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<p style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.72; color: #1a1a2e; margin: 0 0 14px 0; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Across 25 qualifiers this year, the top dressage horses and riders competing in the US ride for points and a spot at the $200,000 US Equestrian Open of Dressage Final, held this November at Desert International Horse Park in Thermal, California. Every combination rides the same Grand Prix test, then choreographs those same movements to music in the Grand Prix Freestyle, where it can start to look a lot like dancing. If you have ever watched and wondered what the announcer means by "piaffe," or why one trot looks nothing like the next, this guide will clear it up.</p>
<h2 style="font-size: 18px; font-weight: 800; color: #001c54; margin: 28px 0 12px 0; padding-bottom: 6px; border-bottom: 1px solid #eef0f5; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The Basics</h2>
<p style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.72; color: #1a1a2e; margin: 0 0 14px 0; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Dressage has its own language, and most of it describes one of two things: gaits or movements.</p>
<p style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.72; color: #1a1a2e; margin: 0 0 14px 0; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">A <strong style="color: #001c54; font-weight: bold;">gait</strong> is how the horse is traveling. There are three: walk, trot and canter. Each has its own rhythm and footfall, from the four-beat walk to the rolling three-beat canter. Speed within a gait can change too, which we'll get into in a minute.</p>
<p style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.72; color: #1a1a2e; margin: 0 0 14px 0; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">A <strong style="color: #001c54; font-weight: bold;">movement</strong> is a specific, trained exercise the horse performs inside a gait. A half pass is a movement. So is a pirouette. The Grand Prix test is a fixed sequence of these, ridden in a set order, each one scored on its own. In the Freestyle, riders have a prescribed list of movements they must ride, but they can choreograph them however they like.</p>
<p style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.72; color: #1a1a2e; margin: 0 0 14px 0; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">One more word you will hear constantly: <strong style="color: #001c54; font-weight: bold;">the hindquarters.</strong> The back end. The engine. Almost everything good in dressage starts there.</p>
<h2 style="font-size: 18px; font-weight: 800; color: #001c54; margin: 28px 0 12px 0; padding-bottom: 6px; border-bottom: 1px solid #eef0f5; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Collection</h2>
<p style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.72; color: #1a1a2e; margin: 0 0 14px 0; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">If there is one idea that separates Grand Prix dressage from a horse trotting around in a field, it is <strong style="color: #001c54; font-weight: bold;">collection</strong>.</p>
<p style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.72; color: #1a1a2e; margin: 0 0 14px 0; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">As a horse becomes more trained, it learns to carry more of its weight on its hind legs. The hind joints bend, the back end lowers, and the front end lifts and lightens. Instead of relying on the rider for support, the horse learns to hold itself in what is called <strong style="color: #001c54; font-weight: bold;">self-carriage</strong>. This way of going dramatically improves the quality of the gait and makes the horse more adjustable and responsive to subtle cues. Collection is behind every difficult movement in the sport. A horse cannot trot on the spot or skip across the arena in tempi changes without it.</p>
<h2 style="font-size: 18px; font-weight: 800; color: #001c54; margin: 28px 0 12px 0; padding-bottom: 6px; border-bottom: 1px solid #eef0f5; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Collected vs. Extended</h2>
<p style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.72; color: #1a1a2e; margin: 0 0 14px 0; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Here is where newcomers, and plenty of regulars too, get tangled up. Collection, the state above, is not the same thing as the collected gaits, even though they share the word.</p>
<p style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.72; color: #1a1a2e; margin: 0 0 14px 0; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Picture the hindquarters as a coiled spring. Collection is the act of compressing it: the horse bends its hind joints and shifts its weight back to load the spring. What the rider does with that loaded spring decides the gait.</p>
<p style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.72; color: #1a1a2e; margin: 0 0 14px 0; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">In a <strong style="color: #001c54; font-weight: bold;">collected trot or canter</strong>, the rider keeps the spring compressed and lets the energy go up. The steps get higher, shorter and bouncier. The horse covers less ground, with more lift.</p>
<p style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.72; color: #1a1a2e; margin: 0 0 14px 0; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">In an <strong style="color: #001c54; font-weight: bold;">extended trot or canter</strong>, the rider releases that same spring forward. The frame lengthens and the legs reach for maximum ground cover, while the weight stays back over the hindquarters, where the engine lives.</p>
<p style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.72; color: #1a1a2e; margin: 0 0 14px 0; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The key: a real extension is collection released forward, not the horse simply running faster. Without collection first, the extension falls apart one of two ways. The horse gets quick and flat and falls onto its forehand, or it flings its front legs out for show while the hind legs trail behind doing none of the work. The flashy reach always comes from the rear-wheel drive.</p>
<p style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.72; color: #1a1a2e; margin: 0 0 14px 0; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">There are gears in between, too. "Medium" trot, for example, sits between collected and extended, though that version of the gait isn't seen at the highest level.</p>
<h2 style="font-size: 18px; font-weight: 800; color: #001c54; margin: 28px 0 12px 0; padding-bottom: 6px; border-bottom: 1px solid #eef0f5; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The Half-Halt</h2>
<p style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.72; color: #1a1a2e; margin: 0 0 14px 0; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">So how does a rider ask a 1,000-pound prey animal to shift its weight backwards and load that spring? A tiny little crucially important tool called a <strong style="color: #001c54; font-weight: bold;">half-halt</strong>.</p>
<p style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.72; color: #1a1a2e; margin: 0 0 14px 0; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">A half-halt is a quick, near-invisible rebalancing. For a moment the rider's seat, leg and hand ask the horse to shift its weight back and gather itself, without actually slowing down. If you have ever driven a manual car, it is the friction point: the moment you let the clutch up just enough to engage the gear and feel the power connect, before you actually accelerate. You collect the energy instead of letting it spill forward. Watch a top rider and you will rarely catch it happening. You only see the result: a perfectly executed movement.</p>
<h2 style="font-size: 18px; font-weight: 800; color: #001c54; margin: 28px 0 12px 0; padding-bottom: 6px; border-bottom: 1px solid #eef0f5; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The Movements</h2>
<p style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.72; color: #1a1a2e; margin: 0 0 18px 0; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Load the spring, balance it with the half-halt, and the horse can do the cool, flashy things that make a Grand Prix test so fascinating to watch. Here are the ones you will see most.</p>
<h3 style="font-size: 16px; font-weight: 800; color: #001c54; margin: 22px 0 8px 0; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Half Pass</h3>
<p style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.72; color: #1a1a2e; margin: 0 0 14px 0; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The horse travels forward and sideways at once, crossing the arena on a diagonal while bent in the direction it is going. The legs cross over, the body stays roughly parallel to the long side, and it should look smooth and uphill. Not to be confused with the leg yield, a more basic version taught early on, where the horse moves sideways while bent away from the direction of travel. The half pass is the grown-up cousin: more bend, more collection, more expression.</p>
<h3 style="font-size: 16px; font-weight: 800; color: #001c54; margin: 22px 0 8px 0; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Zig-Zag</h3>
<p style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.72; color: #1a1a2e; margin: 0 0 14px 0; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">This one happens only at the canter. String several half passes together, switching direction, and you get the zig-zag. The horse half-passes one way, throws in a flying change, then half-passes the other, repeating in a counted, symmetrical pattern down the centerline. It looks like a skier carving linked turns through a slalom, and it tests balance and obedience as much as sideways reach.</p>
<h3 style="font-size: 16px; font-weight: 800; color: #001c54; margin: 22px 0 8px 0; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Flying Change</h3>
<p style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.72; color: #1a1a2e; margin: 0 0 14px 0; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">At the canter, one front leg always leads. A flying change is the horse swapping which leg leads in mid-air, in the split second all four feet are off the ground. A clean single change looks effortless. It is also the building block for the showpiece below.</p>
<h3 style="font-size: 16px; font-weight: 800; color: #001c54; margin: 22px 0 8px 0; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Tempi Changes</h3>
<p style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.72; color: #1a1a2e; margin: 0 0 14px 0; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Now do those changes in a row, on a set count. Every fourth stride is a four-tempi, every third a three, every second a two, and every single stride a <strong style="color: #001c54; font-weight: bold;">one-tempi</strong>, or "ones." At the Grand Prix level the test calls for fifteen one-tempis in a row. The ones are the crowd favorite. Done well, a line of them looks like the horse is skipping across the arena. And set to music? They will put a smile on your face.</p>
<h3 style="font-size: 16px; font-weight: 800; color: #001c54; margin: 22px 0 8px 0; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Piaffe</h3>
<p style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.72; color: #1a1a2e; margin: 0 0 14px 0; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">A trot on the spot. The horse trots with full cadence and elevation while staying more or less in one place. This is collection taken to the limit: nearly all the weight loaded onto the hindquarters, the spring fully compressed and held rather than released. One of the hardest things a horse can be asked to do, and a centerpiece of the Grand Prix.</p>
<h3 style="font-size: 16px; font-weight: 800; color: #001c54; margin: 22px 0 8px 0; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Passage</h3>
<p style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.72; color: #1a1a2e; margin: 0 0 14px 0; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">A trot in slow motion. The horse moves forward, but with huge elevation and a long, floating moment of suspension where it seems to hang in the air between steps, kind of like the airwalk or slickback dance move. If piaffe is the spring held in place, passage is that same power rolled forward into something that looks weightless.</p>
<h3 style="font-size: 16px; font-weight: 800; color: #001c54; margin: 22px 0 8px 0; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Pirouette</h3>
<p style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.72; color: #1a1a2e; margin: 0 0 14px 0; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">A turn on the spot. In a canter pirouette, the horse keeps cantering while its hind legs stay almost planted and the front end circles around them, through a full 360 degrees. Think of a figure skater pulling into a spin, the hindquarters as the axis. It takes serious collection to hold a clean canter rhythm while turning that tight.</p>
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<p style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.72; color: #1a1a2e; margin: 0; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">That is what the horses are doing. What it is worth is another question. Next time we will get into how the judges turn all of this into a number: the marks out of ten, the movements that count double, the collective marks, and what "degree of difficulty" really means once the music starts.</p>
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<div style="font-size: 10px; font-weight: bold; letter-spacing: 0.16em; text-transform: uppercase; color: #6b7280; margin-bottom: 10px; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">This Week in The Open Weekly</div>
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<div style="font-size: 9px; font-weight: bold; letter-spacing: 0.16em; text-transform: uppercase; color: #c8102e; margin-bottom: 6px; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Eventing</div>
<div style="font-size: 16px; font-weight: 800; line-height: 1.3; color: #001c54; margin-bottom: 4px; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Maryland and the Numbers Game</div>
<div style="font-size: 12px; color: #6b7280; line-height: 1.4; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Bellissimo and Pamukcu hunt points as the top of the table tightens.</div>
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<div style="font-size: 9px; font-weight: bold; letter-spacing: 0.16em; text-transform: uppercase; color: #404a79; margin-bottom: 6px; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Jumping</div>
<div style="font-size: 16px; font-weight: 800; line-height: 1.3; color: #001c54; margin-bottom: 4px; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">USA Second in Rotterdam</div>
<div style="font-size: 12px; color: #6b7280; line-height: 1.4; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Little and La Contessa go clear twice to anchor a jump-off finish.</div>
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<div style="font-size: 16px; font-weight: 800; line-height: 1.3; color: #001c54; margin-bottom: 4px; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Holzer Leads into the Break</div>
<div style="font-size: 12px; color: #6b7280; line-height: 1.4; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Six points cover the top five, with two qualifiers still to run.</div>
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<div style="font-size: 13px; font-weight: bold; letter-spacing: 0.14em; text-transform: uppercase; color: #001c54; margin-bottom: 8px;">Go Beyond the Article</div>
<p style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.65; color: #374172; margin: 0;">Catch the latest insights and expert interviews on the <a style="color: #c8102e; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;" href="https://sites.libsyn.com/559710">US Equestrian Open Podcast</a>.</p>
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<div style="font-size: 11px; font-weight: bold; letter-spacing: 0.18em; text-transform: uppercase; color: #83b1d6; margin-bottom: 10px; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The Mission of the Open</div>
<p style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.7; color: rgba(255,255,255,0.85); margin: 0; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The mission of the US Equestrian Open is to grow and foster a deeper connection to equestrian sport by delivering a premier, unified championship series that engages a broader fanbase through top-level competition, storytelling, and a dynamic, entertaining experience.</p>
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Marcos Orlob and Jane in extended trot in a dressage test

Piaffe, Passage and Pirouette: A Beginner's Guide to Grand Prix Dressage Movements 

Marilyn Little on the Open Weekly Graphic

The Open Weekly: Maryland, Rotterdam & Holzer Holds

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<div style="font-size: 26px; font-weight: 800; color: #83b1d6; line-height: 1.1; margin-bottom: 4px; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">#1</div>
<div style="font-size: 11px; color: #6b7280; line-height: 1.35; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">US Equestrian Open of Dressage leaderboard</div>
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<div style="font-size: 9px; font-weight: bold; letter-spacing: 0.14em; text-transform: uppercase; color: #6b7280; margin-bottom: 5px; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Best Score</div>
<div style="font-size: 26px; font-weight: 800; color: #001c54; line-height: 1.1; margin-bottom: 4px; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">75.010%</div>
<div style="font-size: 11px; color: #6b7280; line-height: 1.35; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Best qualifying score this season</div>
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<div style="font-size: 26px; font-weight: 800; color: #001c54; line-height: 1.1; margin-bottom: 4px; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">2nd</div>
<div style="font-size: 11px; color: #6b7280; line-height: 1.35; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Best result at a Series qualifier</div>
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<div style="font-size: 26px; font-weight: 800; color: #001c54; line-height: 1.1; margin-bottom: 4px; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">4/4</div>
<div style="font-size: 11px; color: #6b7280; line-height: 1.35; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Completed this season</div>
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<p style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.72; color: #1a1a2e; margin: 0 0 16px 0; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><strong style="font-weight: 600; color: #001c54;">Ashley Holzer</strong> sits at the top of the US Equestrian Open of Dressage leaderboard through four qualifiers, her consistency built around a partnership that did not come easy. In the latest episode of the US Equestrian Open Podcast, she spoke with host Annie about her mare <strong style="font-weight: 600; color: #001c54;">Hawtins San Floriana</strong>, the freestyle that carries a personal story, and what keeps her competing at the highest level. Below are some of the highlights, but the full conversation is worth your time.</p>

<h2 style="font-size: 15px; font-weight: bold; color: #001c54; margin: 24px 0 10px 0; padding-bottom: 6px; border-bottom: 1px solid #eef0f5; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The Mare</h2>
<p style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.72; color: #1a1a2e; margin: 0 0 16px 0; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Holzer acquired <strong style="font-weight: 600; color: #001c54;">Hawtins San Floriana</strong>, known at home as Flo, from Carl Hester and Charlotte Dujardin. She was expecting a smooth transition. That is not what she got. The mare tested her patience, challenged her horsemanship, and, by Holzer's own account, made her a better rider. The connection that exists today was earned over time.</p>

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<div style="font-size: 22px; font-weight: 800; line-height: 1.35; color: #001c54; margin-bottom: 16px;">&ldquo;She put me in my place a few times. I really learned a lot from this horse. I think I became a better rider because of the horse.&rdquo;</div>
<div style="font-size: 10px; font-weight: bold; letter-spacing: 0.18em; text-transform: uppercase; color: #83b1d6;">Ashley Holzer on Hawtins San Floriana</div>
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<p style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.72; color: #1a1a2e; margin: 0 0 16px 0; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Holzer described the difference between geldings and mares with characteristic candor: with a mare, she said, you do not just ask. You ask, then ask again with a please, then send flowers. The approach paid off. She now hacks Flo through the English countryside at Carl Hester's yard and describes the partnership as one she feels genuine joy in every day.</p>

<h2 style="font-size: 15px; font-weight: bold; color: #001c54; margin: 24px 0 10px 0; padding-bottom: 6px; border-bottom: 1px solid #eef0f5; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The Freestyle</h2>
<p style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.72; color: #1a1a2e; margin: 0 0 16px 0; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The music is Neil Diamond's "Coming to America." Holzer, originally Canadian with Scottish-born parents, immigrated to the United States and built her life here. The song maps onto that journey in a way that is deeply personal. New York, Los Angeles, blue jeans and horses. She worked the choreography with Tom Hunt, who built in audio cues so she knows, without counting, when the next movement is coming.</p>

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<div style="font-size: 20px; font-weight: 800; line-height: 1.4; color: #001c54; margin-bottom: 14px;">&ldquo;A lot of the music really resonates with me. That's why I chose it. And I think that's where it just makes it even more special to ride it because I have fun riding it.&rdquo;</div>
<div style="font-size: 10px; font-weight: bold; letter-spacing: 0.18em; text-transform: uppercase; color: #83b1d6;">Ashley Holzer on her freestyle music choice</div>
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<p style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.72; color: #1a1a2e; margin: 0 0 16px 0; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">She also made a point about what the freestyle is technically, for anyone who has not ridden one: you are not just performing movements, you are synchronising yourself to music in real time, adjusting when you get behind it or ahead of it, deciding in the moment whether to use your joker line if something goes wrong. The joker line is a pre-planned optional sequence that lets a rider repeat a difficult movement, such as flying changes, if the first attempt fails. Choosing not to include one raises the degree of difficulty score, but removes the safety net entirely. In a freestyle, the margin for error is less forgiving than a standard test.</p>

<h2 style="font-size: 15px; font-weight: bold; color: #001c54; margin: 24px 0 10px 0; padding-bottom: 6px; border-bottom: 1px solid #eef0f5; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Why the Series Matters</h2>
<p style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.72; color: #1a1a2e; margin: 0 0 16px 0; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Holzer was direct about what the US Equestrian Open provides for horses and riders at this level: atmosphere, repetition, and pressure that is not team-selection pressure. Going into a ring with lights and a crowd and music requires a horse to be genuinely comfortable there. The Series builds that, qualifier by qualifier. Flo was nervous in the main ring at the start of the season. That has since changed.</p>

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<div style="font-size: 22px; font-weight: 800; line-height: 1.35; color: #001c54; margin-bottom: 16px;">&ldquo;To feel her sort of relax into that as the season went along was pretty wonderful.&rdquo;</div>
<div style="font-size: 10px; font-weight: bold; letter-spacing: 0.18em; text-transform: uppercase; color: #83b1d6;">Ashley Holzer on Hawtins San Floriana's progression through the Series</div>
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<p style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.72; color: #1a1a2e; margin: 0 0 16px 0; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">She also spoke about what made her fall into the sport in the first place: a book her father gave her, cousins on ponies in Scotland, a phone call she made to a local riding stable without her parents knowing, and a deal she brokered to get three other kids to sign up so the lesson numbers worked. All four went. Only one stayed.</p>

<h2 style="font-size: 15px; font-weight: bold; color: #001c54; margin: 24px 0 10px 0; padding-bottom: 6px; border-bottom: 1px solid #eef0f5; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">On Consistency and Patience</h2>
<p style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.72; color: #1a1a2e; margin: 0 0 16px 0; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Holzer closed with something she said she tells students regularly. If you are patient, clear, kind, and consistent with a horse, the partnership comes. It might take a week. It might take two years. But it comes.</p>

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<div style="font-size: 22px; font-weight: 800; line-height: 1.35; color: #001c54; margin-bottom: 16px;">&ldquo;You've just gotta believe in the process, work with your coach, work with your animal, and be patient. But it will happen.&rdquo;</div>
<div style="font-size: 10px; font-weight: bold; letter-spacing: 0.18em; text-transform: uppercase; color: #83b1d6;">Ashley Holzer</div>
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<div style="font-size: 11px; font-weight: bold; letter-spacing: 0.16em; text-transform: uppercase; color: #83b1d6; margin-bottom: 8px;">Listen to the Full Episode</div>
<p style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.65; color: rgba(255,255,255,0.85); margin: 0 0 16px 0;">The full conversation covers Ashley's origin story, her career path from eventing to dressage, what keeps her competing at this stage of her career, and more from her time at Carl Hester's yard.</p>
<a style="display: inline-block; background: #c8102e; color: #ffffff; font-size: 11px; font-weight: bold; letter-spacing: 0.1em; text-transform: uppercase; padding: 10px 22px; text-decoration: none; border-radius: 2px; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" href="https://podfollow.com/the-us-equestrian-open-podcast/view" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Listen Now &rarr;</a></div>

<div style="margin-top: 20px;"><a style="display: block;" href="https://www.usequestrianopen.org/categories/dressage" target="_blank" rel="noopener"> <img style="display: block; max-width: 100%; height: auto;" src="https://usef-admin.fly.dev/assets/df3afaab-1f25-4fab-a1dc-c46c608169fb" alt="Read more dressage" width="100%"> </a></div>

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<div style="height: 2px; background: #001c54; margin-bottom: 32px;">&nbsp;</div>
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<div style="font-size: 13px; font-weight: bold; letter-spacing: 0.14em; text-transform: uppercase; color: #001c54; margin-bottom: 6px;">Stay in the loop</div>
<p style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.65; color: #374172; margin: 0;">Thanks for joining us for this week's edition. A fresh update of <a style="color: #c8102e; font-weight: 600;" href="https://www.usequestrianopen.org/categories/the-open-weekly">The Open Weekly</a> drops on the site every Tuesday.</p>
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<div style="font-size: 13px; font-weight: bold; letter-spacing: 0.14em; text-transform: uppercase; color: #001c54; margin-bottom: 6px;">Go Beyond the Article</div>
<p style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.65; color: #374172; margin: 0;">Catch the latest insights and expert interviews on the <a style="color: #c8102e; font-weight: 600;" href="https://podfollow.com/the-us-equestrian-open-podcast/view">US Equestrian Open Podcast</a>.</p>
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<div style="font-size: 11px; font-weight: bold; letter-spacing: 0.18em; text-transform: uppercase; color: #83b1d6; margin-bottom: 10px; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The Mission of the Open</div>
<p style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.7; color: rgba(255,255,255,0.85); margin: 0; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The mission of the US Equestrian Open is to grow and foster a deeper connection to equestrian sport by delivering a premier, unified championship series that engages a broader fanbase through top-level competition, storytelling, and a dynamic, entertaining experience.</p>
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Ashley Holzer on Flo, Neil Diamond, and What the Series Is For

Open Weekly Graphic with Stephanie Goodman & Elwenda DP cross-country 

The Open Weekly: Debut Wins in Eventing & New Venues in Dressage

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<div style="font-size: 11px; color: #6b7280; line-height: 1.4; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">HITS Hudson Valley's debut as a US Equestrian Open of Dressage qualifier.</div>
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<div style="font-size: 9px; font-weight: bold; letter-spacing: 0.14em; text-transform: uppercase; color: #6b7280; margin-bottom: 5px; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The Field</div>
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<div style="font-size: 11px; color: #6b7280; line-height: 1.4; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Combinations entered in the CDI3* Grand Prix Freestyle.</div>
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<div style="font-size: 9px; font-weight: bold; letter-spacing: 0.14em; text-transform: uppercase; color: #6b7280; margin-bottom: 5px; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">FEI Freestyle Record</div>
<div style="font-size: 26px; font-weight: 800; color: #001c54; line-height: 1.1; margin-bottom: 4px; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">1 of 3</div>
<div style="font-size: 11px; color: #6b7280; line-height: 1.4; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Only Belatrix RH has contested an FEI Grand Prix Freestyle.</div>
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<div style="font-size: 9px; font-weight: bold; letter-spacing: 0.14em; text-transform: uppercase; color: #6b7280; margin-bottom: 5px; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Highest Freestyle Score</div>
<div style="font-size: 26px; font-weight: 800; color: #001c54; line-height: 1.1; margin-bottom: 4px; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">72.863%</div>
<div style="font-size: 11px; color: #6b7280; line-height: 1.4; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Mondlicht's national best, and the top freestyle number in the field.</div>
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<p>&nbsp;</p>
<div style="font-size: 18px; font-weight: 800; color: #001c54; margin: 28px 0 4px 0; padding-bottom: 6px; border-bottom: 1px solid #eef0f5; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="display: inline-block; background: #001c54; color: #ffffff; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; padding: 2px 9px; border-radius: 2px; margin-right: 10px; letter-spacing: 0.05em;">01</span>Micaela Mabraga&ntilde;a &amp; Belatrix RH</div>
<div style="font-size: 11px; color: #6b7280; letter-spacing: 0.08em; text-transform: uppercase; margin-bottom: 14px; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-weight: 600;">4 FEI freestyles &nbsp;&middot;&nbsp; 68.67% fei average &nbsp;&middot;&nbsp; 70.035% fei freestyle best</div>
<p style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.72; color: #1a1a2e; margin: 0 0 14px 0; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><strong style="color: #001c54; font-weight: bold;">Belatrix RH</strong> 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%.</p>
<p style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.72; color: #1a1a2e; margin: 0 0 14px 0; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><strong style="color: #001c54; font-weight: bold;">Micaela Mabraga&ntilde;a</strong> 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.</p>
<div style="font-size: 18px; font-weight: 800; color: #001c54; margin: 28px 0 4px 0; padding-bottom: 6px; border-bottom: 1px solid #eef0f5; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="display: inline-block; background: #001c54; color: #ffffff; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; padding: 2px 9px; border-radius: 2px; margin-right: 10px; letter-spacing: 0.05em;">02</span>Christina Morin-Graham &amp; Mondlicht</div>
<div style="font-size: 11px; color: #6b7280; letter-spacing: 0.08em; text-transform: uppercase; margin-bottom: 14px; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-weight: 600;">First FEI Grand Prix Freestyle&nbsp; &middot;&nbsp; 72.863% national freestyle best</div>
<p style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.72; color: #1a1a2e; margin: 0 0 14px 0; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><strong style="color: #001c54; font-weight: bold;">Mondlicht</strong> 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.</p>
<p style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.72; color: #1a1a2e; margin: 0 0 14px 0; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The freestyle experience is there for <strong>Christina Morin-Graham &amp; Mondlicht,</strong> 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.</p>
<div style="font-size: 18px; font-weight: 800; color: #001c54; margin: 28px 0 4px 0; padding-bottom: 6px; border-bottom: 1px solid #eef0f5; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="display: inline-block; background: #001c54; color: #ffffff; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; padding: 2px 9px; border-radius: 2px; margin-right: 10px; letter-spacing: 0.05em;">03</span>Anne Barbarick &amp; ZZ Top 4</div>
<div style="font-size: 11px; color: #6b7280; letter-spacing: 0.08em; text-transform: uppercase; margin-bottom: 14px; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-weight: 600;">First FEI competition &nbsp;&middot;&nbsp; 70.525% national freestyle best</div>
<p style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.72; color: #1a1a2e; margin: 0 0 14px 0; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><strong style="color: #001c54; font-weight: bold;">ZZ Top 4</strong> 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.</p>
<p style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.72; color: #1a1a2e; margin: 0 0 14px 0; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><strong style="color: #001c54; font-weight: bold;">Anne Barbarick</strong> 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.</p>
<div style="font-size: 18px; font-weight: 800; color: #001c54; margin: 36px 0 14px 0; padding-bottom: 8px; border-bottom: 1px solid #eef0f5; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">What the numbers tell us</div>
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<div style="font-size: 10px; font-weight: bold; letter-spacing: 0.16em; text-transform: uppercase; color: #6b7280; margin-bottom: 8px;">Form Pick</div>
<div style="font-size: 24px; font-weight: 800; color: #c8102e; line-height: 1.1; margin-bottom: 8px;">Belatrix RH</div>
<div style="font-size: 13px; color: #1a1a2e; line-height: 1.5;">The only proven FEI freestyle horse in the class, and trending up after a 70.035% at Mid-Atlantic last month.</div>
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<div style="font-size: 10px; font-weight: bold; letter-spacing: 0.16em; text-transform: uppercase; color: #6b7280; margin-bottom: 8px;">Highest Ceiling</div>
<div style="font-size: 24px; font-weight: 800; color: #001c54; line-height: 1.1; margin-bottom: 8px;">72.863%</div>
<div style="font-size: 13px; color: #1a1a2e; line-height: 1.5;">Mondlicht's national best clears the field. The test is whether it holds on an FEI sheet.</div>
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<div style="font-size: 10px; font-weight: bold; letter-spacing: 0.16em; text-transform: uppercase; color: #6b7280; margin-bottom: 8px;">The Debuts</div>
<div style="font-size: 24px; font-weight: 800; color: #001c54; line-height: 1.1; margin-bottom: 8px;">2 of 3</div>
<div style="font-size: 13px; color: #1a1a2e; line-height: 1.5;">Mondlicht and ZZ Top 4 both contest their first FEI Grand Prix Freestyle this week.</div>
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<div style="font-size: 10px; font-weight: bold; letter-spacing: 0.16em; text-transform: uppercase; color: #6b7280; margin-bottom: 8px;">Spread on Best Scores</div>
<div style="font-size: 24px; font-weight: 800; color: #001c54; line-height: 1.1; margin-bottom: 8px;">2.8%</div>
<div style="font-size: 13px; color: #1a1a2e; line-height: 1.5;">From 70.035% to 72.863%, the three best freestyle numbers sit inside three points.</div>
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<div style="font-size: 18px; font-weight: 800; color: #001c54; margin: 28px 0 12px 0; padding-bottom: 6px; border-bottom: 1px solid #eef0f5; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The Series picture</div>
<p style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.72; color: #1a1a2e; margin: 0 0 14px 0; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><strong style="color: #001c54; font-weight: bold;">Ashley Holzer</strong> 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. <br><br>Full standings are on the <a style="color: #c8102e; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;" href="https://us.equestrian-hub.com/public/championship/dressage/708">US Equestrian Open of Dressage leaderboard</a>.</p>
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<div style="font-size: 13px; font-weight: bold; letter-spacing: 0.14em; text-transform: uppercase; color: #001c54; margin-bottom: 8px;">Go Beyond the Article</div>
<p style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.65; color: #374172; margin: 0;">Catch the latest insights and expert interviews on the <a style="color: #c8102e; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;" href="https://sites.libsyn.com/559710">US Equestrian Open Podcast</a>.</p>
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<div style="font-size: 11px; font-weight: bold; letter-spacing: 0.18em; text-transform: uppercase; color: #83b1d6; margin-bottom: 10px; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The Mission of the Open</div>
<p style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.7; color: rgba(255,255,255,0.85); margin: 0; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The mission of the US Equestrian Open is to grow and foster a deeper connection to equestrian sport by delivering a premier, unified championship series that engages a broader fanbase through top-level competition, storytelling, and a dynamic, entertaining experience.</p>
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Three combinations arrive to compete at HITS Hudson Valley

Open Weekly graphic with Karen O'Neal & Clooney 14

The Open Weekly: Aspen, St. Gallen, & Three to Go in Dressage

Image of the chestnut horse Montpellier Scais & Allie Knowles clearing a cross country fence

The Open Weekly: US Teams in England & Rome and Personal Bests at Ginny Rattner Memorial

<p dir="ltr">Don&rsquo;t let the four-horse field fool you. The combinations lining up for this weekend's Grand Prix Freestyle at the <strong>Ginny Rattner Dressage Memorial CDI3*</strong> are riding for their postseason lives. In a single afternoon, one freestyle ride could lock up a Final qualification, rescue a leaderboard bubble position, or launch a dark-horse CDI debut. With only four qualifiers left on the calendar, there is no room left for a safe ride in Sherwood, Oregon.</p>
<p><iframe id="datawrapper-chart-SbspO" style="width: 0; min-width: 100% !important; border: none;" title="Ginny Rattner Memorial Dressage CDI3*" src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/SbspO/1/" height="476" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" aria-label="Table" data-external="1"></iframe></p>
<h2 dir="ltr">Harrison-Antell and Finley: The Benchmark</h2>
<p dir="ltr"><strong>Kristina Harrison-Antell</strong> and <strong>Finley</strong> are the field's most credentialed combination, boasting ten FEI freestyle starts, a 75.470% personal best, and a 71.76% average that no one else here has matched at this level. In a four-horse class, that record is the metric everyone else is measuring against.</p>
<p dir="ltr">However, their last two outings have not looked like that record. Recent scores of 70.730% and 68.835% both sit below their average, dropping them off the top step of the podium. In a tiny field, an off-day is glaringly exposed. A win this weekend would propel Harrison-Antell from outside the top 18 up to 29 points, thrusting her right back into qualifying range. The history books say she should be the one delivering it; recent form says she has her work cut out for her.</p>
<h2 dir="ltr">Jackson and Florisson: Already Done It Once</h2>
<p dir="ltr">The clearest evidence that a paper record guarantees nothing came six weeks ago at Del Mar, where <strong>Cyndi Jackson </strong>and <strong>Florisson</strong> stole the freestyle win with Harrison-Antell in the field. Jackson wasn't the favorite that day either. She is faced with the same challenge again this weekend, but the Series stakes have grown significantly.</p>
<p dir="ltr">Jackson currently sits at 18 points, just on the edge of assured qualification. A win takes her to 44 points and sixth place, rendering a Final berth a certainty. While three FEI freestyle starts is a thin statistical sample, Florisson posted blistering 78.000% and 76.600% scores as a 6-year-old. What this combination looks like as Florisson matures into peak Grand Prix age, hasn&rsquo;t been fully realized yet. The last time Harrison-Antell opened the door, Jackson stepped through it, and she&rsquo;ll be looking to do it again this weekend.&nbsp;</p>
<h2 dir="ltr">Jorst and Niquel Cap: Arriving with Evidence</h2>
<p dir="ltr"><strong>Charlotte Jorst</strong> walks in with a storied FEI career, but her partner, the 9-year-old Lusitano stallion <strong>Niquel Cap</strong>, has exactly one national Grand Prix Freestyle on his resume. That single performance was a massive 74.500% win at the Starr Vaughn Spring Dressage II last weekend, paired with a 72.065% Grand Prix the day before. That 74.500% is the highest freestyle score any combination in this field has posted recently&mdash;and it came on the horse's very first time down the centerline to music.</p>
<p dir="ltr">A CDI is a different stage than a national show, and a debut is always a wild card. But a partnership that sweeps both tests in its debut outing and logs a score higher than Harrison-Antell has managed in two months, arrives in Sherwood with the kind of momentum that could absolutely topple a favorite. A win would vault Jorst from 47th place (6 points) into the low 20s. That's within Final contention if she can squeeze one more qualifier into her calendar.</p>
<h2 dir="ltr">Winger, Unai, and the Home-Field Legacy</h2>
<p dir="ltr"><strong>Ben Winger</strong> and <strong>Unai</strong> round out the entry list, and they hold the distinct advantage of the shortest commute. Winger has been based at Oregon since fall 2025, following professional stints at GoldMark Farm in Ocala and Paragon Farm in Texas. After Unai stepped up to the Grand Prix level at WEC Ocala in July 2025, the move to Oregon unlocked something special.</p>
<p dir="ltr">Since arriving, the partnership has gone completely undefeated at DevonWood, racking up four Grand Prix wins, alongside two national Grand Prix Freestyle victories just weeks ago (scoring 70.575% and 70.900%). While this weekend marks their official CDI freestyle debut, it is hardly an unfamiliar test. Unai has done all of his freestyles dancing on this exact footing.</p>
<p dir="ltr">Founded in 1998 by Ginny and Justin Rattner on 40 acres in Oregon's Willamette Valley, DevonWood represents the bedrock of the Pacific Northwest dressage community. Though Ginny passed away from breast cancer in July 2013, her children have kept her vision alive, running the facility and expanding its footprint.</p>
<p dir="ltr">The Ginny Rattner Memorial CDI3* joined the Open qualifier circuit in 2025, and this weekend marks its second year as a premier calendar destination. The show honors the woman who built the world-class facility that Winger now calls home. For Winger and Unai, the weekend isn't just an international debut, it's a defense of home turf.</p>
<p dir="ltr"><em>(A full venue profile of DevonWood Equestrian Centre runs in this week's Open Weekly <a href="https://www.usequestrianopen.org/stories/the-open-weekly-bicton-aachen-the-ginny-rattner-memorial">here</a>.)</em></p>
<p><a style="display: block;" href="https://www.usequestrianopen.org/categories/dressage" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img style="display: block; max-width: 100%; height: auto;" src="https://usef-admin.fly.dev/assets/df3afaab-1f25-4fab-a1dc-c46c608169fb" alt="Read more dressage" width="100%"></a></p>

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<div style="font-size: 16px; font-weight: 800; line-height: 1.3; color: #001c54; margin-bottom: 4px; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Knowles &amp; Greengard head to the UK.</div>
<div style="font-size: 12px; color: #6b7280; line-height: 1.4; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Allie Knowles and Tommy Greengard compete on the US team at the Bicton Nations Cup.</div>
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<div style="font-size: 16px; font-weight: 800; line-height: 1.3; color: #001c54; margin-bottom: 4px; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Vogel wins the Rolex Grand Prix of Aachen.</div>
<div style="font-size: 12px; color: #6b7280; line-height: 1.4; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Lillie Keenan takes the Saturday qualifier before Richard Vogel claims back-to-back Grand Slam wins.</div>
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<div style="font-size: 16px; font-weight: 800; line-height: 1.3; color: #001c54; margin-bottom: 4px; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The Ginny Rattner Memorial returns.</div>
<div style="font-size: 12px; color: #6b7280; line-height: 1.4; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The only international dressage competition in the Pacific Northwest, with Final qualification on the line.</div>
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No Safe Rides in Sherwood

The Open Weekly: Bicton, Aachen & The Ginny Rattner Memorial

<h2 dir="ltr">Dressage: Potasky bests Ashker at MADFest to claim CDI3* freestyle win</h2>
<p dir="ltr"><strong>Ali Potasky</strong> <strong>&amp; Inxs</strong> won Saturday's CDI3* Grand Prix Freestyle at the Mid-Atlantic Dressage Festival with a personal best of 72.425%, edging out<strong> Laine Ashker &amp; </strong><strong>Zeppelin </strong>by 0.315%.&nbsp;</p>
<p dir="ltr">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.&nbsp;</p>
<blockquote>
<p dir="ltr"><em>"I&rsquo;ve been working on the details&mdash;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,"</em> she said of <strong>Inxs, </strong>who can carry tension in competition.&nbsp;</p>
</blockquote>
<p dir="ltr"><a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/DYfgZs9gM_g/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&amp;igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img src="https://usef-admin.fly.dev/assets/6d88416e-5f37-48b8-be8f-68b2a8098839.png?width=700&amp;height=853" alt="Screenshot 2026 05 19 113032"></a></p>
<p dir="ltr">Ashker, meanwhile, was debuting a new freestyle with <strong>Zeppelin.</strong> She posted a strong 72.110% on a first outing with new music and has her eyes set on the Final in Thermal.&nbsp;</p>
<p dir="ltr"><strong>Miceala Mabraga&ntilde;a &amp; Belatrix RH</strong> finished third with 70.035%, also a personal best.</p>
<p dir="ltr">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.</p>
<p dir="ltr"><img src="https://usef-admin.fly.dev/assets/f1d326a8-8044-4186-8952-a26653416d9a.png?width=1098&amp;height=1110" alt="0t C X7 Leaderboard of the Us Equestrian Open of Dressage  (2)"></p>
<p dir="ltr">The next qualifier takes place at the Ginny Rattner Memorial Dressage in Oregon, Saturday, May 30.</p>
<p dir="ltr"><a href="https://www.usequestrianopen.org/categories/dressage" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img src="https://usef-admin.fly.dev/assets/df3afaab-1f25-4fab-a1dc-c46c608169fb.png?width=1080&amp;height=171" alt="Read More Dressage"></a></p>
<h2 dir="ltr">Listen to this week's episode of the US Equestrian Open Podcast</h2>
<p><iframe style="border-image: initial; border: medium none currentcolor;" title="Embed Player" src="https://play.libsyn.com/embed/episode/id/41360160/height/192/theme/modern/size/large/thumbnail/yes/custom-color/28427a/time-start/00:00:00/hide-playlist/yes/download/yes/font-color/ffffff" width="100%" height="192" scrolling="no" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></p>
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<h2 dir="ltr">&nbsp;</h2>
<h2 dir="ltr"><strong><strong id="docs-internal-guid-c3f8300a-7fff-1f24-0f99-1ae7d7e449eb"></strong></strong><strong>Jumping: The world's best head to Aachen</strong></h2>
<p class="font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal leading-[1.7]">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.</p>
<p class="font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal leading-[1.7]">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&ndash;24, christening it the "TSCHIO", a nod to the local Aachen dialect and the deep community bond the event carries.</p>
<p class="font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal leading-[1.7]">The Rolex Grand Prix on Sunday is the second Major of the Rolex Grand Slam of Show Jumping, making <strong>Richard Vogel </strong>(winner of the Dutch Masters in March) a live Grand Slam contender this weekend.</p>
<p class="font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal leading-[1.7]">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:</p>
<ul class="[li_&amp;]:mb-0 [li_&amp;]:mt-1 [li_&amp;]:gap-1 [&amp;:not(:last-child)_ul]:pb-1 [&amp;:not(:last-child)_ol]:pb-1 list-disc flex flex-col gap-1 pl-8 mb-3">
<li class="font-claude-response-body whitespace-normal break-words pl-2"><strong>Kent Farrington: </strong>Greya, Descartes SR</li>
<li class="font-claude-response-body whitespace-normal break-words pl-2"><strong>McLain Ward:</strong>&nbsp;High Star Hero, Lestro vd Valckenborg</li>
<li class="font-claude-response-body whitespace-normal break-words pl-2"><strong>Laura Kraut: </strong>Bisquetta, Cinnamon, Una Mariposa</li>
<li class="font-claude-response-body whitespace-normal break-words pl-2"><strong>Lillie Keenan: </strong>Anton, Fasther, Kick On</li>
<li class="font-claude-response-body whitespace-normal break-words pl-2"><strong>Karl Cook: </strong>Caracole de la Roque, Candy, Foxy de la Roque</li>
<li class="font-claude-response-body whitespace-normal break-words pl-2"><strong>Aaron Vale:</strong>&nbsp;Carissimo 25, Gray's Inn, Helios du Moulin</li>
</ul>
<p class="font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal leading-[1.7]">The World Championships are fast approaching. This week at Aachen is where the conversation about who goes starts to get serious.</p>
<p class="font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal leading-[1.7]"><a href="https://www.usequestrianopen.org/categories/jumping" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img src="https://usef-admin.fly.dev/assets/eeee484b-ef16-4e10-9de3-6d72b0a7f0c7.png?width=1080&amp;height=161" alt="Read More Jumping"></a></p>
<h2 class="font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal leading-[1.7]">&nbsp;</h2>
<h2 class="font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal leading-[1.7]"><strong>Eventing: The Series takes a breath&nbsp;</strong></h2>
<p class="font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal leading-[1.7]"><strong>Next Qualifier:&nbsp;</strong>Aspen Farms (June 11th)&nbsp;<strong>| The Final:&nbsp;</strong>Morven Park 4*-L, Virginia (October 8th)</p>
<p class="font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal leading-[1.7]">The Series is on a slight break as we wait for the next qualifier at Aspen Farms on June 11th.<strong> Tamie Smith</strong> leads the Series on 235, <strong>Will Coleman</strong> is second on 215, and&nbsp;<strong>Boyd Martin</strong> is third on 190. Check out the full leaderboard <a href="https://us.equestrian-hub.com/public/championship/eventing/2" target="_blank" rel="noopener">here.</a></p>
<p class="font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal leading-[1.7]">The break is a good moment to zoom out and celebrate 2026 so far. <strong>Tamie Smith</strong> currently leads the world in international wins in 2026 with eight. She is already two ahead of where <strong>Lara de Liedekerke-Meier</strong> 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 <strong>Piggy March&rsquo;s</strong> previous mark of 15. Out of those eight wins, four have come at the CCI4* level and it is only May.</p>
<p class="font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal leading-[1.7]">We wrote it up in full this week. Read it <a href="https://www.usequestrianopen.org/stories/the-tamie-smith-season-so-far" target="_blank" rel="noopener">here.</a></p>
<p class="font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal leading-[1.7]"><a href="https://www.usequestrianopen.org/categories/eventing" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img src="https://usef-admin.fly.dev/assets/254e09dd-d92e-4194-986b-baf0dbd8460b.png?width=1080&amp;height=158" alt="Read More Eventing"></a></p>
<h2 data-path-to-node="4">&nbsp;</h2>
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<p data-path-to-node="5">Thanks for joining us for this week's edition! Don't forget: a fresh update of&nbsp;<strong data-path-to-node="5" data-index-in-node="72"><a href="https://www.usequestrianopen.org/categories/the-open-weekly" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Open Weekly</a>&nbsp;</strong>drops on the site&nbsp;<strong data-path-to-node="5" data-index-in-node="124">every Tuesday.</strong></p>
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<h3 data-path-to-node="6"><strong data-path-to-node="6" data-index-in-node="4">Go Beyond the Article</strong></h3>
<p data-path-to-node="7">Catch the latest insights and expert interviews on the&nbsp;<strong data-path-to-node="7" data-index-in-node="78"><a href="https://sites.libsyn.com/559710" target="_blank" rel="noopener">US Equestrian Open Podcast.</a>&nbsp;</strong></p>
<h3><em><strong>The Mission of the Open&nbsp;</strong></em></h3>
<p><em>The mission of the US Equestrian Open is to grow and foster a deeper connection to equestrian sport by delivering a premier, unified championship series that engages a broader fanbase through top-level competition, storytelling, and a dynamic, entertaining experience.</em></p>

Ali Potasky & Inxs on the Open Weekly graphic

Dressage