Woods Baughman and Hopak de Greenbay Z. Photo by Shannon Brinkman Photography.
Ah, fall. The season of changing colors, pumpkin spice (if you’re into that sort of thing) and now, a very exciting addition to the U.S. eventing calendar to add to the all-out sprint to the end of the season. The US Equestrian Open of Eventing Final at the Morven Park Fall International now stands as a firm fixture on the October calendar, sitting just before the MARS Maryland 5 Star and also complementing the action in Europe with Military Boekelo, Le Lion and Pau.
To kick us off this morning, 30 competitors presented and 30 were accepted by our Ground Jury of president Peter Gray (CAN), Bea di Grazia (USA) and Helen Christie (NZL) today for our First Horse Inspection to open the competition. The US Equestrian team has gone all out on the presentation of the US Equestrian Open this week, and it’s looking like a full slate of fall eventing celebration to officially conclude the inaugural season of this $2 million series across the three Olympic disciplines.
Boyd Martin and Shanroe Cooley. Photo by Shannon Brinkman Photography.
$200,000 is on the line this week (with $50,000 already distributed to the top three point-earners throughout the season) for the top finishers, which is the highest prize fund at this level in at least the U.S., if not worldwide. For a sport that does not find itself with full financial coffers like its counterparts in show jumping, for instance, the opportunity to earn some real cash is rare. The sponsorship support the Open has received in just its first year of running gives a good indication of the next couple of years (US Equestrian has backed the Open for three years, but with all hope it will remain in perpetuity well beyond these first few years), and the public image and reach of the sport is one big shift USEF Chief of Sport David O’Connor has observed throughout his tenure in the sport.
Boyd Martin accepts his $25,000 series leaderboard bonus from USEF Chief of Sport David O’Connor. Photo by Shannon Brinkman Photography.
“I think that the idea of that the public is so much more involved,” David said when asked what has evolved with our sport through the years. “And how do we present ourselves? You’re not really changing what you do with the horses — the level of the horsemanship has gotten to a higher level, but I think the involvement in the public is a big thing that has changed here in the States. And I think with that, it really gives us a responsibility also, to make sure that we’re presenting and celebrating what the coolest thing is about our sport. To be able to celebrate it and teach people how talk about it in a different way — not using only equestrian terms for stuff [for example], and getting into people where people can understand and involve the public.”
Buck Davidson and Cooley Candyman. Photo by Shannon Brinkman Photography.
It was really David who first brought the idea of the Open to the table back in 2023, floating the idea to the USEF Board of Governors with the intention to grow the scope of the sport and align it further with other prestigious sports with a high level of fan familiarity and engagement.
“It’s been an exciting journey to watch,” David said to gathered media who had been invited to preview the competition today. Some 20+ media members even reaching outside of the equestrian circle showed up to take in the action and carry those missives back to their audiences. “Because we’re starting to get people talking about it. I’ve been at Morven Park a long time — it’s part of my whole life journey — but this weekend, it’s the Open at Morven Park. So I think that tagline of the Open is creating something because people can relate it to the other sports that are out there. They can relate it to what the Open means in tennis or the two Opens in golf and put it together, so that people who don’t really know anything about eventing or horses have the tagline and they understand that it’s a big deal.”
We’ll now look ahead to the commencement of competition tomorrow (Thursday) morning at 11:00 a.m. ET. We’ll split the Open division into two, with about half of the group doing their dressage on Thursday and the other half on Friday. You can view orders of go and ride times on EventEntries here.
The US Equestrian Open trophy was designed by the same people who create the Kentucky Derby trophy! Photo by Shannon Brinkman Photography.
You can follow along live on USEF Network on ClipMyHorse.TV. USEF members will be able to watch for free by linking their USEF account (instructions on how to do that are here). Other viewers can access the live stream via ClipMyHorse here. A pro team of commentators including Annie Bishop, Sara Kozumplik and Sinead Maynard have teamed up to bring you all of the updates from on-site. You can also follow Morven Park’s social pages (Facebook | Instagram | YouTube) for more content.
To keep up with our content and need-to-know info this week, click here to bookmark our Ultimate Guide.
Lastly for all of our competitors this weekend, while we have the incredible Shannon Brinkman shooting our photos here on EN, you can find ALL of the photos you want and then some from the crack team at Erin Gilmore Photography, your official moment capturers this weekend. Be sure to keep an eye on Erin Gilmore’s website for galleries for all competitors available to purchase.
Our coverage of Morven Park is supported by Ride EquiSafe, your go-to source for safety equipment and apparel for eventing.
Morven Park Fall International CCI / US Equestrian Open of Eventing Final (VA): [Website] [Entries/Ride Times] [Schedule] [Scores] [Tickets and Tailgating] [Volunteer] [EN’s Coverage] [Support EN’s Coverage Sponsor: Ride EquiSafe]
