Simonson and Indian Rock Start 2026 on Top

As expected, Christian Simonson and Indian Rock opened the 2026 US Equestrian Open of Dressage with a win, topping the class on a 78.840%. It marks their second World Cup qualifier victory in the past three months and moves Simonson into third in the FEI World Cup standings—behind Benjamin Ebeling and Kevin Kohmann—as the race intensifies for one of North America’s three qualifying spots for the World Cup Final in Fort Worth, Texas, four months from now.

A Wide Spread on a Clean Test

While this weekend’s score sits a few percentage points below the pair’s debut earlier this fall, it remains a strong result. Still, a closer look at the score sheets reveals a striking judging spread.

Simonson and Indian Rock delivered what was, by any measure, a fault-free test. Yet the difference between the high and low marks totaled more than ten percentage points. Gabriela Valeriánová (H) awarded an 83.525%, while Brenda Minor (B) scored the ride at 73.225%.

Interestingly, the variation did not come from the individual movements themselves. Across the panel, most marks stayed within a reasonable range, rarely differing by more than a point and often not involving Minor at all.The divergence emerged almost entirely in the artistic scores, each carrying a 4x coefficient. While the rest of the judges rewarded the performance with consistent 8s and 9s, Minor stayed firmly in the 7 range, only reaching an 8.9 for degree of difficulty. The result was an unusually low overall score from a single judge, despite broad agreement elsewhere.

That lack of alignment extended down the leaderboard. While the final placings appeared relatively consistent, the scorecards revealed a different pattern. Overall totals from judge to judge were notably closer than in Simonson’s case, but the individual movement marks showed significantly more variation. A canter pirouette might earn a 7 from one judge and a 4 from another. Two judges could award 7s for piaffe while a third landed at a 5. Notably, the lowest mark rarely came from the same judge, making it clear that the variation was not driven by a single consistently harsh scorer.

A Quiet Start for the Defending Champion

Defending Series champion Benjamin Ebeling and Bellena finished fifth on a 71.790%—a result below their recent average, but not one that raises alarms. The pair have been remarkably consistent over the past season, and this performance reads more like a let-up on the gas than a red flag as they ease into the new year.

Instead of their usual run of 7.5s and 8s, the score sheet leaned heavily on 6.5s and 7s, and errors in the one-tempis proved costly. Those details made the difference this time, but unless they start to repeat, they are unlikely to be cause for concern. Ebeling remains a proven contender and is well positioned to make a World Cup run in Wellington early next season.

Westward Bound

The Series heads west next weekend for the first West Coast qualifier of the 2026 season, which also doubles as a World Cup qualifier. Expect a smaller field but no shortage of quality.

It will also offer the first real look at the new points system in action. With historically leaner West Coast entries, next week’s winner is unlikely to earn the same haul of points as Simonson did in Ocala, reflecting a system that now rewards how many riders you beat rather than simply where you place.