World Cup of Show Jumping 2026 to Kent Farrington

USA, Germany, USA – that’s how the 2026 World Cup Show Jumping Final ended. Kent Farrington and Greya became World Cup winners ahead of Daniel Deusser with an outstanding Otello de Guldenboom and an overwhelmed Katie Dinan with the Kentucky-born Out of the Blue.

Greya makes it exciting again

Kent Farrington started the day with zero faults. But things got really exciting again at the end. When she won the second class, the Colestus daughter Greya, born to the late Wilfried Sandmann in Hüven, Lower Saxony, didn’t look like she would make another mistake this weekend. And her rider is known for having nerves of steel. But in the Final A it became clear that even this pair can make a mistake. The top plank – or rather crossbar – of a steep jump placed on a curved line fell. “An unnecessary mistake,” Kent Farrington was annoyed with himself afterwards. Because his mare is simply “incredible”, as he emphasized.

With this knockdown, Farrington ensured that Daniel Deußer could briefly dream of repeating his World Cup victory from 2014. His Otello de Guldenboom once again gave 200 percent for his rider today and was clear in both final rounds. There were a few rattles, but everything stayed put. And it was nothing less than impressive how the stallion, a son of Deußer’s Tobago Z, tightened up once again at the jump-off of the triple combination in the B final at the mere click of his rider to gather all his strength to overcome this oxer. When he crossed the finish line, Deußer patted Otello’s neck gratefully and the stallion marched out of the arena calmly on his yielded reins. He looked very pleased with himself. He had given his all. Now it was time to wait and see what Farrington and Greya would do. One knockdown and Deußer would be World Cup winner for the second time.

When Farrington entered the Dickies Arena for the last time this weekend, he could afford two time penalties. One knockdown and Daniel Deußer would have been the World Cup winner again. Farrington was asked how he felt as he rode into the final round: “Concentrated. I’m not worried about my feelings, I’m worried about my plan.”

That’s how a true sportsman speaks. And that’s how he rode. Too bad for Daniel Deußer and Otello, but Farrington and Greya were far from doing them the favor of making a similar mistake twice. And time faults are unlikely for the pair anyway. When they crossed the finish line, they were World Cup winners.

Kent Farrington was asked what that sounds like. “That sounds fitting. Although my friend from Germany made me sweat a lot here,” he added with a laugh and a nod towards Deußer. It is Farrington’s first individual title. Well deserved.

Suddenly a championship horse

But there was a bit of disappointment, admitted second-placed Daniel Deußer later. “We were dreaming for a moment…”. But what outweighed that was pride in the twelve-year-old Otello, who seems to have just reached the peak of his ability. “I’m impressed with my horse! He jumped four great rounds here. Actually, he’s always given me a great feeling over the last few months. But I was unsure whether he would have the strength for four difficult rounds. He showed that.” Also to the national coach, who has to line up his team for the WEG in Aachen this year.

Daniel Deußer was the last German World Cup winner in Lyon in 2014. Fort Worth was his eighth World Cup final, his second second place. The first was almost 20 years ago. That was in 2007 with Air Jordan Z, when a Daniel Deußer from Germany was still an unknown quantity. When he was victorious in 2014, he was in the saddle of his legendary Cornet d’Amour, who carried him to the podium once again in 2016, when he finished third. Deußer competed in his last two finals with Otello de Guldenboom’s sire Tobago Z. His best result was fourth place in 2019, meaning the son outdid his father at his first attempt.

“I’m still in shock”

The rounds of the third-placed rider, Katherine “Katie” A. Dinan, with the twelve-year-old grey mare Out of the Blue were also beautiful to watch. Although she is by Verdi out of a Cassini dam, she was born in the USA, more precisely at Spy Coast Farm in Kentucky, which is why she is actually called Out of the Blue SCF. Fort Worth was their second World Cup final together and Dinan’s seventh overall. Last year in Basel, the long-time pupil of Swiss rider Beat Mändli finished eighth with her mare, her best result to date.

When she crossed the finish line for the second time today without dropping, she threw her arms around her mare’s neck and stayed in this position for quite a while. “This horse is simply incredible. I owe everything to her. She compensates for my mistakes,” she said later in the interview. She couldn’t quite believe that she had now jumped onto the podium. “I’m still in shock. These riders (Kent Farrington and Daniel Deusser, editor’s note) have always been my idols and now I’m standing next to them on the podium, it’s a dream come true…”