All Presented Horses Move to Dressage as $200k US Equestrian Open of Eventing Final Commences at Morven Park

Announcer Brian O’Connor is a great brand ambassador. Contact him for bookings! Photo by Haley Boothe / Impulsion Media.

October in the eventing sphere always tends to feel a bit frenetic. Even with the absence of a U.S. fall CCI5* event this year, it nonetheless feels like a whirlwind has picked us up and deposited us, tousled, unsure of the time or day, at the tail end of the season. Not that that’s a complaint, though. The addition of the US Equestrian Open of Eventing to the top-level eventing calendar last year gave us a lot to be excited about in terms of the sport’s profile. This young series, which hands out about $250,000 in prize money between the qualifier Series and the Final championship, has at least one year left on its initial contract and has been an appreciated addition on the part of the participants, who enjoy having a big prize to chase in a sport that’s not exactly flush with them.

I could go on and on about the nuances between our sport and those that attract more money, and argue how we could still be taking advantage of eyeballs and an equestrian renaissance that’s currently making its way through mainstream culture, but I’ll save that for another time. The fact is: for those professionals in the sport who compete at this four-star level, the opportunity to win some real money is a big deal. And I believe that giving the sport’s top athletes a bigger stage provides an aspirational gateway for potential new riders, just as in any other sport.

Woods Baughman and Hopak de Greenbay Z. Photo by Haley Boothe / Impulsion Media.

So it’s a big weekend, and of course there are many other storylines here at Morven Park that we won’t even be able to get to, but our colleagues over at the USEA will be providing more reports from the USEA/USEF Developing Horse National Championships for 6- and 7-year-olds throughout the weekend and you can follow along with live scoring across divisions here.

Full disclosure: it’s been a bit of a weird few months for me, on a personal level. Between that and the economic challenges I’m sure we’re all feeling in terms of cost of travel, I opted to cover this year remotely. I have some awesome help on the ground in Haley Boothe, who’ll be providing the bulk of our visuals this week, as well as the official photography team helmed by Erin Gilmore Photography. I’ll be here with you all weekend with daily updates, and my goal is to bring you the same level of quality and enthusiasm to our coverage as always.

Anyway, about that horse show…

Boyd Martin is down to one ride this weekend in Luke 140 (“Spook 140” as we prefer to call him). Photo by Haley Boothe / Impulsion Media.

Before we even commenced the day’s action at the first horse inspection this afternoon, we knew the field had thinned by two. Boyd Martin, last year’s inaugural Series and Final champion, withdrew Fetiche des Rouges, who was set to make his first CCI4*-L debut this weekend. Waylon Roberts of Canada was another to withdraw one of his two rides (Chevalier).

The afternoon’s trot-up was uneventful, save the general up energy of the horses as is typically the case here. This weekend’s Ground Jury is presided over by Peter Gray (CAN), who is joined by the USA’s Bea di Grazia and Austria’s Christian Steiner, and our presented field was accepted without incident.

Okay, but THIS was an occasion: one Ian Stark trotting up not one but TWO horses for their variously gimpy riders (or did he simply want to sneak back out of retirement?). Photo by Haley Boothe / Impulsion Media.

So that leaves us with 37 combinations to duke it out for the title this week. Morven Park has a reputation as one of the toughest 4*-L courses in the U.S., if not the world. It’s got plenty of terrain to use, and a master of that exact skill in Derek di Grazia returning for his fifth year as the designer. This event’s position near the tail end of the season provides riders an opportunity to use this as a end-of-season test of a horse that’s just getting to this level or a confirmation for one that’s en route to a five-star debut in the spring. There’s also a handful of horses in this field who have gone five-star, who are either entering the twilight of their careers or who are opting for this four-star run versus an overseas five-star that’s difficult to fund.

This type of variety makes a four-star field that much more interesting. It also makes it difficult, truly, to handicap a division like this. You’ve got the most experienced horse in the field in Off the Record, who Will Coleman’s brought here after he was kept fit as a traveling alternate for the World Championships team this summer and frankly will be looking to just have some fun with. Sure, it can be argued that Will’s got some unfinished business after narrowly missing out on the win here last year, but how competitive he chooses to be this week will be left up to “Timmy”. You’ve got a horse like Series winner Tamie Smith’s Danito, who’s another ageless wonder who will probably win the dressage but again, will have a lot of say on what type of weekend it is. Dyri, a horse who’s been painstakingly produced for a big moment like the one this weekend presents by Lucienne Bellissimo. Or an Imperio Magic, who’s on sizzling hot form with Mary Bess Davis this summer and, while he won’t factor so heavily in the first phase (though that’s been improving this year too!), he’s one you’d want to be sat on to finish on your dressage score and potentially on the podium or better at an event like this, where clear jumping is invaluable.

Tamie Smith accepts her $25,000 check for winning the Series as the top points-earner. Now, she’ll ride for the $200,000 Final prize on Ruth Bley’s Danito. Photo by Haley Boothe / Impulsion Media.

I could go on, and that doesn’t even touch some of the rising stars who could make a splash if they’re asked to this weekend — Caroline Pamukcu’s got three who could answer in a big way, Laine Ashker’s Lovedance could be ready for a big moment, and Katie Lichten’s been knocking on the door of a big result. It’s a true quality field this weekend — every pair deserves a mention, frankly.

If you’re into predictions and statistics, you won’t be surprised that Off the Record is the projected winner by EquiRatings ahead of competition, given a 26% chance at the outset. Luke 140, making his return to the level after undergoing colic surgery and recovery over the off season and slowly coming back into top fitness, is tired for second on the predictions center with Boyd Martin, given an 17% pre-competition chance. Series champion Tamie Smith, who took home a $25,000 check as the top point-accumulator of the Qualifier Series this year, is third on the Prediction Center with Danito makes up the other half of that tie.

[View the full Prediction Center]

One of my favorite ways to engage with the sport at the top level is to play Eventing Manager, and I’ve got my team sorted for this weekend. You’ve got until the first horse goes down centerline tomorrow (Thursday) to set your team. It’s free to play, and we’d love for you to join the EN league (also free!) by clicking on Leagues in your account and entering code PCTD.

Here’s my Eventing Manager team. How do I pick? I don’t have much of a method, but I suppose I have some semblance of one (I’m not usually THAT successful though so, you know, grains of salt and the like). I usually pick horses that I know are good cross country horses; I can get over dressage that doesn’t win in favor of a solid jumper. Where I typically come undone is show jumping, like some of these cross country machines. The other part of me picks sentimentally, people or horses I like to support as a normal human in this sport.

[Play Eventing Manager]

I’ll be back with you tomorrow with a recap of Thursday’s action, which begins first with the CCI4*-S and then continues with the Open CCI4*-L in the afternoon.

CCI4*-S First Horse: 11:00 am EST

CCI4*-L First Horse: 1:00 pm EST

You can stream the CCI4*-L and CCI4*-S live on ClipMyHorse.TV and other FEI divisions will be available for free on the Morven Park YouTube page here. As of publication it does not appear that any 4* action will be on the YouTube channel. If your USEF account is linked, you’ll be able to watch the ClipMyHorse.TV stream free as well (more information on that here).

[ClipMyHorse.TV Live Stream]

[Morven Park YouTube Live Stream – No CCI4*]