Classic Eventing Nation

Sharon White and Claus 63: Your 2026 US Equestrian Open Eventing Champions! Photo by Haley Boothe / Impulsion Media.

What do you do in the nearly two decades after you win your first CCI4*-L? Mostly, you don’t really think about winning. Eventers at the four-star level and competing in North America only have six chances at this type of win each year these days. In the entire world, only about 50 CCI4*-L events run annually.

That’s not many chances to win one of the sport’s top accolades.

So mostly, you just show up. You don’t do this sport for money – thankfully, because there isn’t much to be made, at least not in competition. You’re selling horses, training people and horses, courting owners who will help you out, teaching clinics, filming Cameos to eke out a living. You just show up. Because you love the horses, and you enjoy the process – winning or no winning.

For a lot of their time at this four-star level, Sharon White and Claus 63 did a lot of the no winning part. Morven Park, less than two hours from Sharon’s Last Frontier Farm home base, had been the site of much of this – this CCI4*-L division in particular, the nemesis. One year it was tripping on a bell boot that sent them swimming into the water. Another it was a runout at the coffin complex, costing them a podium finish or a possible win at the inaugural US Equestrian Open. Morven Park wasn’t a clean sheet for Sharon and Claus – until this weekend.

This weekend, Sharon’s ongoing belief in Claus 63 – and a clearing of her own mind – made her the second US Equestrian Open Eventing Champion and the first female rider to hoist the Open trophy across all three Olympic disciplines.

‘They let me be prickly’

Sharon White and Claus 63. Photo by Haley Boothe / Impulsion Media.

“‘Oh my God, Henrik looked so terrified on Saturday!'”

Sharon is laughing at her stall with Claus, her #supergroom Kate and her husband, Henrik. She’s recounting the messages she’d gotten from humorously concerned friends who’d seen Henrik on cross country day. Most eventing husbands will relate to what Henrik was feeling (does anyone actually enjoy sending their partner out of a start box, and also does anyone actually enjoy being around their partner on cross country day? Be honest here). “That’s because Henrik lives with me, and he knows the disappointment that I have been through, and all he wants is that that doesn’t happen again. I’m so lucky that he understands. I’m prickly all this week, right? Like, I’m just all prickly. Because it matters so much, and you put so much effort into this one moment in time.”

The thing is, Sharon had to balance her own “prickly” self with the fact that Claus 63 is a horse that does not favor being put under a rider’s pressure. He’s so intense and hard on himself, she describes, that adding more is their undoing. So it’s a mental game, and it’s one she knows she hasn’t always been able to win. Not for lack of effort: she’s worked with Natalie Hummel and Steph Seeley as performance coaches. She spends most of her pre-ride time meditating or consuming inspirational content in her car – watching videos of Beezie Madden or Julia Krajewski, saving quotes by Marie Curie and Kobe Bryant. Mostly, she just doesn’t want to let her horse down.

“We all know we can do the job, right? It’s just, can you put it all together? And your whole team around you has to allow you to figure your own shit out. They let me be prickly. I wanted to be present, and I wanted to…you know, at some point, you just have to trust that you show up every day of your life. I have showed up every day of my life for this sport.”

That showing up goes for herself, too, she learned the hard way this summer. During a jump school after winning the CCI4*-L dressage at MARS Bromont (Canada), Sharon’s knee gave out. She was forced to withdraw rather than ride and risk her horses and making her knee worse, and her summer plans were cut short. Intensive physical therapy, PRP therapy, and learning more about how to avoid overtraining her own body has her feeling stronger and more stable in her knee and elsewhere now.

Sharon White and Claus 63 went into the lead at MARS Bromont after dressage in June before withdrawing. Photo by Haley Boothe / Impulsion Media.

“My knee was a good reminder of, you know, I’m not young anymore,” she said. “I’m not invincible, and if I am not really aware and overdoing and trying to keep up with the youth and not being respectful of myself, then I’m not doing the right thing.”

Plus, she spent a lot of time riding without stirrups. When she had to make a gutsy save at the last water on cross country yesterday, “I was actually really quite comfortable! I couldn’t have stirrups for a couple months, so you know, who needs them, right? But it probably all ended up exactly the way it should have. Life is always working in your favor, whether you realize it or not.”

The win is a sweet one – the biggest one of her career, to date – and Sharon’s eagerly looking forward to rewarding Kate Servais, her longtime groom (who also won the Groom’s Prize sponsored by YETI as the winning 4*-L groom as well as an additional Groom Award sponsored by MARS Equestrian for some extra prize money) with a chunk of her $66,667 and change check as US Equestrian Open champion.

Photo by Haley Boothe / Impulsion Media.

“It’s a really nice thing to end up on top,” Sharon said. “I’m more happy that he’s come through it great, and he had a grand time show jumping today. We don’t win a lot of money, and it really helps, right? Now Kate gets a good chunk too which is huge – like that’s a big deal, that matters.”

Above all, Sharon’s simply proud of her horse. “I think I got him as a five-year-old from Germany and we did some really bad dressage for a really long time because he would be so explosive. It takes the time it takes. So quietly, that has gotten better and better, and he’s gotten more relaxed and more able to handle the pressure of the competition in a way that he then behaves like he does at home. It’s just so much more comfortable now for him, and it’s nice to feel them relax into their job. My whole goal has been just to make him more and more reliable, and this year, he really has been quite reliable, and that’s really satisfying.”

‘The Rudy Ruettiger of our sport’

Will Coleman congratulates (and, likely, apologizes for spraying champagne in her eyes) Sharon White on the podium. Photo by Haley Boothe / Impulsion Media.

It has to be at least someone bittersweet for Will Coleman to finish up second once more after having the lead post-cross country. It was somewhat déjà vu today for Will and Off the Record, who lowered two fences on a day that anyone would have rather spent doing just about anything other than jumping horses in white pants. But for Will, it’s never been about just one result, won or lost, with this horse.

“It’s the totality of his career and sort of how long he’s been with us,” Will said. “We’ve had him since, really, the very beginning of his eventing life…he’s just been such a consistent and kind of reliable horse for us, and I think he sort of defined us, to a degree, for a long time. So I don’t really want to make it about just one event that he may have done particularly well – I think he’s much more than that, and I’m really proud of him. And it’s a real privilege to have had him for these, geez, 13 years.”

Will Coleman and Off the Record. Photo by Haley Boothe / Impulsion Media.

Will talked yesterday about the inner makeup of “Timmy” being the thing that really sets him apart and makes him great. He wasn’t built to gallop, doesn’t have the Thoroughbred blood needed to have inherent stamina, isn’t gifted in the dressage. But he’s learned to do all of these things. He’s proof that a teachable horse is the most valuable of all. A horse can learn to do incredible things, with patience and the right help. He’s lucky to have had all of that in spades.

“He’s sort of like the Rudy Ruettiger of our sport,” Will said. “He’s not the most flashy. He’s not the most, maybe, talented, but he’s a trier, and he really, I think, shows that [in] how he goes about his business when he’s doing this, and he does it with a lot of passion. It’s clear that he loves it, and I think people can recognize that in horses. They can recognize that bit of heart and that bit of extra effort that some horses put into it, and he’s one of those horses. So I think it’s that: that bit of character that certainly is what we love about them, but I think it makes it something that a lot of people can identify with, both in themselves and maybe horses or animals they have in their life.”

‘He showed his whole heart’

Mia Farley and Invictus. Photo by Haley Boothe / Impulsion Media.

After a brief interlude this summer in which Invictus was loaned to young rider Charlotte Schaef to compete at Young Riders, “Sammy” came back to Mia Farley’s program to set about working towards his third CCI4*-L. In April, Mia and the 10-year-old Holsteiner/Thoroughbred gelding finished third in the Cosequin Lexington CCI4*-S, following that up in May with a win at Tryon’s CCI4*-L.

The best part of the weekend was a very local connection and deep roots in the history of American eventing. Invictus was bred in Virginia by U.S. Olympian Karen O’Connor and Sue Clarke, director of equine operations and breeding program manager at Stonehall Farm (which is owned by Ms. Jacqueline Mars). It’s a close knit community, and all involved have followed Sammy’s progress as an eventer, sticking by him even as he needed some time to mature – and even now, is just 10. Sammy was matched to Mia – who’s done all of the producing on him, including his earliest days under saddle – with Sue’s expertise.

“She’s done such an amazing job developing him and it excites me when I watch her—which I did in the four-star at Kentucky—the way she gets after a jump, the way she really gets down on the horse and pushes him forward,” Sue said in an interview with The Chronicle of the Horse‘s Hannah Sherk earlier this year (the article is a great read on Sue, Invictus and Lauren Nicholson’s Landmark’s Jungle Gold – you can read it here). “That’s exactly what he needs, because he’s such a big horse that I think he can really lag behind if someone doesn’t get down on them and give them the confidence and push them – but still recognize the limitations. She’s really developed that feel, with a lot of help from Karen and David on that.”

“I think it’s really special for everyone involved with him,” Mia said of her third place finish today. Last year, Sammy missed this event due to a bout of colic. He returned to competition without a hitch this spring, picking up right where he left off and showing even more improvement. “We learned that he really could fight for us on cross country, and he showed his whole heart…we learned a lot this year.”

US Open Shows Promise in Year Two

Laine Ashker and Lovedance seal the deal in fifth place. Photo by Haley Boothe / Impulsion Media.

The rest of our final leaderboard at this US Open is full of stories. The ongoing improvement of Shannon Lilley’s Eindhoven Garette, moving up to fourth after starting the week in 24th. The consistent competitiveness shown by Laine Ashker and Lovedance in the mare’s first 4*-L and Laine’s first in 14 years (five-star is more recent for Laine – she last did Kentucky in 2016. Her last 4*-L was actually then known as a CCI3* and was at Fair Hill in 2012 with the great Anthony Patch. She also finished fifth there).

Woodge Fulton and Cash Point. Photo by Haley Boothe / Impulsion Media.

Double clears in the muck from Arielle Aharaoni and the cutest little “Crunchy” Cooley Baltic Sea, Allie Knowles and Leo Santos, Woodge Fulton and Cash Point, and Caroline Pamukcu and HSH Connor. Boyd Martin and Luke 140 also jumped a nice double clear to put a nice finish on Luke’s first run back at the Long level despite yesterday’s error of course. Boyd had a solid consolation in his victory aboard Commando 3 in the complementing CCI4*-S division. This was also Commando 3’s return arc after he’d been sidelined from World Championships with a minor setback and spent the rest of the summer in dressage land with Silva Martin.

With a healthy number of spectators in attendance all week – even today in the worst weather – it’s a great positive for eventing that the US Open has come to town. The format is exciting and, in my opinion, easy to follow. I think the prize money makes it more than a worthwhile stop on a rider’s calendar. The fact that we didn’t have a fall five-star in the U.S. likely influenced entries at Morven Park, and with the 2027 and beyond picture of this unclear at this juncture, it’s worth a few thoughts on the greater ecosystem of our sport and what the most sustainable path forward is.

Sharon White is interviewed for the ESPN broadcast by Sinead Maynard. Photo by Haley Boothe / Impulsion Media.

More thoughts on that later, but I’m glad we have this fall goal. Morven Park, as Sharon White puts it, is “meant for horses” and it truly does feel like a three-day event in the truest sense. The US Open just sweetens the deal, but I’m glad for it, as a fan of sports in general. I hope that it can do the job of trickling down and growing (and supporting) the base of our sport, like its more mainstream counterparts do.

And even though it’s one of six chances to win an event at the 4*-L level, and the riders are here for the horses above all – the money doesn’t hurt. One large purse isn’t going to send our sport down a billionare’s rabbithole or corrupt it for good. Rather, it gives those eking it out at the top one more reason to keep showing up.

Each year, Sharon White sends out holiday cards. On the back of the card for 2025 was a quote she’d chosen, by Austrian poet Rainer Maria Rilke. It’s easy to see why she chose it – it in many ways encapsulates so much of what she says about horses in almost any interview. A sense of curiosity about them, loving the process of knowing them and how to help them be better, is what keeps her and her fellow riders coming back.

“Be patient toward all that is unsolved in your heart, and try to love the questions themselves.”

Go Eventing.

Morven Park Fall International + US Equestrian Open of Eventing Final (VA): [Website] [US Equestrian Open] [4*-S/4*-L Scores] [Full Scores] [ClipMyHorse.TV Live Stream Replays]

Will Coleman and Off the Record. Photo by Emily Dewind for Erin Gilmore Photography.

It was a day for which there were multiple potential outcomes. Cross country, as it should be, is a big equalizer here at Morven Park, and the top of our $200,000 US Equestrian Open Final leaderboard was full of experienced horses. But not all of them came in to today on exclamation points.

One scenario that, had there been betting or what we seem to like to call “prediction markets” for our sport, would’ve attracted much support is that of the sixth-placed pair — the ultra-experienced Off the Record paired with newly-crowned World #3 Will Coleman — rising to the top on the heels of their strongest phase.

Sometimes, even if a story could be deemed predictable (a humorous and really somewhat offensive word to use in the wide world of sports), that’s what makes it the stuff of legends.

What does it take to create a great event horse?

Will Coleman and Off the Record. Photo by Jessica Duffy for Erin Gilmore Photography.

You can sort of breed one now, but even modern breeding doesn’t touch the depth of foundation that the prolific show jumping and dressage lines have. And sheer talent and suitability only goes so far, at the top levels. If you can, you want a high percentage of Thoroughbred blood, but the horse should also have at least a degree of talent and trainability to compete in the dressage and also maintain enough stamina and power to jump clear on a Sunday. And sometimes, you can tick all of those boxes, you can breed the perfect specimen, and the desire just isn’t there when the intensity heightens.

You can also take what’s in front of you – a quality horse, to be sure, but perhaps not one put onto this great big planet to gallop around cross country courses – form a relationship based on trust with him, and see where life takes you.

“Some of them, it’s just kind of what they’re made up of on the inside,” Will Coleman said, an hour or so after he crossed the finish line at Morven Park clear inside the optimum time with the 17-year-old Off the Record. By the time the division ended, he was, for the second year running, atop the standings in the $200,000 US Equestrian Open of Eventing Final CCI4*-L.

“He’s just a testament to that,” Will continued. “It’s a really cool experience to have a horse this long still doing it, and it’s very symbiotic.”

Will’s said all week that he was here to enjoy this partnership with “Timmy”, who’s entering the golden days of his lengthy and storied career. But that doesn’t mean he came here to simply exist. The Irish gelding had been kept fit as an alternate for the World Championships team (at which Will would ride his Kentucky champion, Diabolo, and finish fourth individually and in bronze with Team USA), and he’d kept his strong form coming into the fall season. The US Open, it seemed, would be the perfect thing to aim at – its proximity to the Colemans’ home base in Charlottesville, VA also a perk.

I wrote a bit about Will’s enhanced fitness program in my cross country report last year, which I had to reference before I commenced writing this year’s to avoid repeating myself! A couple of seasons on with a more data-driven fitness approach helmed by Cris Navas at New Bolton Center in Pennsylvania, Will says one thing he’s used the information for is to avoid over-training.

Especially on a horse that wasn’t created to do this very difficult job.

“The biggest mistake I could probably do at this stage is to overdo it,” Will said. “I’ve been guilty of that in the past, and Timmy is, I think, giving me confidence that I don’t need to do that to be ready.”

And for a human who’s generally drawn to a curious approach to his training, using more data scratched an itch. “Once I started getting into it, I really nerded out on it, and I started just kind became obsessed with it.”

The result is a horse that’s fitter at 17 than he ever was at 14, and proof that doing one’s best to allow a horse to be who he is can pay big dividends.

“You’re trying to turn them into a marathon runner, you know, a triathlete,” Will said. “And so it’s a little bit of a different game if you want to try to make them five-star horses, and not all of them can be it, but I do think the right conditioning and a patient approach [works]. Timmy is a good example: he’s no [Thoroughbred] blood. His heart rate today after about four minutes was, I think, down around 100.”

For as reliable as Off the Record has been on cross country, show jumping has a different consistency: he’s a bit of a one-pole horse at Long formats, most recently the one that lost him the US Open crown this time last year. That won’t so much be on Will’s mind tomorrow. It’s not that the win wouldn’t be sweet – especially for the members of the Off the Record Syndicate who’ve stood behind the Colemans and this horse for so many years – or a cool form of “revenge” on last year’s result, a real exclamation point on a season that has been full of highs for this crew. It’s more that any big wins after a career like the one Timmy has had is icing on the cake.

“I trust in my preparation, and I trust this horse, and he delivered today,” Will said. “He just really loves it. I definitely don’t want to try to do one too many events with him as we get kind of near the end here, but certainly today he felt great.”

So how did that door worth five places of moving up open for Will?

Boyd Martin and Luke 140. Photo by Kris Zeigler for Erin Gilmore Photography.

Typical cross country dramatics, in short. It started with Boyd Martin, fifth coming into the start box with Luke 140 on his comeback tour after undergoing colic surgery in the off-season. (Earlier in the day, third-placed Alyssa Phillips and Rockett 19 withdrew; Alyssa posted an update on social media that it appeared that Rocket may have knocked his leg overnight and she’d made the decision to save him for another day.) Luke’s an enthusiastic guy who puts his full energy into everything he does, and sometimes that’s his undoing. It came at the D element of the Morven Park Leaf Pit, which was a question that asked riders to maintain control after picking up so much momentum off the down bank. They were then tasked with a right-hand turn to an angled brush, followed by another angled brush at D. The momentum was a bit too much to harness, and Boyd found himself swiveling around for the alternate D after driving right past the direct line.

Then it was total heartbreak for Lucienne Bellissimo and Dyri, who were third coming in and hoping for a personal best finish this week after spending the entire last year rebuilding to this goal. It wasn’t to be, as they encountered trouble at the Taylor Harris Mansion View Water, the feature water question at fence 13. After Dyri put on the brakes at both the A and C elements, Lucienne opted to retire and endure the long walk back up the hill.

And then there was Tamie Smith and Danito, who came in with a berth of time on hand to use as a cushion over Sharon White and Claus 63, who were still out on course as Tamie left the box with the overnight lead. Things were going fine, until they weren’t. In fact, it would be the same fence – the D element of the Leaf Pit – that would be Tamie and Danito’s undoing, too. A drive-by there, and never really reestablishing a rhythm thereafter prompted Tamie to later decide to pull up, shortly after the final water. Danito looked happy and sound as she trotted him out, so while it’ll be a truncated ending to Tamie’s Open season here, she’ll be taking a healthy horse back home to California (and that check for $25k for winning the Series, which is a nice consolation) and her final event of the season at Galway Downs later this month.

So there was room for someone else to have had the round needed to move up. It very nearly was Sharon White, second after dressage and now third overnight with Claus 63. Frankly, had it not been for an unseating and a great save at the final water that wasted precious seconds while Sharon got herself righted, she may have been sitting at least in that second position she relinquished. More on Sharon in just a moment.

‘Let’s freaking go for it’

Isabelle Bosley and Conner. Photo by Jessica Duffy for Erin Gilmore Photography.

No one was perhaps more surprised to find herself in a podium position today than Isabelle Bosley, who along with Will was one of two to make the optimum time of 10:09 with Karen Martin’s Conner. It’s a result that’s very much been there for this pair on paper, but the step up from three stars to four is one that not every horse or rider finds simple.

After winning the Maryland 3 Star this time last year, this season has been all about reinforcing the basics that are tested in even more depth at the Advanced level. So it hasn’t always been perfect, but Isabelle’s a practical pro who also knows what she doesn’t know.

“To be clear, he’s the second horse I’ve had at the level,” she told me. “So he’s putting up with some of my greenness too. At the same time, I’m just trying to do my best to produce him and like do a good job with it while I’m still trying to figure it out.” Phillip Dutton has been an instrument in helping with this, and she’s spent the summer trying to work on the tools she’d need for this fall to be a success, without overwhelming the 9-year-old gelding with pressure.

“I came into the event this weekend with the mindset of, obviously, do the best test we can, but I was more focused on [having] a good clear round. I think sometimes I’ve gone out of the box a bit too locked on to making time, and then maybe not made the smartest decisions. Even if it wasn’t a 20, sometimes I would go through a combination and be like, ‘I should have taken an extra second to set up for that.’ Like, that wasn’t confidence building, maybe or, getting them on my side. But once I got out there and looked at my clock and I was on my minutes at minute three, and he was with me, I thought, ‘okay, let’s freaking go for it.'”

And they did, moving right on up from ninth in the standings to sit on their dressage score of 28.9 (also a substantial PB at this level) and in second place.

‘We’ll do it for Kate’

Sharon White and Claus 63. Photo by Jessica Duffy for Erin Gilmore Photography.

Half an hour or so before Sharon White left the start box on Claus 63, she found herself in a bit of a mental struggle. It hasn’t been the best of years for her. She’d had to spend most of the summer strengthening her knee after having to abbreviate what could have been a winning weekend at Bromont. She was back at a venue that, truth be told, hadn’t been the kindest to her and Claus over time. Last year, a podium finish slipped through her fingers as she encountered trouble at the coffin complex.

And this job is just really, freaking hard sometimes.

“Sometimes it’s hard in this sport,” she said. “I love my horse, and I’m asking him to do a really hard job. And you wonder why sometimes. For your own gain? That doesn’t work for me, because that’s not why I do it at all. So then I was like, ‘you know what? We’ll do it for Kate.'”

That would be Kate Servais, Sharon’s head groom for the past four years or so.

“She loves that horse,” Sharon said. It’s true: Kate does much of Claus’ conditioning and hacking work at home, and they’ve traveled the world together at this point. Like every groom worth her salt, she knows every inch of that horse, every expression that crosses his face. “She works her ass off. And if I win some prize money, she gets money. That really worked for me today.”

Sharon and Claus put any residual Morven Park demons to rest today, coming home with 4.8 time penalties but a good enough two-phase score for third overnight (30.8) and less than a pole from a big win. Finding that reason to lock in – something outside of the end result – put Sharon into the mindset she needed to have.

“I do think it all comes down to a mental game, for me and him, because he knows me so well. We’re such a partnership – he reads my mind. And if I put too much pressure on, he’s not a big fan of intensity because he’s already so intense himself. Some horses love that pressure, and he puts so much pressure on himself that that’s not useful for him.”

She laughs when I ask about her save at the final water. “He was like, ‘Would you please get back in the saddle? We have things to do.’ The good thing is, I’d been working the whole way around on keeping his head up, and so when I almost fell off, he put his head up! I was like, ‘Good job, buddy!'”

Bessie’s back, baby

Mary Bess Davis and Imperio Magic. Photo by Jessica Duffy for Erin Gilmore Photography.

Not that she ever left, but there was a bit of a redemption arc in play for Mary Bess Davis coming into her fall goal with Imperio Magic. Mostly, it was a disliking that Imperio Magic had taken to down banks starting at Kentucky CCI5* last year. After it happened for the second time this past April at Kentucky, Mary Bess questioned herself. It didn’t help that she also fell later on cross country at Kentucky, and was sidelined for several weeks while her leg healed from a fracture and a nasty puncture wound. She briefly wondered if she wanted to continue at all.

But one pep talk from her husband later, and Mary Bess remembered who she was. She got back on the literal horse, pulled in longtime coach Karen O’Connor to be as present as possible at every show, and went on to a fire-hot streak this summer that includes a podium finish at the American Eventing Championships and a win at Stable View Oktoberfest. At AEC, in Kentucky, she even jumped down the big bad down bank.

Truthfully though, Mary Bess went to bed last night feeling glum. She’d been working hard on “McColl’s” flatwork and had high hopes for a peak performance yesterday. She’s not against climbing up the standings during the jumping phases, but it’d be nice if she had a little less room to make up. A 39.5 wasn’t the mark she’d worked for.

“Then this morning, I thought, ‘you know what, this is stupid,'” Mary Bess said. “I’m on the best jumping horse, and he’s fast. Let’s go out there and give it our all, and he’s just so fast. He’s gotten where he doesn’t jump and hang up too high over the jumps anymore, so the time is doable now. And of course at the end, I was like, ‘I could have shaved here, and I could have shaved there,’ And I was like, ‘oh, Mary Bess, stop it!'”

And the Leaf Pit? Cake.

“I was just so relieved because I want to go on and do other things in the world, and we have to be able to jump down something like the Leaf Pit,” Mary Bess said. “So it was such a relief and a weight lifted to know that he was so game about it, and he was really just game everywhere. It just…what a great day.”

About that climb: Mary Bess was 32nd after dressage, and she’ll be fourth overnight on a score of 39.5.

Laine Ashker and Lovedance. Photo by Jessica Duffy for Erin Gilmore Photography.

It was championship-caliber action on cross country today, and our newly-installed top 10 is a sampling of experience, grit and also a look to the future: Lovedance, in her first 4*-L with Laine Ashker, jumped a clear that got better as it went and amassed 12.8 time penalties to hold on to fifth overnight on a score of 39.7. Cooley Baltic Sea showed his growth from his 4*-L debut at Tryon to move into the top 10 with Arielle Aharoni, and Allie Knowles continued her hot streak with a string of wildly talented horses, bringing Leo Santos home and into the top 10 and improving on her performance at Bramham earlier this year.

Here’s a look at your overnight top 10. The full standings for this division can be found here.

Sunday is a new day, and our second US Equestrian Open champion will be crowned in the afternoon. EquiRatings’ Prediction Center has Will and Off the Record in for a 69% chance at the win, but it will be anyone’s game and of course there is the gauntlet of the morning’s horse inspection to pass through first.

We’ll know the answers to our burning questions tomorrow. The action begins at 9:00 am ET with the Final Horse Inspection (if this is live streamed, it will be on the Morven Park YouTube channel here — the first jog was not streamed), followed by CCI4*-S show jumping at 12:00 pm ET (last year’s US Open champion Boyd Martin leads this division with Commando 3). Then, the US Open finale show jumps starting at 1:30 pm ET in reverse order of standing.

The live streams are carried on two platforms this week. For the 4*-S and 4*-L divisions, you’ll need to watch on USEF Network on ClipMyHorse.Tv. If your USEF account is linked, you’ll be able to watch the ClipMyHorse.TV stream free as well (more information on that here).

All other divisions still running on Sunday will stream free on the Morven Park YouTube channel here.

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Tamie Smith and Danito. Photo by Haley Boothe / Impulsion Media.

It’s a fitting start to competition at the US Equestrian Open of Eventing Final at Morven Park (Leesburg, VA) as we conclude dressage this afternoon with Series winner Tamie Smith and Ruth Bley’s Danito in firm command of this $200,000 CCI4*-L. With the order of go weighted in rank of the Series leaderboard, it was an all out dance battle the closer we got to the end of the day. Tamie eased in front of Sharon White’s leading score of 26.0 on Claus 63 early on in her test and never relinquished it, earning four 9s and a healthy number of 8s on a day when 7.5s and 8s were more the tune of the day. In the end, Tamie and Danito would exit the arena on a Morven Park record of 22.8 and a lead to defend.

Danito is one horse that helped Tamie Smith win this year’s US Equestrian Open of Eventing Series, a season-long pathway of CCI4*-S qualifiers from which a rider’s top six scores are counted towards Series points. At the end of the Series and just before this weekend’s Final, the points leaders are awarded chunks of an additional cash prize — $25,000 in Tamie’s case, with 265 total accumulated. Two of Tamie’s counting results — a win at Tryon International (NC) in May and again at Twin Rivers (CA) in September — came aboard Danito.

In a way that describes Danito’s steady role on Tamie’s string through the years. Many an eventing fan will be well familiar with Danito, who may have floated along in the public eye somewhat in the shadows of the great Mai Baum but has maintained his own string of impressive results dating all the way back to 2019, when he debuted at the four-star level on the podium at Twin Rivers. He’s not had all full seasons at the level in the intervening years, at times due to injuries, at others simply because the pressure was taken off for a spell. Really, the lack of ongoing wear and tear, the intentional application and release of pressure, is a big factor in itself in terms Danito’s longevity.

Tamie Smith and Danito. Photo by Haley Boothe / Impulsion Media.

“I think that’s kind of the theme of my program — I don’t know that it’s rocket science,” Tamie said. The result, in this case, being a 17-year-old horse that’s still pulling scores equal or better than the last time he competed at this 4*-L level (2021 — his last run at this level was at Boekelo that year, where he finished 10th).

“As him and I have both aged, I think we’ve just gotten a little bit more of the feeling of what it’s like to be in the ring and comfortable and just the harmony of it,” Tamie elaborated. “So I think that’s what you’re probably seeing.”

“I’m really particular about paying attention to the horses and knowing when to keep the gas pedal on and when to take it off,” she said of her program in general. “I kind of pride my program on that. We let the horses tell us, and it’s just something I think is really important to do for the horses, for everything they do for us, that we try to listen to them. So as he’s had little things here and there, we’ve backed off and when he’s felt great then we’ve pressed on.”

It was a day when we were truly treated to some quality tests, and our judging panel of Peter Gray (CAN), Bea di Grazia (USA) and Christian Steiner (AUT) were happy to reward what they saw. Both Tamie and second-placed Sharon White with Claus 63 earned scores more than 3 penalties better than their incoming 6 Run Average. Sharon’s 26.0 didn’t quite best her 25.2 from this event last year, but in many ways it was an even stronger test than its predecessor. Sharon credits today’s success with being present — something she’s always been vocal about prioritizing, though like for all of us it’s a challenge to achieve.

Sharon White and Claus 63. Photo by Haley Boothe / Impulsion Media.

“[Claus] was like, ‘I’m just so glad she decided just to be normal!'” Sharon laughed after her ride. “I just went in there and tried to be with him…I’m really thrilled with him.”

Sharon’s coming into this week after a less than ideal summer that saw a knee injury force her to withdraw Claus from Bromont’s 4*-L, which she’d been leading after dressage. But she’s spent the last few months getting stronger in an intensive rehab program and now says her knee is feeling better than ever (she did have one Ian Stark trot Claus up yesterday since running would be a silly way to re-aggravate that knee). She’s also coming in with some business to settle after coming to grief at the coffin last year and losing out on what could have been a podium finish. That’s been somewhat the theme with Claus, who is 14 this year and who’s had some brilliant results at this level and a top 10 finish at Kentucky’s CCI5*, but also some real heartbreakers. Sharon tries to navigate these highs and lows with a sense of curiosity, always believing the big result is in the tank.

“I’m fascinated,” she said. “What makes them tick? How can you make them better? How can you make them physically better, mentally better and stronger? And that is all horsemanship. If your horsemanship is good, they’re going to perform better.”

“He is my Thelwell pony,” she described of Claus. “He is absolutely the most athletic horse I’ve ever ridden and he’s so fun to ride, and then mentally he will just disappear for a second or two! I’m really hoping I can keep it together this year but he feels amazing so I’m so happy to be here with him.”

Alyssa Phillips and Rockett 19. Photo by Atalya Boytner for Erin Gilmore Photography.

It’s somewhat easy to forget that Alyssa Phillips has had the ride on Rockett 19 for less than two years, given the string of results they’ve collected in a short span of time. Their campaign at the three-star level, where the 11-year-old gelding was confirmed through the initial production of Sweden’s Louise Romeike, was studded with top finishes. A second place finish at Maryland’s CCI3*-L a year ago would conclude their first season together, and this year has consisted of steady education at the four-star level. They traveled to Rebecca Farm’s 4*-L in July, finishing second there with time on cross country and in show jumping their only added penalties. Now that much more experienced and strong, it won’t be surprising to see Alyssa ask for an even better performance this weekend, and she’s off to a strong start with a 26.4 as her target to finish on.

This score provides some additional validation for Alyssa, who through the shrewd eye of her coach Barend Heilbron discovered that the horse’s teeth had gotten to an uncomfortable length in between dentals.

“I actually was having a few dressage tests at the shows where he was kind of being a little funny in the mouth, and wasn’t his normal self,” Alyssa described. “So then after Stable View, Barend was like, ‘Why don’t we just take a look in his mouth?’ And actually his teeth somehow had gotten pretty sharp, pretty quickly. So I had that taken care of last Wednesday, and it made an immediate difference in the horse — he is so much happier. Today, he trusted the connection in the bridle, and actually was really there for me, whereas the past three shows, he had been a little bit more insecure and hesitant because of what was going on in his mouth. Luckily, Barend was the one that suggested I take a look.”

Lucienne Bellissimo and Dyri. Photo by Haley Boothe / Impulsion Media.

This time last year, Lucienne Bellissimo and Dyri were a year on from a second-place finish in this division, but were instead contesting the CCI3*-S here at Morven Park. The reason? Lucienne had taken things back a few steps after experiencing some growing pains with Dyri, who is now 14. She’d had trouble at both Dyri’s five-star debut and the four-star reroute that followed, so she took the pressure fully off and started, in many ways, fresh. Her efforts were rewarded with a string of wins at lower levels, and eventually a return to four-star that culminated in a win in April. Lucienne’s kept this US Open run fresh as the goal for this fall — the true test to see if her reaffirming work will stick at this larger effort.

She and Dyri are off to a strong start for that mission, earning a 26.6 today for fourth overnight. It’s their second-best score at the level since they stepped back up to it earlier this year, and Lucienne’s got her marching orders.

“[I] came here with the goal of doing a personal best 4*-L result with him,” Lucienne said. “I have huge respect for the strength of the field that’s here this weekend, some very proven competition. So I hope for a confident fast round Saturday, and a happy horse Sunday.”

Laine Ashker and Lovedance. Photo by Haley Boothe / Impulsion Media.

The sole athlete to compete on both the US Open campaign trail for dressage and eventing, Laine Ashker is here this week with her Maryland International 4*-S winner Lovedance and an eye to the future. A personal best four-star score of 26.9 is certainly a good way to kick things off, but truthfully Laine felt the best work is very much yet to come. The biggest improvement, she said, was the decisions “Lottie” made when her tension would rise.

“In the past couple rides, she’s been super rideable – and it wasn’t that she wasn’t rideable [today], she just had a little more tension,” Laine explained. “But honestly this time last year, or even the year before, had she felt that tension, she wouldn’t have been able to work through it. So the progress is there – I was still able to ride her out to the hand, she wasn’t curled in her neck and so I was thrilled – thrilled to bits with her.”

This weekend is the 10-year-old KWPN mare’s first 4*-L, so that will factor in when it comes to how competitive Laine chooses to be. It’s such an interesting nuance within our sport — pardon me while I go on a tangent here — and while this isn’t at all me accusing other disciplines of considering their horses less, I think the challenging thing about big money purses in eventing is the fact that these riders only have THIS shot to make the run count for the long term. They can’t just go back next week, or even the next day, for another shot like they can in jumper world. They may run two of these Long formats a year, so each one had better count. Sometimes, it can’t be about chasing the money. I’d argue that, in equestrian sports, one should never be chasing the money – not if it sacrifices the horse, in any way. Will Coleman, for all of the storylines about his “need for revenge” and “the second that lost him the title” in 2025, isn’t here for the money either. Off the Record will be as competitive and fast tomorrow as Off the Record chooses to be, and I think while that isn’t an uncommon sentiment, it’s very much a necessity in our sport.

Back to Laine: this mare is 10, and she’s one for the future. “So tomorrow, my goal is to have a clear round. She’s not the quickest horse, and it is her first Long, so it’ll be a big test [and] how quickly and economically I can get around the course. I feel very confident that the mare can do it.”

Here’s a look at the top 10 at the conclusion of dressage — a very different picture from what we saw yesterday, as anticipated, though our Thursday leaders Kim Severson and Cooley Corraghy Diamond hung on to a top 10 spot:

And now we look ahead to cross country tomorrow. What’s on tap for the riders? Well, it’s another true-blue Derek di Grazia flavor out there, with an optimum time of 10:09 and terrain that’s enough to compete with the toughest four-stars in the world. It’s mostly a steady climb upwards for the bulk of the course, before the horses get a chance to catch their wind back after making their way to the Morven Park Mansion. Here’s a look at the terrain of this year’s course, courtesy of CrossCountry App:

Like any good cross country course, the challenge of it isn’t isolated to one singular fence (though a couple of them stand to be potential bogeys), it’s the cumulative effect and the subtlety that will test the core of every rider’s training program.

“It’s very much all right there, but one little mistake could have you have a stupid run out, which is what makes makes it exciting,” Tamie Smith said. You can take a look at the full fence-by-fence preview on CrossCountry App here.

Riders will have the benefit of near-perfect going tomorrow thanks to the beautiful fall weather in Virginia this week. “It’s really up to [the riders] to be able to figure out how to answer all the different questions that are being asked,” Derek di Grazia said. “They are different questions as they go around the course. I always say, you’re not finished until you’re finished, so you really have to stay with it the whole way.”

Meg Pellegrini and Falcon Crown Z lead the CCI4*-S. Photo by Atalya Boytner for Erin Gilmore Photography.

We’ll get to see for ourselves as the course is unveiled to us in action tomorrow. We’ll begin with the CCI4*-S, which I’m not covering in full this week but is currently led by Meg Pellegrini and Falcon Crown Z on a score of 27.2. Both the 4*-S and 4*-L will run in reverse order of dressage standing; the 4*-S will begin at 9:30 am EST and will be followed by the US Open 4*-L at 11:00 am EST. Tamie Smith and Danito will be the final pair out of the start box at 1:20 pm EST. A full order of running and live scores for each division can be found here. Additional live streaming of the other divisions can be found for free on the Morven Park YouTube channel here.

Read up on the USEA/USEF Developing Horse National Championships’ Friday action

Morven Park Fall International + US Equestrian Open of Eventing Final (VA): [Website] [US Equestrian Open] [Start Lists & Scores] [Free General Admission + Hospitality] [EquiRatings Prediction Center] [Eventing Manager – Code PCTD to join EN’s league!] [ClipMyHorse.TV Live Stream] [CrossCountry App XC Maps] [EN’s Coverage] [Volunteer]

Kim Severson and Cooley Corraghy Diamond. Photo by Haley Boothe / Impulsion Media.

Kim Severson was the rider we’d tapped to be in the lead today after the first half of dressage at the $200,000 US Equestrian Open of Eventing Final at Morven Park. This afternoon, Kim and Cooley Corraghy Diamond (owned by Ros and Bill Johnson) took a smooth lead on a score of 29.8, the sole sub-30 of the first day of competition. This weekend marks the first CCI4*-L for the 9-year-old Irish Sport Horse gelding and also Kim’s first entry at the Long level since 2018. That year, she was still competing Cooley Cross Border at the now-five-star level.

“Cory” has in particular needed strengthening in his flying change work, Kim noted earlier this year, and the hard work at home was rewarded today with two 7s and an 8 on their first of two changes in this 4* Test B. Several pairs slated to go on Friday come in with lower 6 Run Averages than today’s best score, so we anticipate there to be quite a bit of change as we head further down in the order.

“I think that’s the second time he’s ever gotten both changes in the ring,” Kim said. “It was a real struggle for him, but he’s very obedient, and he’s a very good boy, and I just tried to be as accurate as I could possibly be and give him the best possibility to show himself off.”

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

Katie Lichten comes into the weekend on good form through the summer, finishing top five in the Adequan Advanced Final at the American Eventing Championships in August with HTS Jensen R. Now she’s in early second on a score of 31.4, about 1.5 points improved on her 6RA and the best score at four-star this year. Woods Baughman enjoyed a smooth ride on Hopak de Greenbay Z, earning a 32.4 for third overnight. This weekend marks the pair’s fifth CCI4*-L start — they’ll be looking to improve on the 14th place they earned at this event last year.

Here’s a look at your Thursday top 10:

Click the image to enlarge.

The running order for the Open Final is set by points earned during the Qualifier season. Tamie Smith, the Series champion, will ride last tomorrow afternoon as well as on cross country Saturday. With the riders ranked higher coming later on tomorrow, it’s sure to be a refreshed leaderboard in many ways. Morven Park, however, is not something to bet on by dressage. I’d be looking at the best-rated cross country horses in the field for your top finishers come Saturday — but of course, anyone can step up at any given moment, and that’s one of the greatest things about sport.

Friday’s action continues at 1:00 pm EST live on ClipMyHorse.TV. 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. Friday, the USEA/USEF Developing Horse National Championships begin their competition with dressage, so you can catch a glimpse of some future stars on the free live stream. If your USEF account is linked, you’ll be able to watch the ClipMyHorse.TV stream free as well (more information on that here).

Looking down from this year’s Morven Park Leaf Pit question. Photo via CrossCountry App.

I’ll be back with much more in our end of dressage report tomorrow evening. Until then, go ahead and take yourself for a virtual walk around Derek di Grazia’s gorgeous cross country course on CrossCountry App here.

Morven Park Fall International + US Equestrian Open of Eventing Final (VA): [Website] [US Equestrian Open] [Start Lists & Scores] [Free General Admission + Hospitality] [EquiRatings Prediction Center] [Eventing Manager – Code PCTD to join EN’s league!] [ClipMyHorse.TV Live Stream] [CrossCountry App XC Maps] [EN’s Coverage] [Volunteer]