Monday News & Notes

Boyd Martin and Fedarman B. Photo by Tilly Berendt.

The 2026 Winter Olympics get underway this week, with competition beginning Wednesday, February 4, and the Opening Ceremony on Friday, February 6 (staged at San Siro in Milan). If you want the easiest “what’s on when” links to keep handy, the official Olympic schedule lives on Olympics.com, and the U.S. viewing schedule/streams are centralized on NBC Olympics (including Peacock coverage).

Relatedly (and this one does hit home for horse sport): the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee announced the Stevens Financial Security Awards last March, backed by a $100 million anchor gift to the United States Olympic & Paralympic Foundation from Ross Stevens of Stone Ridge Holdings Group. The plan (starting with 2026 Winter Olympics and running at least through 2032) is $200,000 in benefits per Games completed, regardless of competitive result — $100,000 “to live” plus $100,000 “to protect.”

Here’s the detail equestrians should read twice: the first $100,000 “to live” isn’t available until 20 years after the Games or at age 45, whichever is later. And yes, plenty of our Olympic-track riders are already flirting with 45 (because horse sport laughs politely at the idea of peaking at 23). Still, it’s a big, rare piece of structural support aimed at what comes after the anthem — when the bills keep coming but the Team USA stipend and the sponsor spotlight don’t.

You can read more about this new fund here.

US Weekend Results

Galway Downs 2026 Kickoff HT (CA): [Website] [Scores]

Sporting Days Farm February HT II (SC): [Website] [Scores]

Three Lakes Winter I HT at Caudle Ranch (FL): [Scores]