I’m a bit unsure of what day it is as the schedule for the USEA American Eventing Championships, presented by Nutrena, is always jam-packed. I did, eventually, conclude that it was Wednesday and managed to get myself ringside in time for the start of the headlining division, the $60,000 Adequan Advanced Final, this morning. We’ve got a good-sized field in this top-level division, which is led by Maryland International CCI4*-S winners Laine Ashker and Lovedance (owned by Lovedance LLC) at the conclusion of dressage. They earned a 28.1 to slide ahead of Isabelle Bosley and Conner on a 28.4.
Laine Ashker and Lovedance. Photo by Sally Spickard.
Dressage is certainly a strong suit of Laine’s; she competes on the international dressage circuit with a small string of horses and has also become the first dual-discipline rider to compete in both the US Equestrian Open of Eventing as well as Dressage. Developing “Lottie” for the skills needed at the top levels has been a learning process nonetheless. Tension — but a different type than what she typically feels in her top dressage horse, Zeppelin — has been the biggest thing to manage, along with the ongoing development of strength for the required collection and engagement at this level.
Laine Ashker and Lovedance. Photo by Sally Spickard.
Laine noted that Phillip Dutton — here with an Intermediate horse after his medal-winning weekend at Aachen a couple weeks ago — has been instrumental in helping her work through this with the 10-year-old KWPN mare. “My other half of my career is doing dressage, so I hope I can ride a clean change, but it’s all about being on the ground and working through tension. I mean, let’s face it: it’s a totally different ballgame when you’re riding an event horse. I can say that I’ve done changes all day long, but it’s a different breed of that I’m riding in regard to fitness level. I do love to ride a hot horse, and it’s just a matter of it not boiling over. So Philip’s been great because he understands that, and he’s ridden literally every kind of horse. And this is my first journey on a true warmblood, and that’s where he’s been very helpful in helping me understand how to ride that and package that and harness that.”
Isabelle Bosley and Conner. Photo by Lindsay Berreth/USEA.
2026 Connaught Grant recipients Isabelle Bosley and Conner have been chipping away at the additional work required to compete at this Advanced level. After experiencing some growing pains following success at the Intermediate and three-star levels, this season has been about building strength and confidence. Today in the dressage, Conner felt confident and sure of himself as his Advanced mileage continues to accumulate.
“It was kind of a fine line of training them but not overdoing it,” Isabelle said. “[So I’ve] kind of been able to have a nice summer, working on everything, but without feeling the pressure of an event coming up. I think that’s been really good for him that we’ve kind of had some downtime to kind of fine tune everything, and with the idea in mind of stepping him back up here.”
It’s the flying changes — a typical point of weakness for many an event horse — that kept Isabelle from taking the dressage lead, but she’s taking the process one step at a time. “Even those were so much better than they have been,” she said. “I feel like today was the first time he did really good proper half-passes, and felt really confident about it. So, you know, just all these little things. I think he’s gotten so much more confident about himself, with what he’s doing. It’s all that kind of stuff we’ve been kind of training on, but in a really calm way. And now he’s kind of like, ‘okay, I get what we’re doing. I’m on the same page.'”
Phillip Dutton (who’s just been named as USEF Eventing Development Program Advisor) is another common thread here; Isabelle’s worked with him out of his Pennsylvania home base for the past few years, and she was glad to have her coach back from his overseas jaunt this week. “He’s been a massive help with [Conner]. We really have been just chipping away at him all summer, and just trying to fine tune all these little things and get him more confident with all of it.”
Boyd Martin and Shanroe Cooley. Photo by Sally Spickard.
Boyd Martin, with Liz Halliday ringside, piloted Dallas LLC’s Shanroe Cooley to third place overnight as a last-minute entry into this Advanced championship. Initially not planning to come to AEC this year, Boyd made a quick decision after seeing how well-hydrated the area has been from recent heavy rainfull and sent in two entries. He’s third with ‘Dallas’ on a 31.3 and fourth with the Fetiche des Rouges Syndicate’s Fetiche des Rouges on a 31.4.
“Luhmühlen was a heroic effort for him,” Boyd said of Shanroe Cooley, who finished third in his five-star debut in Germany earlier this year. He went on to be an alternate for the U.S. team at the World Championships earlier this month (Boyd rode Cooley Nutcracker to that team bronze medal). “He’s been fit and in work, ready to step up as a backup for the [World Championships], so he’s in great form and I thought this would be a nice run for him.”
Boyd Martin and Fetiche des Rouges. Photo by Sally Spickard.
The 11-year-old Selle Francais gelding Fetiche des Rouges is newer to this Advanced level and is loosely aiming for his first four-star Long at Morven Park and the US Equestrian Open of Eventing Final this October. Boyd calls him a “hot and feisty” type who’s taken a bit of patience to produce. The confirmation at this level, though, is coming, Boyd says.
Allie Knowles and Montpellier Scais. Photo by Lindsay Berreth/USEA.
Allie Knowles has brought out her two Bramham CCI4*-L graduates, Montpellier Scais and Leo Santos (both owned by Katherine O’Brien) for their first runs since their big efforts in June. Montpellier Scais slid ahead of Leo Santos for fifth overnight on a 31.5, while Leo Santos earned a 32.3.
Allie is sitting flush with top quality horses and developing talent in the pipelines, and she’s using this weekend as a setup for some big fall plans. This big year began with a bang in England, where each horse finished top-10 and top-20 or better at both Bicton’s CCI4*-S and Bramham’s CCI4*-L — two events with big reputations for the development of top horses.
Allie Knowles and Leo Santos. Photo by Sally Spickard.
“I am so lucky right now,” Allie said. “I’m trying to ride this wave. They feel like they’ve come back from Bramham just stronger, better, more confident horses, which is fun to feel. It’s a good start to our fall season and something to build on for both of them because they have a fairly serious fall. I sort of plan on doing the same for tomorrow — I just want them to have a good, confident run and be competitive.”
Montpellier Scais, a 9-year-old Anglo European gelding, is heading back overseas to Blenheim’s 8- and 9-year-old CCI4*-L next month, while Leo Santos (an 11-year-old Zanghersheide gelding) will tackle Morven Park and the US Equestrian Open of Eventing Final in October. “I’m really hoping this is a very confident, competitive warm-up,” Allie elaborated. “I think their base fitness is stronger, and I think they feel more confirmed in themselves — in their own ability. So I’m just hoping they think this is just fun, kind of a walk in the park for them. That’s that’s the hope — I won’t know until I get out there. But I schooled them a little bit — and by a little bit, I mean literally a little bit — and they both came out just firing.”
Cross country for the Advanced division begins on Thursday at 9:30 a.m. You’ll be able to follow along live with this division and others on Horse & Country here.
Many thanks to Ride EquiSafe, Freejump (both here on site at the Ride EquiSafe trailer on the back side (facing the barns) of Vendor Row!) and the American Connemara Pony Society for their support of EN’s 2026 AEC coverage!
Wednesday at #AEC2026
Will Coleman and Box Como are second in the Intermediate Championship. Photo by Sally Spickard.
The AEC is a bustling event with Championship divisions from Starter on up through Advanced and nearly 800 entries across those levels. Each and every rider worked hard to qualify for this event and, as U.S. team member Will Coleman said in a short speech during the Wednesday night competitor party, the feeling of “one big family” permeates the Horse Park grounds this week. This event holds a sentimental place for me as it was my first event to cover as a fledging EN reporter back in 2013.
This week I’m on my own covering the bases, and I’ll be bringing you more content on our social media as well as ongoing reports throughout the week. The USEA has sent a superb team of writers and creators to cover every single angle of these Championships, so I’m also going to link to their coverage in my daily reports. I’ll also drop in some social media highlights here to try to give as many of these deserving riders their due as I possibly can.
First, here’s a look at the division leaders after competition on Wednesday:
USEA Intermediate Championship: Ariel Grald and Obalix (30.8)
Bates Preliminary Amateur Championship: Elle White and Biscotti (30.7)
Bates Preliminary Open Championship: Allie Knowles and Tip Top Quality (26.9)
Bates Preliminary Rider Championship: Shelby Bradley and Commando D’Osthuy (28.5)
Standlee Modified Amateur Championship: Charlotte Collier and Loughtown Cici ZA (26.7)
Standlee Modified Open Championship: Kyle Carter and Redfield Nola (30.1)
Standlee Modified Rider Championship: Olivia Jane Fry and Qabernet VT (29.6)
ARMA Training Amateur Championship: Jane Musselman and Corleone Tops (24.6)
ARMA Training Horse Championship: Meghan O’Donoghue and Chepfly (27.6)
ARMA Training Junior Championship: Caden Carter and FE Santos (27.6)
ARMA Training Rider Championship: Ashley Thorp and Lancreto (27.2)
Novice, Beginner Novice and Starter will all begin their competitions on Thursday. Full scores, ride times and scheduling can be found here.
USEA AEC, $60,000 Adequan Advanced Final, and ATC Finals (KY): [Website] [Schedule] [Program] [Entries/Ride Times] [Scoring] [USEA AEC App] [Volunteer] [CrossCountry App XC Maps] [Live Stream] [EN’s Coverage]
USEA #AEC2026 Coverage
Maddy Temkin and Fernhill Bertus are all smiles on Intermediate cross country. Photo by Sally Spickard.
Intermediate, Preliminary, & Modified Tackle Cross-Country at #AEC2026
Familiar Faces and New Leaders Top the ARMA USEA Training Leaderboards at #AEC2026
From $450 Rescue Colt to the AEC: Stephanie Watko and Brinley Gold’s Unlikely Journey
Instagram Round-up: Wednesday at #AEC2026
