Growing up around racehorses, Robin Parsky knew early on that horses were going to be a big part of her life and that she wanted to be an equestrian. After watching the Walt Disney documentary, The Horse with the Flying Tail, about a palomino horse from the American West that became a United States Equestrian Team (USET) show jumping superstar, Parsky told her parents that someday she wanted to own a show jumping horse that would compete for the US like Nautical.
Fast forward to 2012, Parsky began fulfilling her dream as a professional owner when Robin Parsky and Kent Farrington started working together originally with a horse by the name of Blue Angel. In 2014, the partnership between Gazelle and Kent Farrington began. Robin has great respect for the operation Kent runs and how he treats his top performing horses and partners. "I've learned a great deal with Kent as my professional rider and for that I am most grateful", Parsky expressed.
Gazelle, a 2006 Belgian Warmblood mare, has a slew of nicknames in the barn including G, Mamma G, Momma G and G-Unit. "Kent calls her G-Unit, but we call her Momma G," said Denise Moriarty, Farrington's head groom. Gazelle is in fact a mother of a few babies and even a grandmother.
Described by Moriarty as an easy mare, Gazelle has a daily routine that she sticks to and enjoys, which includes a lot of time outside, until she knickers to come in. She also needs her space and doesn't enjoy horses near her, except for her good friend Creedance, one of Farrington's other top competition horses. She does love being around people and gets plenty of attention, which may also include some oranges, one of her favorite treats.
Moriarty also describes her as sensitive and commented that "she can be a little bit nervous sometimes in the ring, so it's really important that she walks into the ring with confidence. "So, anything we do with her is always just to build her up and make her stronger. If you bond with her, she'll do anything," said Moriarty. "You can't make her do anything. You have to ask her and work with her. She has to want to do it for you. With that bond, I think it's pretty impressive watching [Farrington and Gazelle] in the ring together."
Farrington and Gazelle's many triumphs come as a result of this incredible partnership. Developing together over the years, Farrington knows when he can test the mare, and Gazelle is willing to give him his all every time they step in the ring. They share a desire to win and a competitive spirit that instills confidence in everyone around them, including co-owner Robin Parsky. "I have great confidence in her, I really do," said Parsky. "She has proven to us time and time again that she wants to win it all. All my life I have dreamed about having a horse as amazing as her."
Since their debut, the pair has amassed an impressive record of wins and top finishes at all of the most prestigious competitions in the world, including memorable and historic wins in the 2019 Rolex Grand Prix of Aachen, the 2017 Rolex Grand Prix of Geneva, the 2017 Grand Prix of Madrid, the 2017 Fidelity Investments Grand Prix at WEF, and the 2016 and 2018 ATCO Queen Elizabeth II Cup Grand Prix at Spruce Meadows. In total Gazelle won 13 *5 Grand Prixs and over $3,250,000.00 in prize money.
Additional prestigious and impressive finishes include a back-to-back first place finish in the 2017 and 2018 CSI5* Grand Prix of Valence. During the 2017 season the duo also helped Team USA secure a 2nd place finish in the Mercedes-Benz Nations Cup at CHIO Aachen. Successes also include second place finishes in the 2019 $500,000 Rolex Grand Prix and the 2020 the $401,000 Fidelity Investments Grand Prix CSI5* held at the Winter Equestrian Festival in Wellington, Florida along with a top-five finish in the $73,000 Equinimity WEF Challenge Cup CSI5*.
In the fall of 2020, Farrington and Gazelle took home their second American Gold Cup Grand Prix win in Traverse City, Michigan, where they were the last to challenge a competitive 15 horse jump off. Farrington can be found on the American Gold Cup Grand Prix Trophy twice thanks to Gazelle's natural speed, ability to turn tight and the experience she brings to the show ring. Their first American Gold Cup win was in 2016 at Old Salem in New York.
Closing out 2020, Gazelle earned the highest honor awarded by the United States Equestrian Federation (USEF) when she was named the 2020 International Horse of the Year.