The Open Weekly: Potasky Wins at MADFest as All Eyes Turn to Aachen
A weekly update across eventing, jumping, and dressage, covering results, leaderboard shifts, and the next Open qualifiers.
Dressage: Potasky bests Ashker at MADFest to claim CDI3* freestyle win
Ali Potasky & Inxs won Saturday's CDI3* Grand Prix Freestyle at the Mid-Atlantic Dressage Festival with a personal best of 72.425%, edging out Laine Ashker & Zeppelin by 0.315%.
Potasky came into the weekend with the field's highest average but only two starts on record. Saturday's result adds a third data point, and her best one yet.
"I’ve been working on the details—the connection, the frame, and the softness through the top line. Today I feel like I had moments where that was coming along more than it has in the past," she said of Inxs, who can carry tension in competition.
Ashker, meanwhile, was debuting a new freestyle with Zeppelin. She posted a strong 72.110% on a first outing with new music and has her eyes set on the Final in Thermal.
Miceala Mabragaña & Belatrix RH finished third with 70.035%, also a personal best.
The top of the overall standings is unchanged after this weekend, but Potasky and Ashker both move into the low 20s. Although still outside the top-18 cutoff for the CDI5* Final, they are both now in range with only four qualifiers remaining this season.
The next qualifier takes place at the Ginny Rattner Memorial Dressage in Oregon, Saturday, May 30.
Jumping: The world's best head to Aachen
It was a quieter weekend for US riders on the international circuit despite three five-stars running across Madrid, Windsor, and Hamburg. However, that is because the focus was already shifting elsewhere. Aachen is this week.
This year's CHIO arrives earlier than usual. Due to the FEI World Championships in Aachen in August, the organisers have moved the spring edition to May 22–24, christening it the "TSCHIO", a nod to the local Aachen dialect and the deep community bond the event carries.
The Rolex Grand Prix on Sunday is the second Major of the Rolex Grand Slam of Show Jumping, making Richard Vogel (winner of the Dutch Masters in March) a live Grand Slam contender this weekend.
This weekend also carries weight for the coming months as it shapes up to be a direct audition for the World Championships. This weekend's US contingent is as follows:
- Kent Farrington: Greya, Descartes SR
- McLain Ward: High Star Hero, Lestro vd Valckenborg
- Laura Kraut: Bisquetta, Cinnamon, Una Mariposa
- Lillie Keenan: Anton, Fasther, Kick On
- Karl Cook: Caracole de la Roque, Candy, Foxy de la Roque
- Aaron Vale: Carissimo 25, Gray's Inn, Helios du Moulin
The World Championships are fast approaching. This week at Aachen is where the conversation about who goes starts to get serious.
Eventing: The Series takes a breath
Next Qualifier: Aspen Farms (June 11th) | The Final: Morven Park 4*-L, Virginia (October 8th)
The Series is on a slight break as we wait for the next qualifier at Aspen Farms on June 11th. Tamie Smith leads the Series on 235, Will Coleman is second on 215, and Boyd Martin is third on 190. Check out the full leaderboard here.
The break is a good moment to zoom out and celebrate 2026 so far. Tamie Smith currently leads the world in international wins in 2026 with eight. She is already two ahead of where Lara de Liedekerke-Meier stood at the same stage of her record-breaking 2025 campaign. Lara went on to set a new single-season record with 21 international wins, surpassing Piggy March’s previous mark of 15. Out of those eight wins, four have come at the CCI4* level and it is only May.
We wrote it up in full this week. Read it here.
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