Three combinations arrive to compete at HITS Hudson Valley
HITS Hudson Valley joins the US Equestrian Open of Dressage for the first time this week. The Saugerties CDI3* runs June 11 to 14, and the Grand Prix Freestyle has drawn a field of three.
Belatrix RH is the only horse in the class with an FEI Grand Prix Freestyle to her name... and she has four of them. The pair average 68.67% across them. Their best US Open Score (70.035%) came last month at Mid-Atlantic Dressage Festival, where they finished third in the CDI3* freestyle. It was their first FEI freestyle above 70%.
Micaela Mabragaña rode for Argentina at both the 2015 and the 2023 Pan American Games. She is the only entry with a championship resume and the only proven CDI freestyle combination here. That makes her the form pick in this field, with her own recent score setting the benchmark.
Mondlicht owns the highest freestyle score in the field, a 72.863% posted at GMHA Dressage Days in 2025. The catch is the setting as that number came in a national competition. This is the pair's first FEI Grand Prix Freestyle.
The freestyle experience is there for Christina Morin-Graham & Mondlicht, who have already completed in eight national Freestyles. The question is how the score travels from a national competition to an FEI one. Get close to that 72.863% and the class is theirs.
ZZ Top 4 arrives for his first-ever FEI competition. A national Grand Prix Freestyle personal best of 70.525% at GMHA Dressage Days in July 2025 gives him a score comparable to the other two combinations in this class.
Anne Barbarick has the least to lose and the most to learn this week. A first FEI start is its own test. Match the national form and the debut counts as a success regardless of the placing.
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Form Pick
Belatrix RH
The only proven FEI freestyle horse in the class, and trending up after a 70.035% at Mid-Atlantic last month.
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Highest Ceiling
72.863%
Mondlicht's national best clears the field. The test is whether it holds on an FEI sheet.
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The Debuts
2 of 3
Mondlicht and ZZ Top 4 both contest their first FEI Grand Prix Freestyle this week.
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Spread on Best Scores
2.8%
From 70.035% to 72.863%, the three best freestyle numbers sit inside three points.
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Ashley Holzer leads the US Equestrian Open of Dressage standings, and nothing at Saugerties will change that. None of the current top five is in this field, so the leaderboard holds through the week. For these three, the chase is to put a first qualifier result on the board and start the climb toward the $200,000 Final at Desert International Horse Park in Thermal, California, on November 13 and 14.
Full standings are on the US Equestrian Open of Dressage leaderboard.
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