Boyd Martin has taken home a nice bonus to lead him into a busy (and potentially lucrative) October: he’s been confirmed as the winner of the $25,000 US Equestrian Open of Eventing series leaderboard prize! His season total of 260 points, earned from his best six finishes at 4*-S qualifiers in 2025, bests Phillip Dutton, who earns $15,000 for his runner-up tally of 235. Caroline Pamukcu gets one step closer to her mom car with a $10,000 bonus with a third-best total count of 215, helped along by a big surge at Stable View Oktoberfest last weekend. All three riders will face off once more in the Final, where the season tallies are erased and the winner will take the big share of the $200,000 prize money.
Ahead of next week’s final, US Equestrian will be releasing eventing-related episodes of their series The Open Road. Earlier this year, several episodes following the show jumping Open were published, and you can view them on the US Equestrian YouTube channel here.
Here’s a peek at the upcoming episode of The Open Road:
Major International Events
LOTTO Strzegom October Festival CCI4*-L (Poland): [Website] [Entries] [Schedule] [Timing & Scoring] [Live Stream]
U.S. Events This Weekend
The Maryland Horse Trials at Loch Moy Farm / Area II Championships (MD): [Website] [Entries/Ride Times] [Scores] [CrossCountry App XC Maps] [Volunteer]
Woodside Fall International (CA): [Website] [Entries/Times/Scores] [CrossCountry App XC Maps] [Volunteer]
Apple Knoll Farm H.T. (MA): [Website] [Entries/Ride Times] [Scores] [Volunteer]
WindRidge Farm Fall H.T. (NC): [Website] [Entries/Ride Times] [Scores] [Volunteer]
Ocala Fall H.T. (FL): [Website] [Entries/Ride Times] [Volunteer]
Middle Tennessee Pony Club H.T. (TN): [Website] [Entries/Ride Times/Scores] [CrossCountry App XC Maps]
News & Reading
We’re teaming up with Sentinel Horse Nutrition to give away a year’s worth of Sentinel Horse Feeds! This sweepstakes is accepting entries until 11:59 p.m. ET on October 6. You can full the full terms and conditions + enter for your chance to win a big break for your bank account here.
“European Championships course-designer Mark Phillips should be very pleased with what he did,” writes Andrew Nicholson, who penned an opinion column for Horse & Hound looking back on the European Championships at Blenheim last month. Andrew breaks down the German performance, debriefs on the surprising result for the Brits and looked ahead to the future of some up and coming teams here.
Show jumping is a technical sport, and when you apply it through the lens of eventing and adapting to a horse that has done at least one other phase before your round, the importance of having a flexible plan is underscored. We can learn a lot from those who spend their time exclusively in the show jumping ring. While our courses may not be as technical as some you’d see in jumperland, there are many subtle ways to get caught out if you don’t plan — and factor your horse in accordingly. Germany show jumper Ronny Reiner checks in with Practical Horseman to offer some advice on smart course walking here.
Sponsor Corner: Stable View
Photo by Christine Quinn Photography.
Registration closes today for the October Eventing Academy at Stable View, October 10-12! Get in some casual practice (or gear up for your next big event and get some tune-ups in!) with two schooling days followed by an unrecognized competition. You can take part in some or all of the weekend, and you can enjoy some of the jumps and course portions from Oktoberfest one more time. More information here!
Video Break
Mia Farley and Phelps are heading back to Maryland!
