The Open Weekly: New Records and Top Ratings

Eventing: Smith makes it three in a row at Tryon

Next Qualifier: Aspen Farms (June 11th) | The Final: Morven Park 4*-L, Virginia (October 8th)

Tamie Smith & Danito won the Tryon International CCI4*-S making it a third consecutive qualifier win for Smith and another 50 points banked. The weekend began with a dressage score that turned a number of heads.

Smith & Danito posted a 19.5 - a new all-time dressage record in the US Equestrian Open Series across 607 starts, and the best test recorded internationally at any level in 2026 from over 5,000 FEI tests worldwide. The previous Tryon venue record of 24.6 had stood since 2020. Smith beat it by more than five penalties. For the full story on that number and what it means, read our deep dive here.

What the dressage lead couldn't guarantee was the win - no previous Tryon CCI4*-S winner had led after dressage, and the cross-country has never been beaten on time. Smith held on regardless, finishing on 27.9 to take the class. Will Coleman & Off The Record finished second, with Boyd Martin & Shanroe Cooley third.

The Series Picture

Smith extends her lead to 235 points. Coleman climbs to second on 215 after his Tryon result. Boyd Martin moves into third on 190 with Shanroe Cooley's 40-point haul. Caroline Pamukcu, who didn't enter at Tryon, drops two spots to fourth on 185. Lucienne Bellissimo moves to fifth on 175 as Kitsch Couture HPK finished fourth added 35 points.

The Series now takes a short break before heading west to Aspen Farms on June 11th.

Dressage: USEF Nationals calls seven of the top ten to Ocala. Lexington is wide open.

Next Qualifier: Mid Atlantic Dressage Festival (May 14) | The Final: Desert Dressage, Thermal CA (November 13)

Seven of the top ten Series riders are in Ocala this week for the 2026 USEF Grand Prix Dressage National Championship and while the event carries no Series points, the stakes extend well beyond a national title. Nationals is a mandatory stop on the road to U.S. team selection for the FEI World Championships in Aachen this August. If you want to be considered for a team spot, you have to compete here. Ashley Holzer, Geñay Vaughn, Ellesse Gundersen, Jennifer Williams, Kevin Kohmann, Christian Simonson, & Devon Kane are all in the field.

That leaves the Series leaderboard somewhat exposed this weekend. The Mid-Atlantic Dressage Festival in Lexington, Kentucky is this weekend's Open qualifier, and the riders who didn't make the Nationals cut will have the top of the field largely to themselves. Claire Darnell is the one top-ten rider neither in Ocala nor back in Europe - if she makes the trip to Lexington, it could be a significant weekend for her Series position.

Jumping: Three of the world's best nine-year-olds are flying the US flag

Right now, three of the five highest-rated nine-year-olds in the world are US-based horses with all three having competed at the Kentucky International CSI5*. With the World Championships this summer and Los Angeles 2028 on the horizon, the timing could not be better for the US to have a number of rising stars.

The EquiRatings Elo rating tracks how a horse performs against elite opposition over time. Every result either adds to or subtracts from their score depending on who they beat and who beats them. Quality of winning matters as much as winning itself. 

Descartes SR (Kent Farrington, Elo 693) has been the story of the spring. Sourced from Mexico, he won the Kentucky International CSI5* Grand Prix on his five-star debut before going into to a podium finish at CSI5* Grand Prix in Monterrey, Mexico in May. Two great 5* Grand Prix results in the space of a month for a nine-year-old. Farrington has described him as an exceptional talent and the results are making that case without any help.

Riesling van de Gaathoeve (Mckayla Langmeier, Elo 676) was previously campaigned by Shane Sweetnam before Langmeier took over the ride this year. At Kentucky she finished eighth in the CSI5* Grand Prix with just a single time fault, a solid performance at the highest level in only her first season with the ride. They are a combination to watch as their partnership progresses.

Mckayla Langmeier & Riesling van de Gaathoeve jumping at WEF Week 2.

Chagrin d'Amour (Lillie Keenan, Elo 674) announced himself as a serious competitor when he won Sparkassen Youngster Cup Final at CHIO Aachen last year. This year, one of their biggest results was their double-clear rounds to help the Trelawny Trailblazers claim victory in the $200,000 CSI5* MLSJ Team Competition at the Kentucky International. This is just one of Keenan's top horses as she quietly builds one of the strongest strings in the US right now.

Three horses, all nine years old, all performing at the sharp end of five-star competition. Watch out for these names, they are next generation of US superstars.

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