Daniel Bluman Overtakes Kent Farrington in MLSJ Standings

Israel's Daniel Bluman sits in the number-one spot of the Major League Show Jumping (MLSJ) standings. Kent Farrington is second. Last week, which was week one of a two-week show at the Desert International Horse Park in Thermal, California, Farrington was not entered because of travel issues. This week, the U.S. rider is in Switzerland, competing in the CHI de Genève, which opened the door for Bluman to gain the edge in the final two MLSJ legs, Legs 6 and 7. Here is how the Bluman-Farrington 5* MLSJ Grand Prix battle has played out in 2025.

Leg by leg, neck and neck

In early August, Kent Farrington won the Grand Prix in the first MLSJ leg, in Traverse City, Michigan, aboard the 11-year-old mare Greya. Daniel Bluman came in ninth with 10-year-old Corbie V.V., incurring four faults in the jump-off. Bluman has been paired with the Zangersheide mare Corbie V.V. for every MLSJ 5* Grand Prix this year.

For Leg 2 in Toronto, at the end of August, Bluman and Corbie V.V. won the blue ribbon, by 0.10 seconds in the jump-off over Farrington, who placed second, though with Toulayna, a different mount than in Traverse City.

An extremely close finish in Greenwich

Next up was CSI Greenwich, in Connecticut, at the end of September, and Farrington won it with Toulayna, by 0.03 seconds over Bluman and Corbie V.V. in the jump-off. Interestingly, in the 5* Coachella Cup Grand Prix last week in the desert, Laura Kraut and Bisquetta edged out fellow American McLain Ward and High Star Hero by the same margin - three-hundredths of a second.

Leg 4 headed to the Hudson Valley in New York, for the Highlands Cup, and Daniel Bluman came in ninth, with four faults in the jump-off; Farrington and Toulayna finished just outside the top 12, coming in 13th after four faults in the first round.

One week later, in Mill Spring, North Carolina, for Tryon International, Farrington and the Oldenburg Greya clocked in at 44.18 for the jump-off, finishing third, while Bluman and Corbie V.V. slid in right behind to take fourth, with a jump-off time of 44.23.

Bluman made the jump-off and finished fourth in the Coachella Cup last week in Thermal, California, during Leg 6 of MLSJ.

Leg 7 is under way this week, with the Grand Prix on Saturday under the lights.

ClipMyHorse.TV is broadcasting live from Leg 7 of MLSJ in Thermal, California HERE

Photo: Daniel Bluman and Corbie V.V.