5 Things to Follow at Maryland International

Maryland International has been growing since it entered the Series, but 2026 marks a step change. The CCI4*-S draws 21 starters this year, compared to nine in 2023, nine in 2024, and ten in 2025. The Elo Field Strength of 437 is the highest this venue has ever recorded. A field of just nine or ten still produced some competitive races. A field of 21 tightens the margins everywhere.

With 21 starters, the small qualifier scale applies: 40 points to the winner, scaling down to 5 points for eighth. Every placing will matter for the Series leaderboard.

Caroline Pamukcu won the 2025 edition aboard She's The One. She returns this year with King's Especiale, who finished third here in 2023. Across three starts at this venue, Pamukcu has finished twice on the podium and in 5th. She does not need the horses to be the same, the record speaks for itself.

Lisa Marie Fergusson won the 2024 edition aboard Honor Me and returns this year with Ratheoin Quality Imp. The horse changes, the venue knowledge does not. Jennie Brannigan won in 2023 with Fe Connory but does not return this weekend, the one previous winner absent from the start list.

Tamie Smith leads the Series on 235 points with all six counting slots filled. Every athlete in the top five has a full card. Nobody can simply add a result anymore, they can only improve on one they already own. The full breakdown of who can close the gap and how is covered in detail in this article.

Maryland is a genuine opportunity for both Lucienne Bellissimo and Pamukcu. Bellissimo's weakest counting score is a 5. A seventh-place finish or better improves her card. A win lifts her from 175 to 210 in one afternoon. Pamukcu's floor sits at 15, so she needs a fifth place or better to gain anything. Both have the horses here to chase a result.

Current Series leaderboard

Counting scores shown. Red pill = lowest counting score (first to be improved). Via US Equestrian Open leaderboard.

#	Rider	Counting scores	Pts
1	Tamie Smith 6 of 6 slots used	50 50 50 40 25 20	235
2	William Coleman 6 of 6 slots used	45 45 40 35 30 20	215
3	Boyd Martin 6 of 6 slots used	40 35 35 30 30 20	190
4	Caroline Pamukcu 6 of 6 slots used	45 40 40 25 20 15	185
5	Lucienne Bellissimo 6 of 6 slots used	50 40 35 35 10 5	175

Points data via US Equestrian Open leaderboard. Highlighted rows indicate riders competing at Maryland this weekend.

The show jumping at Maryland is unforgiving. Across all three previous runnings of the CCI4*-S, only 4 of 28 starters have jumped clear. That is a 14% clear rate. Of the venues in the US Equestrian Open, only Woodside is harder, sitting at 13% (2023-2025 data). With 21 starters this year, the difference between clean and costly show jumping rounds may be larger than ever.

Across all three previous runnings of this class at Maryland, not one combination has made the cross-country time. With time penalties inevitable for almost everyone, cross-country becomes about minimizing the penalties. A horse that runs fast enough to take fewer penalties than the field can climb the leaderboard even without a showjumping clear.

MGH Mr Messack leads the field on 96%, having outpaced 96% of rivals on his fastest days. Mitchell and Go Go follow at 94% and 92% respectively. Time penalties will separate the field on cross-country day. These are the horses positioned best to limit them.