79.930% claimed last year's trophy. Two of this year's contenders have already scored higher.
The first US Equestrian Open Dressage Final was decided on a 79.930%. Two riders in the current Series top 20 have already topped that this season.
The inaugural US Equestrian Open Dressage Final came down to one winning number: 79.930%. With the 2026 Series still running, here is how the current top 20 in the standings measure up against the scores that decided last year's trophy.
Benjamin Ebeling & Bellena won the inaugural US Equestrian Open Dressage Final at Desert Dressage last November, earning the trophy with a 79.930, a score that remains their personal best. Felicitas Hendricks & Drombusch OLD took second on 78.260. Anna Marek & Fayvel, who had already won the Series, finished third on 77.830.
Twelve combinations contest the 2025 Final. The field averaged 73.620 going from 79.930 down to 66.260. Breaking down last year's Final reveals four clean benchmarks for this year: 79.930 to win, 77.830 for the podium, 75.445 for a top five, and 74.100 to finish in the top half.
Ben Ebeling & Bellena
The 2026 Series has been running since December and the top 18 in the standings earn a place in the Final. Qualifiers are still to come, so nothing below is settled. Every score used here is a Grand Prix Freestyle from a Series qualifier.
Two riders in the current top 20 have already gone past 79.930 this season. Susan Pape & Harmony's Giulilanta scored 81.745 and Christian Simonson & Indian Rock scored 81.445.
Susan Pape & Harmony's Giulietta
Two more have cleared the 77.830 that landed on last year's podium: Brittany Fraser-Beaulieu & Jaccardo on 79.250 at AGDF 7 in February and Tinne Vilhelmson Silfvén & Hyatt on 78.000 at AGDF 8 in February.
Go further down and the depth is the story. Eleven of the 20 have a qualifier best above the 75.445 that was good enough for fifth last year. Fifteen are above the 74.100 midpoint. The lowest qualifier best in the entire top 20 is 70.775, which matches the score that finished ninth of 12 in last year's Final.
Current top 20, 2026 US Equestrian Open of Dressage standings
The highest qualifier freestyle score in the Series belongs to a rider sitting 16th. Susan Pape & Harmony's Giulilanta scored 81.745 in the CDI5* at Adequan Global Dressage Festival 3 in January. That is 1.815 above the score that won last year's Final and a career best for the combination.
Two qualifier runs, averaging 79.82, which lands 0.115 under last year's winning score. Susan's position in the standings reflects volume, not level: with two of four counting slots filled, the points will follow if the runs do.
Christian Simonson & Indian Rock are the only combination in the top 20 averaging an 80-plus score in Series qualifiers. Their 81.445 came in the World Cup freestyle at Adequan Global Dressage Festival I in January, and their qualifier average of 80.14 is higher than every score recorded in last year's Final.
The ceiling is higher again. Their career freestyle best is 83.810, which is 3.880 clear of what won the Final in November. They have used two of four counting slots.
Brittany Fraser-Beaulieu & Jaccardo scored 79.250 at Adequan Global Dressage Festival 7 in February. Drop that into last year's Final and it finishes second, 0.680 off the win.
Their career best is 79.330, so this is a pair operating at full stretch rather than a pair with a hidden gear. Their qualifier average of 77.18 would still have finished fourth in November, which matters more than the best on a night when one test decides everything.
Tinne Vilhelmson Silfvén & Hyatt hit 78.000 in the CDI4* at Palm Beach Dressage Derby in February. Their lower qualifier freestyle came in at 76.640, so both scores this season would have made last year's top four.
Vilhelmson Silfvén owns a career freestyle best of 84.700, the second highest in the top 20. Whether Hyatt gets near that is the open question, but consistency in the high 70s is exactly the profile that won the podium places last year.
Christian Simonson & Indian Rock at the 2026 FEI World Cup Finals in Fort Worth, TX
The four highest scorers sit 10th, 13th, 14th and 16th. The top of the standings is led by riders who have contested more qualifiers rather than posted bigger numbers. Ashley Holzer & Hawtins San Floriana lead on 51 points from five qualifier runs, with a best of 75.290 and an average of 74.62. Those figures would have placed sixth and seventh respectively in last year's Final.
Frederic Wandres & Verrenberg sit second on 49 points with a qualifier best of 77.000. Wandres has scored considerably higher elsewhere this season, averaging 78.100 across eight freestyles and holding a career best of 84.830, the highest figure in the top 20. His Open average of 76.37 is a floor rather than a ceiling.
Thirteen of the top 20 still have counting slots to fill. The standings will compress as those runs happen.
Three combinations from the 2025 Final sit in the current top 20, and all three have a higher qualifier best this season than the score they produced in November.
Geñay Vaughn & Gino finished sixth on 74.890. Their 2026 qualifier best is 76.415, set at Desert Dressage III in December on the same ground that hosts the Final, and their average of 76.05 is above their 2025 Final score as well. That is the cleanest improvement of the three.
Nadine Schwartsman & Royal Flash R were ninth on 70.775. Their best this season is 73.675, up 2.900, though their average of 71.28 sits closer to where they finished last year.
Kristina Harrison-Antell & Finley were fourth on 75.470, the best of the three on the night. Their qualifier best of 75.770 is up 0.300, but their average of 71.78 is nearly four marks below what they produced in the Final. They found their level when it counted last year.
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The bar has moved
81.745
The highest Series qualifier freestyle of 2026, from Susan Pape and Harmony's Giulilanta. It sits 1.815 above the score that won the Final in November.
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Podium pace
4 of 20
Contenders whose 2026 qualifier best already clears the 77.830 that earned a podium place last year. Four also hold career bests above the trophy-winning score.
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More Qualifiers still to come, the Series top 18 still to be determined, and Final to look forward to this November 13-14 in Thermal, California!
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