The Open Weekly: Wolfert's Comeback, the Wellington Five, and the Frozen Leaderboard

Eventing Wolfert Wins at Rebecca Farm

Julie Wolfert & SSH Playboy won the CCI4*-S at Rebecca Farm, the 15th qualifier of the US Equestrian Open of Eventing. They were fourth after dressage on 35.9, added 11.6 cross-country and a single rail in show jumping, to hold on to their overnight lead.

The result carried a caveat coming in. Rebecca was the pair's first international run in over a year, a comeback rather than a sure thing. But the prediction centre still made them favorite on a 37% win chance off the field's highest Elo. A first start back is often just a test run. This one was a win.

Erin Kellerhouse & Bon Vivant GWF finished second on the horse's four-star short debut, one of two Kellerhouse rides stepping up to the level. Karen O'Neal & Clooney 14 took third on 74.8, their third podium of the 2026 Series.

Rebecca is the fourth FEI victory for Wolfert & SSH Playboy, and their first at four-star since Morven Park in 2024. 

The top of the standings is unchanged. Tamie Smith leads on 235 without running this week, in Europe with Lillet 3 ahead of the World Championships at Aachen. Will Coleman sits on 215, Boyd Martin on 190.

The win adds 40 points for Julie Wolfert, who moves onto the board. Third at Rebecca lifts Karen O'Neal to seventh on 100. Rebecca is the 15th of 20 qualifiers. The Series now pauses over summer before The Fork at Tryon on September 10 before the road runs to the $200,000 Final at Morven Park, October 8 to 11.

Current Leaderboard of the US Equestrian Open of Eventing

#	Rider	Points
1	Tamie Smith	235
2	Will Coleman	215
3	Boyd Martin	190
4	Caroline Pamukcu	185
5	Lucienne Bellissimo	175
6	Waylon Roberts	110
7	Karen O'Neal	100
8	Mia Farley	85
9	Alexandra Knowles	80
10	Tommy Greengard	75

View Full Leaderboard →

Jumping The Wellington Final Five, Three Months On

The $1,000,000 Rolex US Equestrian Open CSI5* Grand Prix in Wellington last March produced five clear rounds from 40 starters, a 12.5% first-round clear rate, the toughest Final course in the Open's two-year history against a field strength of 736. Five horses, four nations. We tracked where they have gone since.

The headline is that the order has held. Greya and Eddy Blue went into the Final as the two highest-rated of the five, on 777 and 775. Three months and a full spring of CSI5* starts later, they are still the top two, on 785 and 776, in the same order. Greya's win carried her to the highest rating in recent US history.

Across a combined 36 rounds at CSI5* and Major Championship 1.60m since that night, the group has produced 13 clears, two wins, and four podiums. Greya leads the group on clear rate at 50%, with Gangster Montdesir next on 44%, both well clear of the 30% average for those courses.

The Final Five: Ratings Then and Now

Elo going into the March Final against current Elo, ranked by rating now.

Pos. at final	Horse & Rider	Elo In	Elo Now
1st	Greya Kent Farrington	777	785
4th	Eddy Blue Darragh Kenny	775	776
2nd	Enjeu de Grisien Ben Maher	752	760
3rd	Gangster Montdesir Richard Vogel	733	738
5th	Chaccolino Jordan Coyle	697	701

Elo via EquiRatings. Ranked by current rating. Going-in figures shown where recorded.

Since March, Greya has won the World Cup Final in Fort Worth and become the highest-rated US horse on record, moving past the peak ratings of HH Azur and Cortes C. Gangster Montdesir took his first win since the Final at Spruce Meadows. The full breakdown, horse by horse, is available here.

Dressage A Frozen Board Starts to Show Its Shape

Almost every point on the dressage leaderboard was earned over the winter and spring, most of it in Florida and California. Now the leaderboard sits still for the summer while it awaits two more qualifiers in the fall. The useful thing about a frozen board is that you can finally begin to see its shape and make predictions based upon it.

Ashley Holzer sits on top of it with 51 points. She is safe, and all she has left to do is accept her invite to the Final this fall. The name right behind her, Frederic Wandres on 49, is this season's big wildcard. Wandres, too, has his spot locked in. He has the starts and the points, and his place at the Final in Thermal is safe whether he sits on a horse again this year or not. But, like fellow German Felicitas Hendricks last season, he went home to Europe after the Florida circuit and is not expected back. So while he can easily remain in the Top 18, his second-place status, and the leaderboard prize money that comes with it, is undoubtedly up for grabs.

Chasing that #2 spot are Claire Darnell, Devon Kane, Geñay Vaughn, Ellesse Gundersen, and Jennifer Williams. The latter three have the best shot at overtaking the German, since they have only three qualifiers complete and can add a fourth straight to their total. The other two are already at four, so they can only move up by improving on a score they have already posted.

The other end of the list is where it gets tight. Eighteen riders earn a place at the Final. Right now the eighteenth and nineteenth names on it, Susan Dutta and Kristina Harrison-Antell, are tied on 29 points. The Series does not break a tie like that, so both go through and the field grows to nineteen. Pablo Gómez Molina is two points back. Michael Klimke and Ali Potasky are close enough to feel it. None of them are safe and none of them are out, because one strong freestyle in the fall can be worth as much as 25 points. Most of the riders inside the line are still carrying only two or three counting scores, which means a fall start would add to their season total and solidify their invite to the Final.

Then there is Isabell Werth. She turned up in Wellington in February, put 82.660% on the board in the freestyle, the best score anyone has posted all season, and went home. The Series asks for two starts before it counts you toward the Final, and Werth has made one. Devon could fix that, but she almost certainly will not make the trip. So as it stands, the season's highest mark is just a nice story.