Kent Farrington and Landon are the best horse-and-rider combination of 2023!

The year 2023 has been an absolute top year for the American rider Kent Farrington and his chestnut gelding Landon, a son of our chestnut stallion Comilfo Plus Z and Quadrillo who was born at the home of breeder Danny Nijs as Crack de Nyze Z. Throughout the year, Farrington and Landon jumped in the spotlight with resounding victories and impressive performances, resulting in them ending the year as the best horse-and-rider combination in the world with a total of 1868 points.

The year 2023 started off promisingly for Farrington and Landon, with a glorious victory in February during the CSI3* GP in Wellington. This triumph was only a harbinger of things to come. More successes followed in the following months, with victories in the CSIO5* GP of San Miguel de Allende and in the CSI5* GP of Spruce Meadows in Calgary.

But the absolute highlight of the year took place in November during the Pan American Games in Santiago, Chile. Farrington and Landon delivered a top performance, not only capturing gold with the American team, but also taking home the silver medal individually. Farrington and Landon were still in 2nd place in this ranking at the beginning of November, but after a 3rd place during the CSI5* GP in Desert International Horse Park, Thermal, in December, they ended the year at the very top of the rankings.

The 3rd place in this ranking is also reserved for a Zangersheide horse thanks to the French rider Simon Delestre and his black gelding Dexter Fontenis Z, a son of Diarado and Voltaire who was bred by S.C.R.I S.Ky Horses. The first highlights of the year came at the end of February and at the beginning of March when they jumped to a podium place two weeks in a row during the CSI5* GPs of Doha. But in the months that followed, Delestre and Dexter Fontenis Z could hardly be left out of the spotlights. For example, they won a 1.50m class during the LGCT of St. Tropez and became 3rd during the Grand Prix, followed by a 7th place during the CSIO5* GP of Aachen, they won the second and decisive round of the Global Champions League during the LGCT of Valkenswaard, they became 2nd during a 1.50m class in Barcelona and shone during the Oslo International Horse Show with a victory during the CSI5* GP and a 2nd place during the FEI Jumping Word Cup. During the Longines Global Champions Tour of Riyadh, another 3rd place followed during the LGCT Grand Prix. These performances led to Delestre and Dexter Fontenis Z achieving a total of 1756 points.