The Open Weekly: US Teams in England & Rome and Personal Bests at Ginny Rattner Memorial
Knowles leads the US to second at Bicton, Little places fourth in Rome, and Harrison-Antell wins in Sherwood with a personal best.
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Eventing
Knowles Leads the Way for the US at Bicton
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This weekend, England hosted leg two of the 2026 FEI Eventing Nations Cup™ in Bicton and the US fielded a predominantly young team helmed by the experienced Allie Knowles.
Great Britain won their home-soil leg with the US team earning second, led by Knowles. Knowles & Montpellier Scais finished fifth - the highest-placed US pair - while Knowles rode her individual entry, Leo Santos, to seventh.
For Montpellier Scais, it was only the nine-year-old's third CCI4* run. This weekend's top-five finish backed up his second place at Stable View 4*-S last month where he and Allie added just 5.2 cross country time penalties to their 29.8 dressage score. Similarly at Bicton, the pair added only cross country time penalties over a course where no one made the time and only 39% jumped clear (in comparison to the worldwide CCI4*-S average of 69% XCJ clear). A young horse still accumulating experience at the level, Montpellier Scais' early results build a promising picture.
Montpellier Scais & Allie Knowles at Bicton this weekend © Libby Law
Knowles stays in Europe for Bramham next week and both Montpellier Scais and Leo Santos are likely to come home better for the trip overseas. Knowles sits eighth in the Open standings on 80 points. She'll miss the next Open qualifier at Aspen Farms (Jun 11) but as a West Coast event, it wasn't on her schedule anyway. But, when Allie does return Stateside, there are still four more East Coast qualifiers to contest. Not to mention the Final at Morven Park this November. Allie is already qualified for it, as is Montpellier Scais. Will we see him make his CCI4*-L debut against the backdrop of the white mansion?
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West Coast
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East Coast
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Jumping
Little Places Fourth as US Team Finishes Seventh in Rome
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CSIO5* Rome Piazza di Siena featured Friday's Nations Cup and Sunday's Rolex Grand Prix of Rome.
Mexico defeated Germany in a jump-off to win the Nations Cup, with Great Britain finishing third. Five combinations - two from Mexico, two from Germany, and one from Great Britain - delivered double clear performances across the two rounds.
In Sunday's Grand Prix, Piergiorgio Bucci (ITA) & Pallieter Vd N.Ranch claimed victory as the only double clear combination. Jörne Sprehe & Toys (GER) and Richard Vogel & Cloudio (GER) finished second and third, respectively.
Marilyn Little & La Contessa led the US results, finishing fourth in the Grand Prix and recording a 0/4 performance in the Nations Cup (clear round 1, a rail in round 2).
Laura Kraut also added a 0/4 Nations Cup score with Dorado 212 and recorded a top-12 Grand Prix finish with Baloutinue. Natalie Dean & Mr Boombastic finished on four faults in the Grand Prix, while Callie Schott & Diamond Touch earned a top-five placing earlier in the week.
La Contessa & Marilyn Little earlier this year at WEF 2026
In the Nations Cup, Team USA - comprised of Marilyn Little & La Contessa (0/4), Laura Kraut with Dorado 212 (0/4), Natalie Dean & Pedro van de Barlebuis (4/8) and Callie Schott with Garant (8/22) - earned a final team placing of seventh (out of 10 teams).
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Dressage
Personal Bests Across the Board in Sherwood
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In a field where no one could afford a safe ride, nobody took one.
Kristina Harrison-Antell & Finley won the Grand Prix Freestyle at the Ginny Rattner Memorial CDI3* with a personal best of 75.770%, edging past their previous high of 75.470% set at last year's Final. The win follows a first in the Grand Prix the day before, and it ends a run of two below-average freestyle outings that had left their qualification picture murkier than their record suggested it should be.
A scan of the scoresheet shows a pair that has found their footing again. They scored 7.0 or above on 82% of individual marks, with two 8s in the extended trot and strong marks in the halt. Their degree of difficulty sits at 8.4, which isn't bad, but a floorplan in the 9s would put them in a more competitive scoring bracket. The piaffe is the other area with room to grow, but get both right and scores above 75% should follow.
Harrison-Antell moves to 29 points and 19th place (based on the score-based tiebreaker rule), one spot outside the top 18 cut. Three qualifiers remain, all on the east coast, and none of them are convenient from her homebase in Los Angeles. The easier path to qualification may come passively. A number of European combinations sit inside the top 18, and declinations ahead of a US-based Final are a realistic possibility. If any of those combinations decline to attend, a spot for Harrison-Antell opens up.
Cyndi Jackson & Florisson came second with a personal best of their own, 72.160%, continuing the upward trajectory that has defined this partnership's season. The result is their fourth qualifying score, and it lifts Jackson to 39 points and 11th place. With only three qualifiers remaining, she would need to be a victim of a historic leaderboard heist to miss the Final.
Charlotte Jorst & Niquel CAP finished third on 67.230% in their CDI debut, and Ben Winger & Unai finished fourth on 65.710% in their own CDI freestyle debut, closing out a field that produced personal bests for three of the four riders.
Three qualifiers remain: HITS Hudson Valley on June 11, Dressage at Devon in September, and TerraNova in October.
Thanks for joining us for this week's edition. A fresh update of The Open Weekly drops on the site every Tuesday.
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