The Open Weekly: White Wins Trophy, Kohmann Secures Series Title

Eventing Sharon White & Claus 63 Win the Final on Their Fourth Attempt

Sharon White & Claus 63 won the US Equestrian Open Eventing Final at Morven Park on a 30.8. The pair were third after cross-country after adding just 4.8 cross-country time penalties to their 26.0 dressage score. Then, on Sunday, they were the only pair of the overnight top three to leave all the rails up. By earning victory, Sharon is the first woman to win a US Equestrian Open Final in any of the three disciplines.

Sharon White & Claus 63

It is Sharon's first CCI4*-L win since Bromont in 2008 with The King's Spirit, and this weekend's victory is a study in perseverance. While Sharon loves Morven Park, the CCI4*-L course hasn’t always loved her back. She and Claus 63 were eliminated in 2021 and eliminated again in 2022. Last year, 2nd after dressage, they had a 20 on course. But then, Sharon & Claus, back in the Morven Park CCI4*-L for a fourth time, laid down the round they've been working for, just 4.8 time penalties. A fault-free show jumping round on Sunday brought it home. They did everything they could and they earned it.

The top three started the day with just 2.2 points between them. Claus 63 needed to jump clear and he needed both pairs above him to make a mistake. After adding time penalties in seven of his last ten show jumping rounds, he and Sharon not only jumped clear, they were also inside the time.

Isabelle Bosley & Conner were next in the show jumping ring after sitting second overnight. They entered just 0.3 off the lead but three rails and 1.6 time left them seventh on 42.5.

Sharon was now assured second place with one more pair to go.

Will Coleman & Off The Record went last on 28.6, not one rail to spare over Sharon and Claus. Instead, they had two rails to finish on 36.6. It was second place in the Final for the second year running, after Will & "Timmy" lost in 2025 after likewise being the cross-country leaders. The 17-year-old gelding has seven international wins but none in a long-format. But after earning the prestigious CHIO Aachen title in 2021 (the only US pair to ever win), winning the highly competitive Kentucky CCI4*-S last year, and earning the 2022 World Championship team silver medal, Off The Record has nothing to prove.

With the clunk of Will and Timmy's first rail down, Sharon knew she'd won it - and knew she'd be taking home $66,667 for the effort.

Mia Farley & Invictus jumped clear inside the time to take third on 39.8. Karen O'Connor bred the 10-year-old, who won the Tryon CCI4*-L in May. That is five podiums from Invictus & Mia's five international runs this year.

US Equestrian Open of Eventing Final 2026: Top 10

#	Combination	After XC	Final
1	Sharon White & Claus 63	3rd	30.8
2	Will Coleman & Off The Record	1st	36.6
3	Mia Farley & Invictus	6th	39.8
4	Shannon Lilley & Eindhoven Garette	7th	40.0
5	Laine Ashker & Lovedance	5th	40.5
6	Arielle Aharoni & Cooley Baltic Sea	8th	42.0
7	Isabelle Bosley & Conner	2nd	42.5
8	Alexandra Knowles & Leo Santos	9th	43.3
9	Savannah Fulton & Cash Point	10th	43.6
10	Caroline Pamukcu & HSH Connor	12th	48.8

Qualifying closed at Woodside at the start of the month. Tamie Smith won the 2026 Series, Caroline Pamukcu finished second and Will Coleman third. At Morven, Smith retired Danito across country. Pamukcu completed on all three of her rides, with HSH Connor best in tenth. Coleman's second was the best Final result from the Series top three. The Final trophy went to a rider who started the week with a 5% win chance.

Jumping Mark Bluman Takes the Highlands Cup

Mark Bluman & Landon De Nyze won the $340,000 Highlands Cup Grand Prix in Amenia on Sunday, the Hudson Valley leg of Major League Show Jumping. Twelve of 36 starters went clear in the first round. Five went clear again in the jump-off, and Bluman was the fastest of them in 36.32 seconds.

Jessica Mendoza & Ascadina PP Z were second in 37.31 seconds, 0.99 behind. Natalie Dean & Acota M took third in 37.65 seconds. Beat Mändli & Qoachella and Jonathan McCrea & Chaccotilino PS completed the double clears in fourth and fifth.

Mark Bluman & Landon de Nyze

The EquiRatings model gave Landon De Nyze a 7% win chance before the class, sixth in the field. Two weeks ago the pair won the Greenwich qualifier, and Daniel Bluman & Corbie V.V. won the Greenwich Grand Prix. The last two MLSJ Grands Prix have both gone to a Bluman.

Shane Sweetnam & James Kann Cruz arrived as the top-rated horse in the field on a career-high 790 Elo and the model's favourite on 17%. They were fastest in the jump-off by 1.94 seconds, but had a fence down and finished sixth. Before Sunday the grey had finished on the podium in 22 of his 24 jump-offs at CSI5* 1.60m level.

Four faults in the jump-off also cost Nina Mallevaey & My Clementine (7th), Christian Kukuk & HK Carrera (8th), Kent Farrington & Descartes SR (9th) and Daniel Bluman & Corbie V.V. (10th). Lillie Keenan & Kick On had 12 faults in front of a home crowd and finished 11th. McLain Ward & High Star Hero came back to Hudson Valley 94 Elo points stronger than a year ago but four faults in round one left them 19th.

Farrington still leads the MLSJ individual standings on 82 points, but the gap over second is down from 22 points to 15. Second-placed Sweetnam took 13 points from Hudson Valley to Farrington's six, the Irishman gaining ground on the American. Daniel Bluman is third on 63, adding eight points this weekend. 

In the team table, Roadrunners lead on 188 points, 24 clear of Team KPF on 164. Trelawny Trailblazers, Dean's team, are third on 150 with Maccabi United fourth on 145.

MLSJ Season 6 Individual Standings after Hudson Valley

#	Rider	Points
1	Kent Farrington	82
2	Shane Sweetnam	67
3	Daniel Bluman	63
4	Nina Mallevaey	51
5	Mark Bluman	50
6	Natalie Dean	37
7	McLain Ward	28
8	Ilan Bluman	25
9	Jessica Mendoza	21
=10	Conor Swail	20
=10	Erynn Ballard	20

Dressage Kohmann Takes the Series From the Sidelines

With the entry list for TerraNova published, we now know exactly what the last qualifier of 2026 can and can't change.

Five riders will contest the final Qualifier of the season: Devon Kane & Vamos (47 points), Christian Simonson & Fleau de Baian (40 Series points), Eline Eckroth & Daphne (19 points), James Koford & Fire Fly (8 points), and Lars Petersen & Sang Real (no points). With a five-rider field, this weekend's Qualifier pays the following Series points.

That means Kevin Kohmann is your Series champion. Nobody can catch his 65 points, so the $12,500 for first is his. The top 18 - who automatically qualify for the Final - is close to locked as well. Expect some shuffling inside it, but only one result this weekend can change who gets an invite to the US Equestrian Open Dressage Final.

Kevin Kohmann & Dünensee

The real consequence of TerraNova is the Series prize money.

Simonson stands to gain the most. He is 11th on 40 points from just two starts. A fourth-place finish alone bumps him to seventh and $2,000, double what he would collect today. If he wins, he ties Brittany Fraser-Beaulieu on 55. The tiebreak is freestyle average, and his 80.143% sits ahead of her 76.960%. That would take his Series payout from $1,000 to $7,500.

For Kane, this weekend is about holding on. She is fifth in the Series on 47 points and already dropping her lowest result, so only a top-two finish adds to her score. A win gives her third and $6,500. If she does not win and Simonson finishes top two, she slides to sixth, and from $4,000 to $3,000.

Then there is Eckroth, the only rider who can change the invite list for the Final. She has exactly one way to do it. A win would take her from 19 points to 34, level with Meagan Davis. Davis would win the tiebreak, so Eckroth would finish 17th, Leonardo Antonio Godoy 18th, and Susan Pape would drop out. Unlikely. Not impossible.

Can Kane hold Simonson off, and can Eckroth find the one result she needs? The full preview lands later this week, with the Final in Thermal a month away.