The Aachen Five: A Deep Dive

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<div style="font-size: 10px; font-weight: bold; letter-spacing: 0.16em; text-transform: uppercase; color: #6b7280; margin-bottom: 10px; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">This Week</div>

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<div style="font-size: 9px; font-weight: bold; letter-spacing: 0.16em; text-transform: uppercase; color: #c8102e; margin-bottom: 6px; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Eventing</div>
<div style="font-size: 16px; font-weight: 800; line-height: 1.3; color: #001c54; margin-bottom: 4px; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Five Chosen for Aachen</div>
<div style="font-size: 12px; color: #6b7280; line-height: 1.4; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The USA names its World Championships five, including the Series pacesetter.</div>
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<div style="font-size: 9px; font-weight: bold; letter-spacing: 0.16em; text-transform: uppercase; color: #404a79; margin-bottom: 6px; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Jumping</div>
<div style="font-size: 16px; font-weight: 800; line-height: 1.3; color: #001c54; margin-bottom: 4px; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Spruce is Done, Falsterbo Next</div>
<div style="font-size: 12px; color: #6b7280; line-height: 1.4; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Alrajhi wins at Spruce, and World No. 1 Farrington heads to Sweden.</div>
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<div style="font-size: 16px; font-weight: 800; line-height: 1.3; color: #001c54; margin-bottom: 4px; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">US Riders Compete Abroad</div>
<div style="font-size: 12px; color: #6b7280; line-height: 1.4; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Holzer shines at Hartpury and a young US team lands a Nations Cup podium.</div>
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<td style="width: 64px; vertical-align: middle; padding-right: 14px;"><img style="border-radius: 50%; display: block;" src="https://usef-admin.fly.dev/assets/034b4bfc-2e07-42fe-b376-e28ad1028275" alt="Eventing" width="60" height="60"></td>
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<div style="font-size: 24px; font-weight: 800; color: #001c54; line-height: 1.15; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Five Chosen for Aachen</div>
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<p style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.72; color: #1a1a2e; margin: 0 0 16px 0; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The United States has named five combinations for the FEI World Championships in Aachen this August.</p>
<p style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.72; color: #1a1a2e; margin: 0 0 16px 0; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 28, 84);">First up is </span><strong style="font-weight: 600; color: #001c54;">Tamie Smith</strong> &amp; <strong style="font-weight: 600; color: #001c54;">Lillet 3</strong><strong><span style="color: rgb(0, 28, 84);">, </span></strong><span style="color: rgb(0, 28, 84);">who</span> lead the US Equestrian Open Eventing Series. The pair won the Carolina CCI4*-S in March, the highest-rated performance of the 2026 Series, then won the Cosequin Lexington CCI4*-S at Kentucky in April. Aachen will be the ten-year-old's first big stage.</p>
<p style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.72; color: #1a1a2e; margin: 0 0 16px 0; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Three squad members arrive with serious five-star form.&nbsp;<strong>Will Coleman</strong> &amp; <strong>Diabolo</strong> won the Kentucky CCI5* in April, with <strong>Caroline Pamukcu</strong> &amp; <strong>HSH Blake</strong> second at the same event, a gelding whose CV already includes the Paris Olympics. <strong>Boyd Martin</strong> &amp; <strong>Cooley Nutcracker</strong> were third at Pau CCI5* in October. That horse also competed at Paris, under Liz Halliday, who produced him up to the highest level.</p>
<p style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.72; color: #1a1a2e; margin: 0 0 16px 0; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><strong style="font-weight: 600; color: #001c54;">Phillip Dutton</strong> &amp; <strong style="font-weight: 600; color: #001c54;">Possante</strong> complete the five. Aachen will be Dutton's eighth World Championship, on top of seven Olympic Games, the deepest championship record of any active US eventer. His last ride under the Australian flag came at Aachen in 2006. Twenty years on, he returns to the same arena in US colours.</p>

<div style="margin-top: 20px;"><a style="display: block;" href="https://www.usequestrianopen.org/categories/eventing" target="_blank" rel="noopener"> <img style="display: block; max-width: 100%; height: auto;" src="https://usef-admin.fly.dev/assets/254e09dd-d92e-4194-986b-baf0dbd8460b" alt="Read more eventing" width="100%"> </a></div>

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<div style="font-size: 24px; font-weight: 800; color: #001c54; line-height: 1.15; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Spruce is Done, Falsterbo Next</div>
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<p style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.72; color: #1a1a2e; margin: 0 0 16px 0; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><strong style="font-weight: 600; color: #001c54;">Abdulrahman Alrajhi</strong> &amp; <strong style="font-weight: 600; color: #001c54;">Ventago</strong> won the ATCO Queen Elizabeth II Cup, the CSI5* 1.60m Grand Prix at the Spruce Meadows North American in Calgary. The Saudi pair were the only combination in a 40-strong field to jump two clear rounds.&nbsp;</p>
<p style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.72; color: #1a1a2e; margin: 0 0 16px 0; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><strong style="font-weight: 600; color: #001c54;">Lillie Keenan</strong> &amp; <strong style="font-weight: 600; color: #001c54;">Kick On</strong> led the Americans in a tie for fifth, with just one pole in the first round.&nbsp;<strong style="font-weight: 600; color: #001c54;">Hallie Grimes</strong> &amp; <strong style="font-weight: 600; color: #001c54;">Jon Snow</strong> followed in seventh on five faults, and <strong style="font-weight: 600; color: #001c54;">McLain Ward</strong> &amp; <strong style="font-weight: 600; color: #001c54;">Lestro VD Valckenborg</strong> rounded out the US contingent inside the top ten.</p>

<div style="font-size: 15px; font-weight: bold; color: #001c54; margin: 24px 0 10px 0; padding-bottom: 6px; border-bottom: 1px solid #eef0f5; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">This Weekend: Falsterbo</div>
<p style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.72; color: #1a1a2e; margin: 0 0 16px 0; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Attention turns to Sweden, where <strong style="font-weight: 600; color: #001c54;">Kent Farrington, </strong>World No. 1 and the champion of $1 million Rolex US Equestrian Open Grand Prix at Wellington in March,&nbsp;headlines the Falsterbo Horse Show.&nbsp;</p>
<p style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.72; color: #1a1a2e; margin: 0 0 16px 0; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The field behind him is deep. World no. 2 <strong style="font-weight: 600; color: #001c54;">Richard Vogel</strong>, third to Farrington at Wellington, is entered, along with <strong style="font-weight: 600; color: #001c54;">Ben Maher</strong>, <strong style="font-weight: 600; color: #001c54;">Shane Sweetnam</strong>, and <strong style="font-weight: 600; color: #001c54;">Steve Guerdat</strong>, to name a few.</p>
<p style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.72; color: #1a1a2e; margin: 0 0 16px 0; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Falsterbo is one of seven Rolex Series events, and there is a Championship subtext. Course designer <strong style="font-weight: 600; color: #001c54;">Frank Rothenberger</strong> builds both here and at the FEI World Championships in Aachen next month, giving riders a run on grass weeks before the sport's biggest test of the year. The Agria Falsterbo Nations Cup runs Friday, the Falsterbo Derby Saturday, and the Rolex Grand Prix closes the international programme on Sunday.</p>

<div style="margin-top: 20px;"><a style="display: block;" href="https://www.usequestrianopen.org/categories/jumping" target="_blank" rel="noopener"> <img style="display: block; max-width: 100%; height: auto;" src="https://usef-admin.fly.dev/assets/eeee484b-ef16-4e10-9de3-6d72b0a7f0c7" alt="Read more jumping" width="100%"> </a></div>

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<div style="font-size: 24px; font-weight: 800; color: #001c54; line-height: 1.15; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">US Riders Compete Abroad</div>
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<p style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.72; color: #1a1a2e; margin: 0 0 16px 0; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">With the Series paused for the summer, several of its top riders took their form to Europe this weekend.</p>
<p style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.72; color: #1a1a2e; margin: 0 0 16px 0; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Series leader <strong style="font-weight: 600; color: #001c54;">Ashley Holzer</strong> put together the standout campaign at Hartpury International in England. Aboard <strong style="font-weight: 600; color: #001c54;">Hawtins San Floriana</strong>, she was third in the CDI3* Grand Prix on 71.957 percent, a combination best, behind Britain's Sadie Smith (72.652) and Charlotte Dujardin (74.804). She went one better in the Grand Prix Special, taking second on 72.574 percent, another combination best, with only Dujardin ahead. Holzer is spending the summer training at Carl Hester's yard as she chases a place on the US squad for the World Championships.</p>
<p style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.72; color: #1a1a2e; margin: 0 0 16px 0; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">In Germany, a young US team finished third at the FEI Dressage Nations Cup CDIO4*, part of the Covalliero Dressage Days at Hof Kasselmann. <strong style="font-weight: 600; color: #001c54;">Christian Simonson</strong> &amp; <strong style="font-weight: 600; color: #001c54;">Fleau de Baian</strong> opened with a combination best of 70.478 percent on their European team debut, while <strong style="font-weight: 600; color: #001c54;">Jordan LaPlaca</strong> &amp; <strong style="font-weight: 600; color: #001c54;">Gold Play</strong> produced the day's best American score, a personal best of 70.631 percent. <strong style="font-weight: 600; color: #001c54;">Meagan Davis</strong> &amp; <strong style="font-weight: 600; color: #001c54;">Toronto Lightfoot</strong> added 68.656 percent, and <strong style="font-weight: 600; color: #001c54;">Ge&ntilde;ay Vaughn</strong> anchored on 69.848 percent aboard <strong style="font-weight: 600; color: #001c54;">Gino</strong>.</p>
<p style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.72; color: #1a1a2e; margin: 0 0 16px 0; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Simonson returned to take third in the CDIO4* Freestyle on 76.570 percent, LaPlaca posted another personal best for fourth in the Special on 71.745 percent, and Vaughn was fifth in the Special on 71.383 percent.</p>
<p style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.72; color: #1a1a2e; margin: 0 0 16px 0; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">"We came here with a young team with minimal experience in international competition in Europe up to this point, and for them to step right into a Nations Cup and finish in third means we are moving in the right direction," said Chef d'Equipe <strong style="font-weight: 600; color: #001c54;">Christine Traurig</strong>.</p>
<p style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.72; color: #1a1a2e; margin: 0 0 16px 0; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Vaughn sits fifth in the Series standings and Simonson tenth, both currently inside the eighteen who will contest the Final. Qualifiers resume at Dressage at Devon in late September.</p>

<div style="margin-top: 20px;"><a style="display: block;" href="https://www.usequestrianopen.org/categories/dressage" target="_blank" rel="noopener"> <img style="display: block; max-width: 100%; height: auto;" src="https://usef-admin.fly.dev/assets/df3afaab-1f25-4fab-a1dc-c46c608169fb" alt="Read more dressage" width="100%"> </a></div>

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<p style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.7; color: rgba(255,255,255,0.85); margin: 0;">The mission of the US Equestrian Open is to grow and foster a deeper connection to equestrian sport by delivering a premier, unified championship series that engages a broader fanbase through top-level competition, storytelling, and a dynamic, entertaining experience.</p>
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Will Coleman & Diabolo winning Kentucky on the Open Weekly Graphic

The Open Weekly: Team Announcements and US Combinations Around the World

The Series Leader Is Heading to Aachen

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<div style="font-size: 11px; color: #6b7280; line-height: 1.35; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Season high, TerraNova Dressage 1</div>
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<p style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.72; color: #1a1a2e; margin: 0 0 16px 0; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><strong style="font-weight: 600; color: #001c54;">Claire Darnell</strong> sits third in the Series with a horse she almost leased away. Last season ended with injuries for both her and <strong style="font-weight: 600; color: #001c54;">Harold S</strong>, and by January she was weighing whether to keep the ride at all. It's a good thing she kept it because they went on to win their first Grand Prix and first freestyle at the level. She tells the whole story on the podcast: the decision, the music, and the partnership behind it.</p>

<h2 style="font-size: 21px; font-weight: 800; color: #001c54; margin: 34px 0 12px 0; padding-bottom: 8px; border-bottom: 1px solid #dde1ea; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The horse she almost let go</h2>
<p style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.72; color: #1a1a2e; margin: 0 0 16px 0; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The doubt came to a head on an ordinary hack around the property.</p>
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<p style="font-size: 18px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 1.4; color: #001c54; margin: 0 0 14px 0;">&ldquo;I distinctly remember thinking about the potential of leasing him. And I thought about not riding that horse every day. It made me really sad.&rdquo;</p>
<cite style="font-size: 10px; font-weight: bold; letter-spacing: 0.18em; text-transform: uppercase; color: #83b1d6; font-style: normal; display: block;">Claire Darnell on whether to keep the ride</cite></blockquote>
<p style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.72; color: #1a1a2e; margin: 0 0 16px 0; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">That settled it. She entered the CDI at WEC Ocala. Her home coach, <strong style="font-weight: 600; color: #001c54;">David Marcus</strong>, assumed she meant the national show and could not work out why she would haul four hours north when Wellington was full of options. Then she told him it was the CDI. He told her it was a very good idea, and that she would go and do well.</p>
<p style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.72; color: #1a1a2e; margin: 0 0 16px 0; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">She had not shown Harold at CDI level since 2023. This year they won their first CDI Grand Prix and their first CDI freestyle. She kept a shoe from that show.</p>
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<p style="font-size: 18px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 1.4; color: #001c54; margin: 0 0 14px 0;">&ldquo;I saved one of his shoes as something I see all the time. It's a reminder that we can go out there and do hard things.&rdquo;</p>
<cite style="font-size: 10px; font-weight: bold; letter-spacing: 0.18em; text-transform: uppercase; color: #83b1d6; font-style: normal; display: block;">Claire Darnell on her first CDI wins</cite></blockquote>

<h2 style="font-size: 21px; font-weight: 800; color: #001c54; margin: 34px 0 12px 0; padding-bottom: 8px; border-bottom: 1px solid #dde1ea; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The music</h2>
<p style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.72; color: #1a1a2e; margin: 0 0 16px 0; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Darnell writes her own freestyles, and builds them for other riders too. Harold's floor plan has stayed mostly the same, with tweaks to push the difficulty. She turned a straight piaffe into a piaffe pirouette because it scored better and raised the degree of difficulty. The plan is hard on paper and easy in the saddle.</p>
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<p style="font-size: 18px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 1.4; color: #001c54; margin: 0 0 14px 0;">&ldquo;It feels so easy to go out there and ride that floor plan, and the difficulty is very, very high on it.&rdquo;</p>
<cite style="font-size: 10px; font-weight: bold; letter-spacing: 0.18em; text-transform: uppercase; color: #83b1d6; font-style: normal; display: block;">Claire Darnell on Harold's freestyle</cite></blockquote>
<p style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.72; color: #1a1a2e; margin: 0 0 16px 0; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The music has moved around more. She started on an EDM mix, took it to her first CDIs in the desert, and it did not score the way she wanted. With two weeks to replace it, she landed on the Hunger Games soundtrack. It opens with a line lifted straight from the film: Happy Hunger Games, and may the odds be ever in your favor.</p>
<p style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.72; color: #1a1a2e; margin: 0 0 16px 0; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">That set is on its way out. Watching the World Cup, she saw how hard the crowd leaned into freestyles set to music they knew. So the summer project is an 80s mix.</p>
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<p style="font-size: 19px; font-weight: 800; line-height: 1.4; color: #001c54; margin: 0 0 14px 0;">&ldquo;It'll be a little bit more of a party freestyle next time we go out. What a cool feeling to be riding your last center line and people are singing and clapping.&rdquo;</p>
<cite style="font-size: 10px; font-weight: bold; letter-spacing: 0.18em; text-transform: uppercase; color: #83b1d6; font-style: normal; display: block;">Claire Darnell on this fall's freestyle</cite></blockquote>

<h2 style="font-size: 21px; font-weight: 800; color: #001c54; margin: 34px 0 12px 0; padding-bottom: 8px; border-bottom: 1px solid #dde1ea; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">A partnership built from scratch</h2>
<p style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.72; color: #1a1a2e; margin: 0 0 16px 0; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Darnell has had Harold since 2016. She had just retired her previous Grand Prix horse and flew to Europe to find the next one. The made horses all had something she did not like. She wanted one she could build herself. Harold was the second-to-last stop.</p>
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<p style="font-size: 18px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 1.4; color: #001c54; margin: 0 0 14px 0;">&ldquo;We saw him just trotting around the ring with the warm-up rider, and we were like, okay, this is the one.&rdquo;</p>
<cite style="font-size: 10px; font-weight: bold; letter-spacing: 0.18em; text-transform: uppercase; color: #83b1d6; font-style: normal; display: block;">Claire Darnell on finding Harold</cite></blockquote>
<p style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.72; color: #1a1a2e; margin: 0 0 16px 0; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">He was a four-year-old stallion, quiet in a way he has never lost. She has taken him all the way to Grand Prix herself, and says building a horse up from scratch means you know everything about them from top to bottom.</p>
<p style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.72; color: #1a1a2e; margin: 0 0 16px 0; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The quiet does not make him dull. Harold likes the award ceremonies. He stands still for the handshakes, then lights up and prances once the music starts and the crowd claps. At home he patrols the property, checks on the neighbor's cows, and snorts at the garbage cans.</p>
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<p style="font-size: 18px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 1.4; color: #001c54; margin: 0 0 14px 0;">&ldquo;He's like the HOA president. He has to go check everything out, make sure everybody's doing the right thing.&rdquo;</p>
<cite style="font-size: 10px; font-weight: bold; letter-spacing: 0.18em; text-transform: uppercase; color: #83b1d6; font-style: normal; display: block;">Claire Darnell on Harold at home</cite></blockquote>
<p style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.72; color: #1a1a2e; margin: 0 0 16px 0; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">He is not spooky. He has herded sheep, gone on mountain trail rides, and still hacks out bareback in a halter.</p>

<h2 style="font-size: 21px; font-weight: 800; color: #001c54; margin: 34px 0 12px 0; padding-bottom: 8px; border-bottom: 1px solid #dde1ea; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Roots, and a run at the Final</h2>
<p style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.72; color: #1a1a2e; margin: 0 0 16px 0; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Darnell was riding before she could walk. First pony at two, a dressage-judge mother, and a childhood spent bringing young horses along. Bronze medal at 13, silver at 16. Almost every horse she has competed she or her mother produced.</p>
<p style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.72; color: #1a1a2e; margin: 0 0 16px 0; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">She is based in Wellington now. The Series Final runs in November at Desert International Horse Park, where Harold contested his first Grand Prix CDI back in 2022. If they make it, it would be their first five-star.</p>
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<p style="font-size: 18px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 1.4; color: #001c54; margin: 0 0 14px 0;">&ldquo;It would be a very full circle moment if we are able to make it back there.&rdquo;</p>
<cite style="font-size: 10px; font-weight: bold; letter-spacing: 0.18em; text-transform: uppercase; color: #83b1d6; font-style: normal; display: block;">Claire Darnell on the Final</cite></blockquote>

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<div style="font-size: 11px; font-weight: bold; letter-spacing: 0.16em; text-transform: uppercase; color: #83b1d6; margin-bottom: 10px;">US Equestrian Open Podcast</div>
<p style="font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.6; color: #ffffff; margin: 0 0 16px 0; font-weight: bold;">Hear the full conversation with Claire Darnell.</p>
<a style="display: inline-block; background: #c8102e; color: #ffffff; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; letter-spacing: 0.1em; text-transform: uppercase; padding: 10px 22px; text-decoration: none; border-radius: 2px;" href="https://podfollow.com/the-us-equestrian-open-podcast/episode/9d0bca7b89e2b9a8f19af7c9427c7d645abb2ae1/view" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Listen Now &rarr;</a></div>

<div style="margin-top: 20px;"><a style="display: block;" href="https://www.usequestrianopen.org/categories/dressage" target="_blank" rel="noopener"> <img style="display: block; max-width: 100%; height: auto;" src="https://usef-admin.fly.dev/assets/df3afaab-1f25-4fab-a1dc-c46c608169fb" alt="Read more dressage" width="100%"> </a></div>

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<div style="font-size: 13px; font-weight: bold; letter-spacing: 0.14em; text-transform: uppercase; color: #001c54; margin-bottom: 6px;">Go Beyond the Article</div>
<p style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.65; color: #374172; margin: 0;">Catch the latest insights and expert interviews on the <a style="color: #c8102e; font-weight: 600;" href="https://podfollow.com/the-us-equestrian-open-podcast/episode/9d0bca7b89e2b9a8f19af7c9427c7d645abb2ae1/view">US Equestrian Open Podcast</a>.</p>
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<div style="font-size: 11px; font-weight: bold; letter-spacing: 0.18em; text-transform: uppercase; color: #83b1d6; margin-bottom: 10px;">The Mission of the Open</div>
<p style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.7; color: rgba(255,255,255,0.85); margin: 0;">The mission of the US Equestrian Open is to grow and foster a deeper connection to equestrian sport by delivering a premier, unified championship series that engages a broader fanbase through top-level competition, storytelling, and a dynamic, entertaining experience.</p>
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Claire Darnell on the Horse She Almost Let Go

<p style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.72; color: #1a1a2e; margin: 0 0 14px 0; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">&nbsp;</p>
<p style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.72; color: #1a1a2e; margin: 0 0 14px 0; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Ashker was already the first athlete to compete in the US Equestrian Open across both eventing and dressage. The Maryland International CCI4*-S has added another first. She is now the only athlete to have won a qualifier in both disciplines.</p>
<p style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.72; color: #1a1a2e; margin: 0 0 14px 0; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">It took 16 horses and more than 100 FEI eventing starts to get here. Four of those horses made it to CCI5*. None of them won at the top level. <strong style="color: #001c54; font-weight: bold;">Lovedance</strong> did it in his first season.</p>
<div style="font-size: 18px; font-weight: 800; color: #001c54; margin: 28px 0 12px 0; padding-bottom: 6px; border-bottom: 1px solid #eef0f5; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The Win</div>
<p style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.72; color: #1a1a2e; margin: 0 0 14px 0; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Cross country time was always going to separate the field at Maryland and as we expected, nobody made the time. <strong style="color: #001c54; font-weight: bold;">Ema Klugman</strong> &amp; <strong style="color: #001c54; font-weight: bold;">Chiraz</strong> came closest, picking up 14.8 penalties to finish second. <strong style="color: #001c54; font-weight: bold;">Lovedance</strong> added 19.2, but a 29.7 dressage score and a clear show jumping round were enough to hold off the chasers. It marks Ashker's third international eventing win, all of which have come with Lovedance.</p>
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<div style="font-size: 15px; font-weight: 800; color: #001c54; margin-bottom: 6px; letter-spacing: 0.01em;">Laine Ashker &amp; Lovedance's International Eventing Wins</div>
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<td style="padding: 9px 14px; font-size: 9px; font-weight: bold; letter-spacing: 0.14em; text-transform: uppercase; color: rgba(255,255,255,0.6);">Event</td>
<td style="padding: 9px 14px; font-size: 9px; font-weight: bold; letter-spacing: 0.14em; text-transform: uppercase; color: rgba(255,255,255,0.6);">Level</td>
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<td style="padding: 11px 14px; font-size: 13px; color: #374172; vertical-align: middle;">Nov 2022</td>
<td style="padding: 11px 14px; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 600; color: #001c54; vertical-align: middle;">Lexington VA</td>
<td style="padding: 11px 14px; font-size: 13px; color: #374172; vertical-align: middle;">CCI2*-L</td>
<td style="padding: 11px 14px; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 800; color: #001c54; text-align: right; vertical-align: middle;">27.7</td>
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<td style="padding: 11px 14px; font-size: 13px; color: #374172; vertical-align: middle;">Nov 2023</td>
<td style="padding: 11px 14px; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 600; color: #001c54; vertical-align: middle;">Lexington VA</td>
<td style="padding: 11px 14px; font-size: 13px; color: #374172; vertical-align: middle;">CCI3*-S</td>
<td style="padding: 11px 14px; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 800; color: #001c54; text-align: right; vertical-align: middle;">46.4</td>
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<td style="padding: 11px 14px; font-size: 13px; color: #374172; vertical-align: middle;">Jun 2026</td>
<td style="padding: 11px 14px; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 600; color: #001c54; vertical-align: middle;">Maryland International</td>
<td style="padding: 11px 14px; font-size: 13px; color: #374172; vertical-align: middle;">CCI4*-S</td>
<td style="padding: 11px 14px; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 800; color: #001c54; text-align: right; vertical-align: middle;">52.1</td>
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<div style="font-size: 11px; color: #6b7280; margin-top: 10px; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">International wins only. Every one has come with Lovedance.</div>
<div style="font-size: 11px; color: #6b7280; margin-top: 10px; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><img src="https://usef-admin.fly.dev/assets/cffc7ec1-2e6e-4987-8af0-022cb01a6b58.png?width=694&amp;height=837" alt="Screenshot 2026 06 30 113521"></div>
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<div style="font-size: 18px; font-weight: 800; color: #001c54; margin: 28px 0 12px 0; padding-bottom: 6px; border-bottom: 1px solid #eef0f5; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Two Horses, Two Disciplines</div>
<p style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.72; color: #1a1a2e; margin: 0 0 14px 0; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Ashker is the only athlete to have competed in the US Equestrian Open across both eventing and dressage, a status she <a style="color: #c8102e; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;" href="https://www.usequestrianopen.org/stories/laine-ashker-becomes-the-us-equestrian-opens-first-dual-discipline-athlete">earned at Bouckaert in March</a>.</p>
<p style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.72; color: #1a1a2e; margin: 0 0 14px 0; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">On the dressage side, every international win of her career has come with&nbsp;<strong style="color: #001c54; font-weight: bold;">Zeppelin</strong>, including a <a style="color: #c8102e; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;" href="https://www.usequestrianopen.org/stories/lainey-wins-and-micaela-is-on-the-bubble">personal-best 73.015% Grand Prix Freestyle</a> at the Mid-Atlantic Dressage Festival in May 2025 where they secured a US Equestrian Open qualifier win.<br><br>Her 12th place (66.260%) at the US Equestrian Open of Dressage CDI5* Final last November made her a 5* athlete in both dressage and eventing.</p>
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<div style="font-size: 20px; font-weight: 800; line-height: 1.4; color: #001c54; margin-bottom: 14px;">&ldquo;To have two world-class horses in two different disciplines is pretty freaking amazing.&nbsp;Whenever I have a Debbie Downer day, I think about where I was five years ago. I had a prelim horse and horses doing Prix St-Georges. Now to have this is pretty unreal.&rdquo;</div>
<div style="font-size: 10px; font-weight: bold; letter-spacing: 0.18em; text-transform: uppercase; color: #c8102e;">Laine Ashker on competing at the US Equestrian Open in two disciplines</div>
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<p style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.72; color: #1a1a2e; margin: 0 0 14px 0; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><em>"Five years ago, I would have never dreamed it," </em>she added. <em>"If you'd asked seventeen-year-old me if I'd have horses doing this, I would have looked at you sideways."</em></p>
<p style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.72; color: #1a1a2e; margin: 0 0 14px 0; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><em><img src="https://usef-admin.fly.dev/assets/0e26b061-b7f6-4638-8eed-40a9bd73c5fb.jpg?width=null&amp;height=null" alt="Img L1998">Laine Ashker &amp; Zeppelin&nbsp;at the US Equestrian Open Final of Dressage in November 2025.</em></p>
<div style="font-size: 18px; font-weight: 800; color: #001c54; margin: 28px 0 12px 0; padding-bottom: 6px; border-bottom: 1px solid #eef0f5; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">What Dressage Gives Back</div>
<p style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.72; color: #1a1a2e; margin: 0 0 14px 0; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Ashker has spoken before about how one discipline feeds the other. At Kentucky earlier this year, she pointed to the eventing dressage test itself and what it feels like compared to riding Zeppelin.</p>
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<div style="font-size: 22px; font-weight: 800; line-height: 1.35; color: #001c54; margin-bottom: 16px;">&ldquo;It puts the eventing test into perspective. It&rsquo;s a pretty simple test. But I&rsquo;m doing it on a very fit event horse for whom this is their Grand Prix. It helps me break it down and I don&rsquo;t get nearly as nervous.&rdquo;</div>
<div style="font-size: 10px; font-weight: bold; letter-spacing: 0.18em; text-transform: uppercase; color: #c8102e;">Laine Ashker at kentucky 2026</div>
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<p style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.72; color: #1a1a2e; margin: 0 0 14px 0; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The bigger carryover, she said, is in the show jumping. <em>"I've learned how to rate and balance the canter a lot better than I have in the past, from a dressage standpoint. I'm very grateful for the dressage work helping me with that."</em></p>
<div style="font-size: 18px; font-weight: 800; color: #001c54; margin: 28px 0 12px 0; padding-bottom: 6px; border-bottom: 1px solid #eef0f5; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">A Belief She Didn't Have Before</div>
<p style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.72; color: #1a1a2e; margin: 0 0 14px 0; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The Maryland win has done something to Ashker's outlook. She is talking about five-star debuts and LA contention with a smile on her face now.&nbsp;</p>
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<div style="font-size: 22px; font-weight: 800; line-height: 1.35; color: #001c54; margin-bottom: 16px;">&ldquo;There&rsquo;s a belief in myself now that I can do it. Wherever the stars take us, maybe a first five-star in the next couple of years, or a win at the US Open, or maybe, if we&rsquo;re lucky, contenders for LA. I&rsquo;m telling you this with a smile on my face.&rdquo;</div>
<div style="font-size: 10px; font-weight: bold; letter-spacing: 0.18em; text-transform: uppercase; color: #c8102e;">Laine Ashker on what comes next</div>
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<div style="font-size: 18px; font-weight: 800; color: #001c54; margin: 28px 0 12px 0; padding-bottom: 6px; border-bottom: 1px solid #eef0f5; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Eyes on Both Opens</div>
<p style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.72; color: #1a1a2e; margin: 0 0 14px 0; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">At ten years old, Lovedance, the US Equestrian Open Final of Eventing at Morven Park in October is a likely path to do their first 4*L and it seems that Ashker has big plans for the rest of the season. <em>"I'm very humbled and very grateful,"</em> she said, <em>"and looking forward to hopefully competing in both US Opens on both my horses."</em></p>
<p style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.72; color: #1a1a2e; margin: 0 0 28px 0; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Lovedance has eventing covered. Zeppelin keeps adding to his unbeaten run in dressage. The only discipline left is show jumping. Greya might want to keep an eye on the entry list.</p>
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<div style="font-size: 9px; font-weight: bold; letter-spacing: 0.14em; text-transform: uppercase; color: #6b7280; margin-bottom: 5px; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Maryland Final Score</div>
<div style="font-size: 26px; font-weight: 800; color: #c8102e; line-height: 1.1; margin-bottom: 4px; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">52.1</div>
<div style="font-size: 11px; color: #6b7280; line-height: 1.4; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Lovedance's winning total. A clear show jumping round and 19.2 time penalties on cross country did the rest.</div>
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<div style="font-size: 9px; font-weight: bold; letter-spacing: 0.14em; text-transform: uppercase; color: #6b7280; margin-bottom: 5px; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Series Standing</div>
<div style="font-size: 26px; font-weight: 800; color: #001c54; line-height: 1.1; margin-bottom: 4px; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Joint 17th</div>
<div style="font-size: 11px; color: #6b7280; line-height: 1.4; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">40 points from one Qualifier. Five open scoring slots remain.</div>
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<div style="font-size: 9px; font-weight: bold; letter-spacing: 0.14em; text-transform: uppercase; color: #6b7280; margin-bottom: 5px; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Lovedance's Wins</div>
<div style="font-size: 26px; font-weight: 800; color: #001c54; line-height: 1.1; margin-bottom: 4px; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">3</div>
<div style="font-size: 11px; color: #6b7280; line-height: 1.4; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Every international win of Ashker's eventing career has come with this one horse.</div>
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<div style="font-size: 9px; font-weight: bold; letter-spacing: 0.14em; text-transform: uppercase; color: #6b7280; margin-bottom: 5px; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Zeppelin's Wins</div>
<div style="font-size: 26px; font-weight: 800; color: #001c54; line-height: 1.1; margin-bottom: 4px; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">6</div>
<div style="font-size: 11px; color: #6b7280; line-height: 1.4; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Every international dressage win of Ashker's career has come with this horse.</div>
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Laine Ashker with both Zeppelin and Lovedance

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