The Best Have Answered The Call Again: Morven Park Is One Of The Strongest Fields In A Decade
Next week, the best in the country arrive at Morven Park for the US Equestrian Open of Eventing Final. On paper, only one CCI4*-L on US soil in the last ten years has been stronger.
A year ago, Morven Park hosted the first US Equestrian Open of Eventing Final. Next week, from October 8 to 11, it hosts the second. The field heading to Leesburg is stronger than the inaugural final, and stronger than almost anything the US has seen at this level.
The 2026 Final carries an Elo Field Strength of 553. Only one CCI4*-L on US soil in the last ten years has been stronger, The Fork at Tryon in November 2020 (605). No other event on the list comes within 25 points of this year's field.
That is a 33-point rise on last year's inaugural Final, which rated 520 and sits in fourth. Two editions in, both US Open Finals rank among the four strongest CCI4*-Ls run in the country in the last 10 years.
Two years ago, this title did not exist. Now it is the one the country's best riders plan their fall around.
The road here ran through twenty CCI4*-S Qualifiers, coast to coast, from Bouckaert last October to Woodside coming up this weekend. At the end of it sits a $200,000 prize purse, the largest at this level across the globe. The money draws attention. The title is what brings the best horses.
Look at who is coming. The No.1 US horse. The defending champion. The Series winner. Riders with five-star horses in their string are choosing a four-star long format for this. That is what prestige looks like in the entry list.
Elo is a horse rating. The higher the number, the better the horse. Elo Field Strength is the average Elo of the top 25 horses in a competition, a measure of both the quality at the top and the depth behind it.
It starts with Off The Record. Will Coleman's gelding arrives rated 793, the No.1 rated US horse in the world right now and the second-highest rated US horse ever recorded, behind only Mai Baum. He is a huge 113 points clear of the next-best in the field.
Defending champion Boyd Martin & Luke 140 (680, No.10 US) and Series winner Tamie Smith & Danito (673) are the only other horses above 650. Behind them, the depth builds. Twelve of the top 25 are rated 550 or higher.
Four riders bring two horses inside the top 25: Martin (Luke 140 and Fetiche Des Rouges), Caroline Pamukcu (HSH Double Sixteen and HSH Tolan King), Lucienne Bellissimo (Dyri and Kitsch Couture HPK) and Waylon Roberts (Fernhill Salt Lake and Chevalier).
Roberts leads a Canadian presence of three horses in the top 25, alongside Lisa Marie Fergusson & Ratheoin Quality Imp.
The next generation is here too. Mia Farley & Invictus (604) share the No.1 ranking among US 10-year-olds. Kim Severson's Cooley Corraghy Diamond (571) is the No.1 US 9-year-old. Laine Ashker & Lovedance (503) rank No.8 among US 10-year-olds.
Ratings get horses to the start box. Morven Park decides the rest.
The cross-country is designed by Derek Di Grazia, the man behind the Kentucky five-star track. He builds on old turf and rolling Virginia terrain, with natural features riders rarely meet anywhere else in the country. The local view is simple: jump well around Morven and a horse is ready for 5*.
Sharon White has been going to the Morven Park since she was 15. Her verdict on the venue: "It could be our Badminton, and now it has a chance to showcase."
Last year's Final was won with a HPR of 99, matching Tryon 2020 for the highest winning HPR among the ten strongest fields on the list. The 2026 field is stronger again. Winning it will take a performance of that level, or better.
Twenty Qualifiers. One title. $200,000 on the line. Next week, one of the best fields the US has seen goes to Leesburg to settle it.
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