Tampa, FL – April 4, 2007 – The WEF Challenge Cup series came to a close today with the final round at the Bob Thomas Equestrian Center in Tampa, FL. It was the last of ten rounds in the series and offered $30,000 in prize money. The Tournament of Champions, CSI is the final week of the 2007 Winter Equestrian Festival (WEF), and today´s class was the last chance for riders to qualify for the $200,000 Budweiser American
Invitational, the grand finale of WEF, which will be held at the Raymond James Stadium on Saturday, April 7, at 7 p.m.

The winner of today´s class was Kent Farrington on Up Chiqui, owned by Alex Boone, Richard Bass and James McNerney. Farrington had a spectacular jump-off ride to edge out Richard Spooner on Ace and William Lowry on Polygraaf.
Farrington and Up Chiqui, a ten-year-old gelding, made incredible turns and the naturally fast Up Chiqui answered every question. Farrington made a bid at jump ten, and Up Chiqui´s huge effort carried them clear and through timers in an astonishing time of 37.01 seconds.

“My horse is really fast,” Farrington acknowledged. “When he´s going well
and on form, he´s usually pretty competitive. It wasn´t a huge class, and that suited me today. I got a little lucky in the one turn where he was
playing and slipped a little bit. He was really game. I rolled back really short and put a really big slice on it, and he tried his heart out.”

In only his second class in a covered arena, Up Chiqui rose to the occasion once again and won his second WEF Challenge Cup of the season.
Farrington has qualified for the American Invitational, but is undecided on whether he will compete in the class or not. “He´s still a really
green horse. I don´t know that he´s quite ready for a class like that. He had a great season, but that´s normally a course that´s geared for a more
experienced horse. It´s under the lights and is very big, and they have to go straight into the ring,” he explained.

Earlier that day, Christine McCrea and Triomphe de Muze were 9th in the 1.45m class.

Results of Class 101 $30,000 WEF Challenge Cup, 1.50m - 4/4/2007
1 $9000 UP CHIQUI - KENT FARRINGTON
0/0 / 37.010
2 $6600 ACE - RICHARD SPOONER 0/0/ 38.940
3 $3900 POLYGRAAF - WILLIAM LOWRY 0/0 / 40.070
4 $2400 LE PRESTIGE ST LOIS - LAURA KRAUT 0/0 / 42.060
5 $1800 OLYMPIA - LAURA KRAUT 0 /4 44.720
6 $1500 PLAY ON - BEEZIE MADDEN 0/ 8 / 41.750

Result claas $8,000 1.45m
1 $2375 LOUISIANA - SLOANE COLES
2 $1350 MISS INDEPENDENT - LAURA KRAUT
3 $800 QUICK STUDY -LAUREN HOUGH
4 $650 HIDDEN CREEK'S CALIPPO -MARGIE ENGLE
5 $550 FANCY HILL - JONATHON MILLAR
6 $450 ROMY - TODD MINIKUS
7 $400 COSTA RICA - AMY MILLAR
8 $350 SELECT - BEEZIE MADDEN
9 $300 TRIOMPHE DE MUZE - CHRISTINE MCCREA


photo : Kent Farrington & Up Chiqui