The Open Weekly: Rolex US Equestrian Open Grand Prix Week Arrives as New Series Leaders Emerge
A weekly update across eventing, jumping, and dressage covering results, early leaderboard shifts, and the next Open qualifiers.
Jumping: The $1,000,000 Rolex US Equestrian Open Grand Prix is Set to Break a Wellington Record.
The Rolex US Equestrian Open Final: Saturday, March 28th | Wellington, Week 12
Twelve weeks of competition in Wellington. Three CSI5* Grand Prixes completed and the the biggest night of them all awaits.
The $1,000,000 Rolex US Equestrian Open Grand Prix takes center stage this Saturday. The coverage won’t be light - a fan guide later this week, a special preview podcast on Friday, and daily articles across the microsite.
Two episodes of The Open Road are already live, featuring Karl Cook and Jessica Springsteen Saturday night. Tune in before the weekend.
When the Rolex US Equestrian Open Jumping Final lights up the International Arena on Saturday night, fans are likely to be watching the most powerful Grand Prix field ever assembled at Wellington International and one of the best 20 rated fields of the last 15 years.
The EquiRatings’ ELO model rates every horse based on how it performs round‑by‑round against the quality of opposition, updating after every result. In simple terms, the higher the ELO, the more consistently that horse is beating strong fields; horses in the 770+ range are operating right at the top of the sport.
To measure the quality of a Grand Prix line‑up, EquiRatings uses a field‑strength rating: the average current ELO of the top 25 horses on the start list. Every big name that makes it through Thursday and Friday’s qualifiers can move that field‑strength number significantly.
When Checker 47 and Christian Kukuk claimed the Rolex US Equestrian Open Jumping Final last year, they did it against what was, at the time, the strongest Grand Prix field Wellington had ever seen, with a field‑strength rating of 730.
Last year’s field was rated 730, a WEF record. The best 25 horses on this year’s long list currently averages closer to 748, a difference that comes from the sheer number of horses clustered in that high‑760/770 band. In a global context the 2024 Geneva Grand Prix (field‑strength 759) and the 2025 Dutch Masters (754) are the top fields. If we see a rating above 730 on Saturday, we will be watching the best ever here. If it clears 740, it would sit inside the top ten strongest rated Grand Prix fields anywhere in the world since 2010; even a rating of 735+ would secure a place inside the all‑time top twenty.
All of that turns this week’s qualifiers into more than just a route to our Saturday night final. These qualifiers will decide if we all get to see a new Wellington record.
Eventing: Smith Sweeps Carolina as Pamukcu Takes the Series Lead
Next Qualifiers: TerraNova, Florida & Galway Downs, California | The Final: Morven Park, Virginia (October)
Carolina International was the fourth qualifier of the 2026 series and the first with over 25 starters, meaning expanded points were on the table. The leaderboard that emerged looks significantly different from the one that went in.
The Winners
The win went to Tamie Smith and Lillet 3 who came closest to the cross country time, picking up just 1.2 time penalties to move from fifth to first. It was their fifth win together as a combination and their second at the four-star level, following their Galway Downs CCI4*-L victory.
And it didn’t stop there. Smith swept the weekend, adding wins in the CCI3*-S with Spiro P and the CCI2*-S on Solaguayre Cantata. A three-level clean sweep that speaks to both her depth and her current form.
Photo Credit: Sally Spickard/Eventing Nation.
The Leaderboard
Second place went to Caroline Pamukcu and HSH Blake and that result, combined with She's The One finishing seventh, added 65 points to her series tally in a single weekend. Pamukcu moves to 145 points and takes the series lead outright, 50 points clear of the chasing pack.
Behind her, the leaderboard tightened. Will Coleman and Boyd Martin both finished inside the top five and now sit joint second, firmly within striking distance. Lucienne Bellissimo slips to fourth after moving Kitsch Couture HPK into the 3* division, while Jennie Brannigan’s third-place finish moves her into the top ten for the first time.
What's Next
This weekend brings the first doubleheader of the 2026 series with qualifiers running simultaneously on the east and west coasts at TerraNova and Galway Downs.
Full previews, and predictions form guides are coming. As usual, the weekly US Equestrian Open podcast episode previewing both events drops tomorrow.
Dressage: A triple header sees Wandres lead the series while Jackson surprises at Del Mar
Next Qualifier: Dressage at TerraNova | Coundown: 1 week
Frederic Wandres and Verrenberg won the Modon FEI Nations Cup at AGDF 11 with 77.000%. This is their fourth straight freestyle improvement since their debut together last June, and another combination best. Ashley Holzer and Hawtins San Floriana took second at 74.350%, and Emma Caecilia Lienert and Windermere J'Obei W rounded out the podium at 73.105%. The result moves Wandres to 49 points and first overall. Holzer lands at 44 and third.
The surprise of the weekend came from Del Mar, where Cyndi Jackson and Florisson won the CDI3* freestyle with a personal best of 70.915%. Jackson has produced Florisson from the start. Their first show together was a USEF Training Level test in March 2017. By 2020 they were competing at Prix St. Georges, debuted at Grand Prix in 2024, and worked through their freestyle at national shows last year before making their CDI freestyle debut at Del Mar in February. Sunday’s win was the payoff. Nadine Schwartsman and Royal Flash R finished second with a combination best of 70.835%, only the second time the pair have broken 70% in freestyle - the last being a ninth-place finish at the US Equestrian Open Final
In the CDI3*, also held at AGDF 11, Tinne Vilhelmson Silfvén and Hyatt won with 76.640%. Jennifer Williams and Joppe K took second at 75.455% with P.J. Rizvi and Vanilla Ice third at 73.500%. The win moves Tinne to 35 points and into a three-way tie for sixth.
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