The Trio at the Top: What the Top 10 Freestyles Say About This Season
In a class where musicality meets precision, where every pirouette and piaffe tells a story, data still holds the power to reveal what our eyes sometimes miss.
That’s the case with the top 10 Grand Prix Freestyle scores of the 2025 Equestrian Open season so far. Look closely, and a pattern emerges—one that goes beyond individual performances and starts to show us something bigger.
Adrienne Lyle, Anna Marek, and Kevin Kohmann have delivered 8 of the 10 best freestyle scores of the year. Even more striking? All 10 of the top scores by American riders belong to them. These aren’t just one-off wins. They’re a data-backed show of dominance and a window into why these riders are leading the conversation as the US Equestrian Open of Dressage barrels toward its Final.
The Message Behind the 'Top Ten' Metric
In sports, a stat tells you what happened. A metric tells you what matters.
The top 10 scores are a stat. Alone, they don’t guarantee anything. But when we zoom out—looking at the names, the consistency, the progression—they begin to function like a performance metric. And the message they’re sending is clear: when it comes to the biggest moments under the brightest lights, Lyle, Marek, and Kohmann are delivering the highest-level performances we’ve seen on U.S. soil this season.
Take Adrienne Lyle and Helix. They own the top two scores, both breaking the 80% barrier. Lyle is the only American to do so this season. Her 80.600% at AGDF 10 wasn’t just a combination best; it was a statement that her Paris Olympic mount is just getting started.
Marek and Kohmann, meanwhile, have carved out their own stretch of real estate on the leaderboard. Between them, they hold another six of the ten best scores, ranging from Kohmann’s 79.240% at the Palm Beach Derby to Marek’s 77.755% with Fire Fly back in January. These rides reflect more than isolated talent. They're part of a multi-show arc building toward bigger goals: World Cups, the US Equestrian Open Finals, LA 2028.
Holding the Top Spot on Home Turf
All ten of the highest-scoring American freestyles this season also belong to Lyle, Marek, or Kohmann. It’s easy to overlook how rare that is, especially at a venue like Wellington, where every weekend sees Olympians and international stars take the stage.
Germany’s Felicitas Hendricks and Evelyn Eger have reminded American riders that even on home soil, nothing is guaranteed. In Wellington, where the home crowd and familiar footing should offer an edge, they’ve shown up and won anyway. Ecuador’s Julio Mendoza Loor remains a wildcard threat with the ability to shake up any podium.
But what Lyle, Marek, and Kohmann have done is deliver repeatedly in those same fields, under that same pressure, and still emerged with the season’s top scores.
It’s a sign that American dressage is entering a new chapter—one that’s penned with competitive intent and inked with momentum. These performances don’t close the gap with Europe just yet, but they’re proof that the U.S. is building a future that could. The road to LA 2028 starts here.
What It All Means
With only a few qualifiers left, the leaderboard is crowded and unstable. One big ride can still vault a rider into the Final. One no-show could knock someone out. Kohmann sits in a precarious 17th. Lyle looks safe enough in 14th, probably. Marek is comfortably booked on a first-class seat to the Final.
Current leaderboard bubble: Riders ranked 14–23. Top 18 qualify for the Final.
That’s what makes this top 10 so telling. A blockbuster ride—or even a collection of them—doesn’t guarantee a spot in the Final. Brilliance matters. Consistent brilliance matters more. But the only real ticket is a mix of timing, strategy, and follow-through. And by those metrics, only one rider has nailed the formula:
Anna Marek.
She looks poised to earn the $12,500 bonus for the leaderboard’s top point-earner, but once she arrives in Thermal, the leaderboard is irrelevant. The $200,000 prize is based on one ride, one score, one shot. All that consistency? It gets you to the arena. But it won’t win you the check.
Want to Dig Deeper?
Watch the top rides from these three on USEF Network. Follow their progress toward the Final at usequestrianopen.org. And keep an eye on the leaderboard because when one of these three steps into the arena, history tends to follow.
