world-class five-star events while staying closer to home.
“I think it’s helping American sport,” he said of MLSJ. “It’s improving every single year. I’m impressed to see higher-level riders coming over from Europe which elevates the level of sport we have here, which in turn then raises everybody’s level of riding. I think that’s really what we need here in America.”
Complete results from the $340,000 B&D Builders CSI5* Grand Prix can be found here.
Five-star competition returns to Traverse City Horse Shows during the Tournament of Champions this fall, featuring the Longines FEI Jumping World Cup™ Traverse City and American Gold Cup.
Hunter Holloway and Pepita Con Spita Make a Comeback
Hunter Holloway (USA) has had an important part of her string missing for the past two years, and on the final Sunday of the Great Lakes Equestrian Festival, presented by B&D Builders, her mare Pepita Con Spita, owned by Hays Investment Corp., stepped back into the spotlight, winning the $32,000 CSI2* Grand Prix.
“She’s been back in full work since last October,” Holloway said of Pepita Con Spita, who was sidelined with an injury in June of 2023, not long after the pair finished on the podium at FEI World Cup Finals. “This is her first FEI week back. I didn’t want to push it too soon so I’ve definitely been a little cautious just because she is so special. It’s an emotional win because of that.”
The class was highly competitive, with 43 entries taking to the first round, and nine qualified to return for the jump-off. Holloway let the mare use her footspeed to her advantage and her time was good enough to hold onto the win through all jump-off contenders.
“It was a good jump-off for her,” she said of the course, designed by Marina Azevedo (BRA). “She’s really catty, really good on the turns, and there were only a couple related lines which worked to our benefit; we’re better at galloping and turning.”
Behind her for second place was Samuel Hutton (GBR) with Zidan 10 for AS Farms USA Inc., and Callie Schott (USA) took third with Ironix, owned by Southern Arches, LLC. Also collecting recognition, Canada’s Erynn Ballard won her fourth Turnham Green Leading Lady Rider Award during GLEF VI.
Holloway beamed after the win, feeling all her hard work throughout Pepita’s rehab coming full circle. “She feels awesome,” she said. “She is ready to rock. She loves going fast and I think it’s just me getting comfortable again that I don’t have to keep babying her. We’re really excited to have her back.”
With no concrete goals for the mare, who is now 14 years old, Holloway will keep allowing Pepita to guide the way and tell her what she’s comfortable with. In the mare’s absence, Holloway’s other mare has stepped up and produced impressive results.
“My other mare, Henry Jota Ariel, has been jumping really well,” she said of her time in Traverse City so far, where she’s spent the entire summer and plans to return for the fall. “She’s not even 10 yet and she’s been stepping up to the international division super. It’s been so nice. It’s a great facility, they’re always making improvements, they put the exhibitor first, and it couldn’t be nicer weather, footing, and people.”
With her eye on CSI5* action during the Tournament of Champions, Holloway hopes to qualify for the FEI Jumping World Cup™ Final for 2026, which is back on U.S. soil in Fort Worth, TX.
See full results from the $32,000 CSI2* Grand Prix here.
Earlier in the day in the Turtle Creek Hotel & Casino International Ring, Barney B. Jacob and Devo Volente; Eva Montemayor riding Ithaca; Rachel Machamer aboard Lady Kingsley; and Grace Majoros on Ambassador rode to victory in the season final of the World Wide Technology Team Jumper Challenge.
Lourdes De Guardiola and Sun King Master $5,000 National Hunt & Go Derby
At just seven years old, Sun King is already proving himself a winner in hunter derby action. Lourdes de Guardiola guided the young gelding, owned by Emmy Sobieski, to victory Sunday in the $5,000 National Hunt & Go Derby to close the final week of the Great Lakes Equestrian Festival, presented by B&D Builders.
“‘Louie’ came to our farm in Wellington in February of this year, and he did his first national derby in April in the international ring in Florida and placed,” de Guardiola said of the promising young horse. “Since then we’ve focused on the derbies because I think that’s going to be his future. We’ve been focusing on performance hunters to get those handy rounds in and he’s done most of the derbies here all summer.”
Double scores of 87 for a combined total of 174 handed the pair the win by a margin of four points. Behind them for second place was Trent McGee aboard Svalegårds Gold Crelido, owned by Olivia Jacob, and in third was Eleanor Louise Hellman with Malibu Ken.
Sun King has a great deal of talent and also a great mind, which is what stood out to de Guardiola as she realized he would make a perfect derby prospect.
“He is very brave but he’s also very keen on wanting to perform,” she explained of his attitude. “He walks into the ring and knows its game time. I always feel like he’s on my side and it’s gotten better and better every round. I really can trust him now, especially for such a young horse.”
In addition to winner’s honors, Sun King was presented as the Platinum Performance Hunter Horse of the Week for GLEF VI.
With a hunter derby every week of the season in Traverse City, de Guardiola appreciates the opportunity to bring up both horses and riders in the classes with more pressure and atmosphere.
“It’s great for the professionals, juniors, and amateurs to be able to do them every week,” she said. “They’re different formats – some are hunt and go and some are two rounds – so just knowing you can get in the ring and practice that every week really gives you the opportunity to really develop these young horses and to develop the juniors and amateurs.”
De Guardiola believes they’re still building upward with Sun King, with lofty goals for the gelding as he continues to mature and grow.
“We’ve always thought of him as being an international derby horse so that’s why we really focused on that this summer instead of showing in the greens,” she shared. “I think he’ll just continue to go along that path.”
See full results from the $5,000 National Hunt & Go Derby here.
The 11th season of GLEF proudly hosted its first-ever FEI Nations Cup, highlighting six weeks of FEI competition running through August 10. GLEF also featured the FEI North American Youth Championships and the return of Major League Show Jumping CSI5* competition to Traverse City. Catch up on all the action here.
About Traverse City Horse Shows
Traverse City Horse Shows (TCHS) offers 13 weeks of top equestrian competition each summer at Flintfields Horse Park in Williamsburg, Michigan—just 15 minutes from downtown Traverse City. The venue blends world-class sport with the natural beauty of Northern Michigan and features 12 weeks of FEI-ranked events, including three five-stars and an FEI Nations Cup CSIO3*.
The season culminates in the three-week Tournament of Champions, highlighted by the $340,000 Longines FEI Jumping World Cup™ CSI5*-W—Traverse City and $340,000 American Gold Cup CSI5*. New this year, the $100,000 Dudley and Barb Smith 3’6” Equitation Championship and $50,000 Cherry Capital 3’3” Equitation Championship deliver big prize money and prestige to the equitation ranks.
For more information on the season, visit TraverseCityHorseShows.com. Follow us on Facebook and Instagram for updates.
