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

Eventing The Series Heads West to Aspen Farms

After a break in the qualifier schedule, the eventing series resumes on the West Coast. Aspen Farms in Washington hosts a CCI4*-S this weekend, and four combinations are entered.

• Karen O'Neal & Clooney 14
• Gabrielle Shank & Billy
• Erin Grandia & Hyacinth
• Stephanie Goodman & Elwenda DP 

The weekend is unlikely to reshape the top of the standings, but it carries weight further down. Karen O'Neal sits 16th on 40 points from a single counting score, her win at Twin Rivers. A second qualifier win at Aspen would take her to 80 points across two of six slots, lifting her from 16th to a provisional 8th and level with Alexandra Knowles. Gabrielle Shank and Stephanie Goodman will make their four-star debuts while Erin Grandia arrives for only her second attempt at the level. A full preview article will come later this week.

Current Leaderboard of the US Equestrian Open of Eventing

#	Rider	Points
1	Tamra Smith	235
2	William Coleman	215
3	Boyd Martin	190
4	Caroline Pamukcu	185
5	Lucienne Bellissimo	175
6	Waylon Roberts	110
7	Mia Farley	85
8	Alexandra Knowles	80
9	Tommy Greengard	75
10	Bruce O. Davidson Jr.	70
16	Karen O'Neal	40

Top ten shown. Karen O'Neal included to track this weekend's qualifier.

A small field does not make a small occasion. Aspen Farms runs on the work of a family and the friends who have become one, the kind of event where you are welcomed at the gate and the people waiting at the finish line matter as much as the result. The venue only added the four-star in 2024, and the entry count was never the point. It puts the top end of the sport in front of a West Coast community that rarely gets to see it up close, and it gives riders a proper track to test themselves against.

Jumping One Rail Off the Podium in St. Gallen

The United States finished fourth in the Range Rover Nations Cup of Switzerland at St. Gallen, one rail short of the podium. The team of Katherine Dinan & Out of the Blue SCF, Mimi Gochman & Iron Maiden, Charlotte Jacobs & Playboy JT Z, and Aaron Vale & Carissimo 25 closed on 20 penalties. Great Britain took third on 17, Austria second on 16, and the home team of Switzerland won on 9 in front of a packed Gründenmoos crowd.

It was a tough track with only two riders all day went double clear, Switzerland's Jason Smith and Austria's Katharina Rhomberg. Aaron Vale carried the US best after round one, clean aboard Carissimo 25 to sit the team third on eight. A second-round eight from Vale and four-fault rounds from the rest left them three penalties off Great Britain.

It was a memorable weekend for Mimi Gochman, who rode her first senior Nations Cup at 21. She recovered from a tough first round to deliver just four faults under pressure in the second. A name we followed closely during the WEF season and now onto European soil, Gochman is one of the brightest prospects in the US pipeline.

Dressage Where the Leaderboard Stands With Three Qualifiers to Go

With 22 qualifiers complete, the Series is drawing to a close. Only three remain, scattered across the east coast. Hudson Valley in New York, Dressage at Devon in Pennsylvania, and TerraNova in Florida.

The leaderboard has separated into three groups. At the top, riders who are either done for the season or safe enough that the remaining qualifiers won't change their picture much. Ashley Holzer leads on 51 points. Claire Darnell sits third on 47. Both have room to improve their totals, but their Final spots are not in question. A larger contingent has simply gone home. The European riders who frequented the Wellington circuit are back across the Atlantic, and several US-based combinations have followed them there for the summer. Christian Simonson, ranked 10th with two of the best scores posted all season, won't be seen again until Devon in September at the earliest. Geñay Vaughn, three wins and 45 points, same story.

Places 11 through 18 have Final spots, for now. Whether they hold them depends as much on what others do as on anything they do themselves. Three qualifiers is enough for someone currently sitting in the 20s to take a spot from someone sitting in the 14th or 15th.

For the riders outside the top 18, the window is narrow, yet it is still open. TerraNova in October is the natural target for Florida-based combinations. Devon draws a reliable field every September. Hudson Valley is the open question. It is a new qualifier, and New York is a real haul even for riders based on the east coast. A full field preview runs later this week. Until then, Hudson Valley remains the one qualifier on the calendar nobody can predict yet.

Current Leaderboard of the US Equestrian Open of Dressage

#	Rider	Points
1	Ashley Holzer	51
2	Frederic Wandres	49
3	Claire Darnell	47
4	Devon Kane	46
5	Geñay Vaughn	45
6	Ellesse Gundersen	41
7	Jennifer Williams	41
8	Caroline Darcourt	40
9	Kevin Kohmann	40
10	Christian Simonson	40