After the Drought: How the Americans Took Back the Leaderboard
Anna Marek, Kristina Harrison-Antell, and Eline Eckroth now stand atop a leaderboard once ruled by Europe.
After 20 qualifiers, the leaderboard for the US Equestrian Open of Dressage has finally turned red, white, and blue. Anna Marek (105 points), Kristina Harrison-Antell (86), and Eline Eckroth (86) now hold the top three spots in a series that has, until recently, been defined by international domination. For the first time since Week 1, Americans control the podium positions. But getting there was anything but straightforward.
A Disrupted Start
Qualifier 1 saw Geñay Vaughn lead the way, claiming victory in Thermal and becoming both the first winner and the first American to top the leaderboard. She remained at the top through Week 3, first tying with Germany's Felicitas Hendricks in Week 2, then sharing the lead with both Hendricks and Charlotte Jorst in Week 3. By Week 4, the tide had shifted. Hendricks claimed the top spot on the leaderboard, with Tinne Vilhelmson Silfvén in second and Evelyn Eger in third, a European sweep of the standings even though none had won that week's event outright.
Week 4 Leaderboard
That moment marked the start of a six-week drought for the American flag. Throughout the Adequan Global Dressage Festival and early WEC qualifiers, the top five remained packed with international riders. Danielle Gallagher (CAN) swept the early WEC events. Hendricks and Eger took turns leading the standings. Even when Americans scored well, they were often second or third to an international winner.
The volatility at the top was fueled by a scoring system built for consistency, but early results were shaped by riders still early in their seasons, many of whom had competed only once at that point. For the first eight qualifiers, ties dominated the top five. Week 8 was the first time there were distinct riders in first through fourth place. But even then, three riders were still tied for fifth. It wouldn’t be until Week 15 that the leaderboard showed a fully separated top five.
Week 8 Leaderboard
The Turnaround
Qualifier 10 marked the beginning of a power shift. Anna Marek’s second-place finish behind Julio Mendoza Loor earned her enough points to overtake Eger on the leaderboard. From there, more Americans began climbing. Although international riders still held space in the top five, their grip was slipping.
By Week 15, the leaderboard finally produced a fully separated top five. The following weeks saw rapid change: in Week 17, Kristina Harrison-Antell jumped from sixth to second, displacing Gallagher entirely. Two weeks later, Eline Eckroth pulled into a tie for second. And in Week 20, Vaughn reentered the top five with 80 points, reclaiming her position among the leaders. By the start of the summer break, seven of the top ten were Americans, and Eger had dropped to fourth.
Week 20 Leaderboard
The Three Who Rose
Americans now hold the top three spots, and Marek, Harrison-Antell, and Eckroth have each carved their own path to the front of the standings.
For Marek, the season has been a mix of brilliance and near-misses. Despite high scores and freestyle flair, she often found herself just edged out. In Qualifier 10, her second-place finish behind Mendoza Loor earned her enough points to finally overtake Germany's Evelyn Eger on the leaderboard. Over the course of six qualifiers, Marek has never placed below third. Four of those rides scored over 77%, including a win on 77.755%. Her partnerships with Fire Fly and Fayvel have been among the most electric and consistent of the season. Marek is the only rider campaigning two mounts, a flexibility that strengthens her position in the race for the overall series lead.
Harrison-Antell has earned her 86 points entirely on the West Coast. She was often chasing Geñay Vaughn, but when Vaughn went to Europe for the World Cup Final, Harrison-Antell stepped into the winner’s circle herself. Her consistency in smaller West Coast fields has made her a quiet powerhouse—scoring between 70.9% and 72.7% in four of her five starts, with one off week dipping to 68.1%. When adjusting for that off-character ride, Harrison-Antell is a reliable 72% scorer, which is exactly the kind of consistency that puts you at the top of this leaderboard.
Eckroth wasn’t on anyone’s radar early in the season, but she’s been steadily stacking results while others sat out. By continuing to show up, especially in weeks with thinner fields, she capitalized on every opportunity to climb the leaderboard. She picked up a personal best in Qualifier 7 and added points in small-field weekends like Qualifier 13. She’s the only rider in the current top five without a freestyle win, but consistency alone put her into a tie for second heading into the break.
The leaderboard, once dominated by international names, now tells a different story. Americans have fought their way back into control, but the margin is slim. And now the question is: can they hold the line?
We’ll be watching.
Starting next week, we’ll dig into the rides and scores that built this leaderboard, and into the data that turned a scoreboard into a season-long story.
