by Nancy Jaffer | Oct 21, 2025
I wasn’t around for the first Badminton Three-Day, or even the first Kentucky event. But I have covered every MARS Maryland 5-Star at Fair Hill since that fixture started five years ago.
So I’ve monitored first-hand the impressive annual evolution of the world’s newest 5-Star. The 2025 edition convinced me that there is even more promise ahead.
The biggest change was Paris Olympic course designer Pierre Le Goupil giving a different look to the cross-country in his first 5-Star effort, where the footing was superb and intriguing fences built by Tyson Rementer and his team added visual enrichment. While some riders were quite apprehensive after walking the route, it turned out well.
Jennie Brannigan and FE Lifestyle tackle the cross-country course.
Each year at the event, I have a chat with Terry Hasseltine, executive director of the Maryland Sports Commission, and also the president and chairman of the Sport and Entertainment Corporation of Maryland. So he’s the man who knows what’s going on in Maryland, which has more horses per square mile than any other state.
Terry doesn’t make empty promises. In the past, he told me there would be betting on the event (there is) and that racing would resume at the site (it did).
So I asked him what’s next for one of the country’s most scenic equestrian venues.
“We want to continue to strengthen the level of competition for both the Young Event Horse, the 3-Star and the 5-Star,” he responded.
“Working with a new cross-country course designer changed perspective on what the course can do, looking at it from a different lens. We’re really curious as to what Year Two looks like under Pierre’s guidance on the course.”
Priorities involve promoting growth during the Thursday and Friday portions of the 5-Star event, as well as bringing additional marquee activities to the facility — perhaps stand-alone dressage and show jumping competitions at various times during the season, and maybe a concert. Along with that, there could be an opportunity to have more permanent structures at the site.
“It’s just a matter of fine-tuning the expectations of what we can do on the grounds,” Terry said.
Here’s the big issue though: “In the 5-star, we still get really great competitors,” the executive observed, then asked, “How do we get back to having 40-plus 5-star (entries)?
The answer?
“That’s sometimes an adjustment on the calendar,” Terry believes.
There were 45 entries at the first Maryland 5-Star in 2021, but that was a different time, after the Covid blackout when people were eager to get things back to normal, and the idea of participating in a brand new event was intriguing.
Terry is seeking “serious conversations” with the U.S. Equestrian Federation and the FEI (international equestrian federation) “about logistics leading up to our event. Are we on the right calendar environment, are we sitting in the perfect space to make sure we can have bigger fields or grow our competition level?
Terry Hasseltine
“I know they’re trying to do something new to grow the sport, foster new riders, foster long-term support of eventing in general. We want to be open and receptive in supporting that process, but we’d like to also be in a position where we are part of the narrative.
“How do we support Fair Hill International (which presents horse trials on another side of the property) and the work that they’re doing on the grass roots level to get more kids on the back of horses, learning the trade and what is involved in being a rider?” asked Terry, praising the efforts and cooperation of that organization.
In the quest to boost the base, he added, “You need the highest standard of your sport being the thing that gets the benefit of calendar dates and the benefit of fiscal support. Sometimes, when those things don’t align, it creates challenges. We don’t want to be a one-hit wonder, we want to be a sustainable event that grows year and year after helping to grow the sport, but also helping to grow what is an economic festival for the northeast region of the state of Maryland.” And in the bigger picture, it “really is a Mid-Atlantic event.”
Entries are strong for the Maryland 3-Star Long and the Young Event Horse sections, so there’s plenty to watch on the 5-Star weekend, where Joanie Morris is competition manager. And ticket-holders also can enjoy attractions such as the Corgi races, Shetland pony racing and the Real Rider Cup for off-track thoroughbreds, as well as rows of vendors and lots of food trucks.
But while the 5-star division is the foundation on which the rest of the event is built in terms of crowd appeal and prestige, it hasn’t been overwhelmed with entries, as Terry pointed out. This year, there were 22 starters, with 13 making it to the final show jumping phase. That was five more for the finale than in 2024, but the feeling is, that’s still not enough on Sunday afternoon.
The best-known foreign riders who were Maryland regulars, such as Britain’s Oliver Townend or New Zealand’s Tim Price, did not come (they’re headed to the Pau, France, 5-Star this week). It’s expensive for riders and their horses to cross the Atlantic, so travel grants have helped to a limited extent (including for the winner, Felix Vogg of Switzerland) but the organizers can’t pay for everyone’s trip.
Boyd Martin and the victor, Felix Vogg.
We also were missing such U.S. stars as Will Coleman and Tamie Smith, who were riding the week before the 5-Star in the first U.S. Open 4-star. Why schedule that just before the 5-Star?
As Terry pointed out about the Maryland effort, “This is a heavy lift and a significant investment, and you need to make sure you’re providing the best quality of competition and the best quality of services. We want to continue that world class environment and world class destination experience. It’s hard to do when we’re having to look at what your last day might come down to,” he said, referring to the number of competitors in the 5-Star show jumping finale.
There are several issues linked to recruiting more 5-Star participants. One is the calendar, as Terry mentioned. Another is the dearth of 5-Star horse/rider combinations in this country.
You’ll hear different takes on that subject.
“I don’t think there are that many professional event riders in America, compared to overseas,” suggested Boyd Martin, who won the first Maryland 5-Star.
“I think the country’s more based around amateurs and 20 percent what you’d call professionals, and the opposite in other countries, where there are 80 percent professionals and 20 percent amateurs.”
At the same time, he pointed out, for anyone who aspires to someday ride at the top level of the sport in a 5-Star, “You basically need a number of horses, knowing some aren’t going to make it — some might not be sound enough, some can’t jump high enough, some get injured — to get to the 5-star level. To have America have more horses, we need a bigger depth of professionals.”
At the same time, “It takes a unique animal to be able to do this (cross-country) course,” he said of Maryland’s 5-Star.
“It’s a long trip, big hills, big jumps; you need a real athletic horse.”
That’s another reason some riders feel the twisting but flatter course at Pau is a better choice for their horses.
Then there is the fact that the Olympics and Pan American Games are not at the 5-Star level (they are 4-star and 3-star respectively for cross-country), so people can pursue their championship dreams without ever riding in a 5-Star.
“Worldwide, with the 4-star being the championships, there are people who don’t do as many 5-stars as they used to,” pointed out David O’Connor, the USEF’s chief of sport.
USEF Chief of Sport David O’Connor
However, he doesn’t see a permanent shortage of American 5-Star riders, noting, “We’ve got a bunch of young riders coming up through the levels that are very, very good and have the desire to do 5-stars.”
Regarding the number of entries at Maryland, he mentioned, “There are always not as many horses in the autumn as there are in the spring.” In that regard, someone else mentioned that at Britain’s iconic events, there tend to be less entries at Burghley in September than at Badminton in May.
In terms of Maryland’s future, David said, “I don’t see it growing exponentially in the 5-star. But they do a great job here with a full eventing weekend. Is this (the 5-Star) going to be 50 horses? No, it’s too expensive a lot of times for the Europeans to come over.”
While the grant system will help to some extent for a few riders, he pointed out that so many riders are going to Pau, and compared the price to competing at Maryland for Europeans.
If it’s a financial decision, “You have something that costs you $5,000 to go to and you have something that costs you $40,000 to go to,” he said.
Leslie Law, Olympic gold medalist, chef d’equipe and high performance manager for the U.S. eventing team, noted the shorter format events that two decades ago replaced the classic format’s speed and endurance segments meant there are fewer thoroughbreds or horses with significant amounts of thoroughbred blood competing. But a few thoroughbreds are still heard from occasionally; Monica Spencer’s Artist, a thoroughbred, was second in Maryland.
“With where eventing is right now, dressage and show jumping (segments) are extremely influential,” said Leslie.
That format favors warmbloods and their way of moving and jumping..
“You could be successful with a different type of horse, but those horses don’t always materialize into the 5-Star horses of today,” Leslie commented.
“We’ve almost got two sports, in a way. It’s a little bit like the jumpers. They have their grand prix horses but they also have their speed horses. The speed horse will never be a grand prix horse, probably, and the grand prix horse is probably not a speed horse.
“You’re seeing a wider range of horses (in eventing), but perhaps they’re not all 5-Star horses,” said Leslie.
U.S. Eventing Chef d’Equipe Leslie Law. (Photo by Devyn Trethewey/U.S. Equestrian)
On the other side of the Atlantic, the numbers indicate a different situation because of how many countries are involved in the sport there.
“They’re drawing from across Europe and you’ve got a lot of New Zealand and Australian riders based in the UK,” Leslie explained. It should be noted that there are also six Americans at Pau, including Boyd.
“The pool they’re drawing from is really much greater. Every European country is going to have its riders and they’re pushing their system. If you look at Pau, there’s probably not much more than (four) French riders there, but they’ve (the event has) got a big entry.” The British tend to flock there, with 28 competing at Pau this month.
“If that was a standalone event, like we have here, then it starts to look much more comparable,” Leslie said.
by Nancy Jaffer | Oct 19, 2025
Through the ups and downs of the leaderboard at the MARS Maryland 5-star at Fair Hill, Swiss rider Felix Vogg inched his way forward; from third place after dressage to second following cross-country, finally achieving victory in the show jumping finale on Sunday.
Felix Vogg and Cartania on their way to victory.
The standings had been steady at the top — New Zealand’s Monica Spencer led the 22 starters in dressage and stayed first after finishing well within the optimum time on cross-country on her intrepid thoroughbred, Artist.
But her luck ran out in the show jumping, where the rails started falling along the route designed by Michel Vaillancourt. First it was the vertical at fence 6 after the double combination, then another rail at the vertical after the triple bar. The one fence she had in hand over Felix and his elegant mare, Cartania, wasn’t enough — as Monica had suspected on Saturday, when she contemplated the final phase and how Artist might fare.
She was philosophical about her placing.
“To be second at a 5-Star is the stuff dreams are made of,” she commented.
Monica Spencer and Artist.
Her total of 31.7 penalties was a personal best at a 5-star and the highlight of a year in which she finished eighth at Kentucky and sixth at Aachen.
For Artist, “Show jumping’s not his strength,” she said while beaming with joy and holding a bouquet of red roses after the prize giving.
“It was a technical track out there and we just fell a bit short in a couple of places. I think he tried hard and I’m pleased with him,” said Monica, who began basing herself in Pennsylvania nearly two years ago.
In 2022, when he took first place with 29 penalties on Colero at Germany’s Luhmuhlen, Felix became the only Swiss ever to win an eventing 5-Star since one of his countrymen enjoyed victory at Badminton in 1951 (though that level had a different name then). Now the 35-year-old rider has two 5-star triumphs to his credit; again the only Swiss with that claim to fame.
Felix Vogg on his victory gallop.
“Unreal,” he said after his victory gallop, in which he joyfully made a third circuit, rather than the traditional two. For exceeding the 82-second time allowed, he added only 0.4 penalties to his dressage score, giving him a total of 28.7.
“The horse is unbelievable. I wanted to win all week, but of course, many people want that. The mare actually delivered, it’s fantastic. She was all week mentally so strong,” said Felix, who has ridden her for seven years and considered her his third-string mount until recently because he was riding several other exciting horses.
When Cartania had a dental problem last summer, Felix started jumping her in a hackamore. It worked so well he has kept on using it. She won the first event of her career in July at the 4-star short at Avenches, Switzerland.
Felix received a travel grant from the Maryland 5-Star International Riders Travel Grant Program. As foreign rider after foreign rider told me, the expense of coming across the Atlantic is daunting, and with so many events in Europe, financially for some it makes sense to stay there.
“Without that grant, I wouldn’t be here,” said Felix, who left America richer, having collected $100,000 for his victory.
Boyd Martin, the only American to win the Maryland event in its five-year history, had a rough weekend, falling from Luke 140 during cross-country. With his second horse, Commando 3, he was understandably cautious on cross-country, incurring 8 time penalties for taking several long routes.
Boyd Martin and Commando 3.
He was standing fifth coming into show jumping. But then Jennie Brannigan had two rails with FE Lifestyle, Boyd produced a clean round and Mia Farley, who had been third with Phelps, dropped four poles to go from third to seventh. (Phelps did, however, win the special award for the best performance by an American thoroughbred in the 5-Star.)
That moved Boyd up to the podium on 38.3 penalties.
Speaking about Commando, Boyd noticed, “he’s finished second for Kentucky and third at Maryland. I think the best is still to come.”
Even so, being on the podium in Maryland is still an achievement.
Maryland winner Felix Vogg with Monica Spencer and Boyd Martin.
“I love to win, but it’s not so bad being third to these two champion horsemen…horsewoman,” he said, noting Monica is his next door neighbor and Felix had lived with him and his family for a year.
“My wife is secretly in love with him,” he revealed.
That seemed to be the biggest story of the day, so I asked Silva Martin if it was true, as she herded her three little boys in the VIP area.
Silva, a top dressage rider, admitted to having a crush on Felix, but she correctly pointed out it wasn’t going anywhere.
“He has a really great girlfriend, so I think that would be a better match. I’m not sure Felix would want a woman with three children by Boyd Martin.”
This was all in fun, of course.
The original field of 22 was down to 13 for the show jumping. Top 10 finishes worth noting included the oldest horse in the competition, Sunday Times, who is 18. He was tenth, with two rails down, but looked happy to be doing his job.
Sophia Hill, who came over from Australia earlier this month, didn’t have a great dressage test with a horse who hadn’t had a chance to settle in, but Humble Glory was the fastest on cross-country and wound up sixth on his dressage score of 46.2 after a brilliant show jumping display.
Sunday Times, at 18 the oldest horse in the 5-Star, with Arden Wildasin.
Click here for 5-Star results.
In the 3-Star, Isabelle Bosley held onto the lead she established in dressage, winning on 24.8 penalties aboard her Oldenburg mount, Conner. Second-place Alyssa Phillips did the same, adding nothing to her dressage score of 25.5 penalties on her Holsteiner, Rockett 19. Third-place Olivia Dutton dropped a rail at the first fence and collected time penalties but was able to keep her third-place standing with a score of 32.9 on Jewelent, an Irish Sport Horse who is rather a new ride for her..
Isabelle and Olivia both train with Olivia’s father, Olympic multi-medalist Phillip Dutton.
Isabelle is a local resident from Monkton, Md., and she had a big fan club cheering her on.
Three-Star stars Alyssa Phillips, Isabelle Bosley and Olivia Dutton.
“It means so much to have my family and friends here supporting me this weekend. Conner was incredible, he’s such a good boy, and he’s definitely not for sale,” she said, noting, “I’ve been asked a couple of times.”
Click here for 3-Star results
by Nancy Jaffer | Oct 18, 2025
During both dressage days at the MARS Maryland 5-star event, the riders seemed more apprehensive than usual about Saturday’s cross-country test, walking the course over and over, describing it as challenging, massive and technical.
Not only was it the first time Pierre Le Goupil had designed a 5-star, it also was his inaugural effort at Fair Hill, known for its hilly terrain (hence the name) that requires a very fit horse to handle the task.
Monica Spencer and Artist at the giant crab, holding the right on red flag in his claw.
Putting that all together added up to multiple cases of nerves, and in some cases, full-scale apprehension.
But as is often the case, the anticipation was much worse than the outcome for the majority in the starting field of 22, which had 13 competitors who made it through the finish line.
Seven had no jumping faults, and the top three all finished within the 11-minute optimum time, as New Zealand’s Monica Spencer held her lead from dressage on 23.7 penalties with the 14-year-old thoroughbred, Artist.
The leader after dressage, Monica Spencer with Artist.
“He definitely was ready to run,” said Monica, who finished with 24 seconds to spare.
While the route dotted with obstacles bearing intimidating names such as Pierre’s Puzzle and the Chesapeake Beasts was as difficult as some had feared, it definitely wasn’t easy.
“I think it was tough out there. You really had to fight for it the whole way, be ready to act on your feet and have a brave and generous horse,” Monica said.
“It was as hard as we thought it would be, but we did it, so we’re very happy.” She noted that the ground, irrigated by a storm last Monday, was perfect and that her horse “was a machine” on that surface.
Felix Vogg of Switzerland, second with Cartania on 28.3 penalties, said because the design was by Pierre, who is “really into details… it mostly rides better than you expect.” Even so, he noted, echoing Monica, “it was tough.”
Felix Vogg and Cartania.
Mia Farley, third on another thoroughbred, Phelps, was just one second under the optimum time, moving up from ninth after dressage with 32.2 penalties.
“I think it walked kind of how it rode,” said the only U.S. representative in the top three.
“He made it feel easy,” she added, noting she felt bad about her caution in taking two long routes. But even so, she came closest to the optimum time with the son of the noted stallion Tiznow. Phelps’ original name was Tiz Special, and that certainly sums up his character.
Mia Farley and Phelps gallop away from the giant crab at MARS Sustainability Bay.
Sophia Hill’s thoroughbred, Humble Glory by Bernardini (another renowned stallion), was the only other horse to finish under the optimum time. In fact, Hughey, as he is known, was four seconds quicker than Artist. He moved up from twentieth after a disastrous dressage test to seventh place on 46.2 penalties. He only came from Australia a week before Fair Hill, and his rider noted he really hadn’t had time to settle in. He’s going to remain in the U.S. with Monica, and Sophia will travel back and forth from Down Under to compete him.
Chessie, the sea monster who lives in Chesapeake Bay, tried to swallow Sophia Hill, but her horse, Humble Glory, was too fast for him.
Thoroughbreds used to dominate eventing in the days of the long format that included steeplechase and roads and tracks. Elimination of those segments opened the door to warmbloods, whose way of moving generally earns better marks in dressage. But the performances of Artist (known as Max) and Phelps show the value of thoroughbreds in the sport when speed and endurance are a factor. And it should be mentioned that although Cartania is a Holsteiner, she is 45 percent thoroughbred.
So I asked Monica and Mia what they think their thoroughbreds’ performances at the 5-star have done for the reputation of the breed in eventing.
“They keep answering. Every 5 star, there’s at least one I feel like that just goes for it and gets everything done,” said Mia.
As Monica noted, “We love our thoroughbreds. Max and Phelps are doing it for those average brown thoroughbreds out there. It’s nice that they can find a second career. I love that I can let him go on the straights…I don’t have to feel rushed, I can make up time after the jumps, so it allows me to be more accurate.”
Boyd Martin, the highest-ranked rider internationally at the event who stands fifth in the world, ran into trouble at Pierre’s Puzzle, falling at the third element after a refusal from Luke 140. He came back later in the day to ride Commando 3, but was understandably cautious with him, taking long routes at the Chesapeake Beasts, fanciful monsters made from evergreens, and at the MARS Sustainability Bay. He is fifth on 38.3 penalties. Jennie Brannigan, still recovering from an injury suffered in a fall at Morven Park last weekend, is fourth on FE Lifestyle (36.4).
Boyd Martin on Commando 3 over the Bay Bridge, one of the Maryland-themed fences in the 5-star.
In addition to Boyd on Luke, Will Faudree on Mama’s Magic Way was eliminated for a fall, while Caroline Pamukcu’s mount, She’s the One, fell at the Fox Catcher Flyer.
Going into Sunday’s show jumping at the event presented by Brown Advisory, things are still close, though Monica has a rail in hand over Felix, whose mare was bred for jumping. He pointed out “she can jump high,” as illustrated by her cross-country performance.
Felix Vogg, Monica Spencer and Mia Farley
Monica is glad to have that rail in hand, and would have liked two.
“I came to this event hoping to get on the podium after swinging and missing for many top 10s,” she noted.
Mia concedes “show jumping is not our strong suit, we have Phelps for cross-country and he gives me a great experience on Saturdays” but added, “I will do my best on Sunday for him and he will do his best for me.”
click here for the 5-star results. Click this link for 3-star results.
by Nancy Jaffer | Oct 17, 2025
The top six competitors from the first day of the Mars Maryland 5-star event were re-directed down the leaderboard Friday, after the full field had completed the dressage phase.
On Thursday, no one was able to score less than 30 penalties, but the second day brought New Zealand’s Monica Spencer to the top on a sparkling personal best of 23.7 penalties aboard Artist, a 14-year-old thoroughbred she has worked with for 10 years. In terms of non-eventing dressage, the equivalent would have been a more than respectable 76.35 percent for the U.S.-based rider.
Monica Spencer and Artist, the leaders after dressage.
But she is well aware the real work has only just begun, with cross-country scheduled for Saturday.
“I think dressage will be long-forgotten tomorrow and it will be interesting to see how the day unfolds. It’s a serious track out there I’ve walked it three time so far and it hasn’t gotten any smaller each time,” Monica reported.
Contemplating her success and her beloved mount, known as Max, the rider became overwhelmed with emotion and burst into tears at the post-competition press conference.
“He has been such a great horse for me. He has taken me all over the world,” Monica reflected and began crying.
“He just tries so hard,” she said.
“It’s really special to be in a 5-star and be back at Maryland where our American adventure began.”
In the midst of her tears, she got a comfort hug from Caroline Pamukcu, who rode HSH Blake, her 2024 U.S. Olympic team mount to second place with 28.2 penalties.
Caroline had a baby (named Blake!) in February. As a result, even though she began riding again a week after the birth, she got a late start not only on her fitness for this year, but also on that of her Irish sport horse, who wasn’t looking so sporty after his layoff.
“He was like a balloon,” she recalled with a smile.
“We thought he was sick, because he was so fat.”
But she worked at getting in shape and praised the U.S. Equestrian Federation for the help it offered, and the training sessions held at Boyd Martin’s farm in Pennsylvania.
She did it! Caroline Pamukcu was thrilled with her dressage score on HSH Blake.
Standing third is Swiss rider Felix Vogg, who forsook next week’s 5-star at Pau in France, right next door to his homeland. He decided to fly his Holsteiner, Cartania, to the U.S. because he thought Maryland’s hilly terrain would suit her better that the flat layout at Pau. His mare’s score of 28.3 penalties was a personal best for her.
Cartania floated to her personal best dressage test under the guidance of Felix Vogg.
But with dressage in the rear view for the field of 22, the real work has only just begun. Cross-country likely is another game-changer.
The course is designed by Pierre Le Goupil, a Frenchman whose routes are unfamiliar to most American riders, except those who competed in the 2023 Pan American Games and the 2024 Olympics, neither of which were at 5-star level. But Caroline, who rode Blake in both, cited the logical progression for her horse to compete in the first 5-star designed by Pierre.
Thursday’s leader, Boyd Martin, was Caroline’s teammate in Paris, so he also is no stranger to Pierre’s style.
He noted, “it’s an unusual course, it’s very creative. It should be an exciting day.”
Boyd Martin and Commando 3.
While Boyd slipped to seventh place on his Thursday leader, Luke 140, he tied for fourth Friday on Commando 3 with New Zealander Jonelle Price aboard Chili’s Midnight Star, who is by William Fox Pitt’s great stallion, Chilli Morning. Both riders were scored at 30.3 penalties.
Another threat from the Southern Hemisphere, Tayla Mason of New Zealand on Centennial, is sixth, just 0.1 penalty behind.
Will the top three stay in place after cross-country? We’ll have to see if cross-country is as tough as everyone says it is.
The top three after dressage: Caroline Pamukcu, Monica Spencer, Felix Vogg.
Click here for 5-star results. Click this link for 3-star results.
by Nancy Jaffer | Oct 16, 2025
The first half of dressage competition was featured Thursday at the Mars Maryland 5-star Three-Day Event, as the USA’s Boyd Martin topped the scoreboard with Luke 140, but much more than the placings were on everybody’s mind.
Boyd Martin and Luke 140.
Topic A was the cross-country course, a medley of question marks, with Pierre Le Goupil taking over from Ian Stark as the designer in the fifth year of the event, presented by Brown Advisory.
It’s the only 5-star layout ever produced by Pierre, though he is vastly experienced, having done the Paris Olympics in 2024 (the Olympics is at 4-star-plus level, as the designer explains) in addition to producing routes at scores of other events around the world.
Pierre Le Goupil.
The up-and-down Fair Hill terrain is daunting even without the fences; with them, it’s a real test of fitness. Last year, only eight horses of the 21 that started on cross-country came back to show jump on the final day.
This year, the middle phase of the event will be different, but it won’t be any easier.
“This course is pretty challenging, so we’ve got our work cut out for us on Saturday,” said Boyd, scored at 31 penalties with a horse who was on his toes. Boyd did a good job to stay on when the Holsteiner spooked in a big way as he left the arena.
On the much discussed topic of cross-country, “The jumping efforts are massive,” observed Canada’s Jessica Phoenix, who retired on course last year with Wabbit, but is back to try again.
“The technical questions are some of the most technical questions I’ve ever seen. All of it, start to finish, you have to be really on your game and those horses have to know really where they’re going and be willing to fight for it.”
She added, “On the plus side, the way they’ve done the roping this year and changed a little bit of the flow of the course will help the horses settle in their rhythm earlier,
What’s in her favor is that Wabbit is a thoroughbred, a rare breed in eventing these days, but when it comes to fitness and endurance, they excel. Wabbit has some ground to make up, standing eighth on 40.2 penalties with 11 more horses to compete in dressage on Friday.
Will Faudree, an American who is ninth on Mama’s Magic Way (43.5 penalties), has entered 24 or 25 5-stars in his career, so he’s seen legions of their cross-country courses. Of this one, he assessed, “It’s a plenty big enough track. It’s going to be a big job to do on Saturday.”
Although British riders have been a fixture at the event since its inception, with last year’s winner, Oliver Townend, and Harry Meade having been among the regulars from abroad, there’s only one Brit on the roster this time.
That’s Alexander Bragg, third at Badminton last year with Quindiva, the world’s highest-rated eventing mare and a stunning creature, who is coming back after having two embryo transplants.
Alexander Bragg and Quindiva.
Quindiva was standing seventh with 39.2 penalties, after getting “quite lit-up going down the chute,” her rider said, citing “extra atmosphere and the wind” making everything “very, very scary. Today, she didn’t let me get the best out of her.”
But he’s looking forward to cross-country, because “Maryland is renowned for that sort of gallopy cross-country feel, and that’s what the mare is good at.”
He’s hoping to jump up the leaderboard with his Oldenburg beauty after cross-country.
“The harder the course is and the higher they build the show jumping, the better for me. So this is why we’re at Maryland,” explained Alexander, who is making his competitive debut in the U.S. this weekend.
But I wondered, why aren’t there other Brits at Maryland? In the spring, Harry and Tom McEwen were at Kentucky, which drew 33 starters on cross-country. Bigger numbers of entries at Maryland are harder to get.
Alexander explained, “Financially, it’s a tough draw to come here. It costs a lot of money to fly and there isn’t really funding for that in the U.K. to bring horses across the water.
“I think that’s probably one of the big deciding factor. Obviously, a lot of horses get taken out in the championships and at Burghley horse trials, and Maryland is after that. The cost makes that a big decision to come.”
Boyd’s 2024 Paris Olympics teammate, Caroline Pamukcu, is poised in second place on She’s the One.
The calendar was particularly crowded this summer and fall, with the European championships, the new US Open of eventing last week and the Pau 5-star in France next week.
Click here for 5-star results. Click this link for 3-star results
by Nancy Jaffer | Oct 12, 2025
From dressage through cross-country and nearly around the entire show jumping course, Will Coleman was the leader in the inaugural $200,000 U.S. Open with his trusty Off the Record.
Then the only American combination to have won eventing at Aachen toppled a rail in the B element of the triple combination that was the next-to-last obstacle on the route designed by Chris Barnard at Virginia’s Morven Park International Equestrian Center. That left the title for the first running of the event to Boyd Martin with Miks Master C, by a mere 0.4 penalties.
Boyd Martin and Miks Master C. (Photo by Devyn Trethewey/U.S. Equestrian)
Boyd, who was the leader in the series of qualifiers that led up to this weekend’s final, was fault-free over the colored poles on the Swedish warmblood, after having moved up from third to second following cross-country, where his original two flag penalties were deleted by the ground jury.
Ocala Horse Property’s Miks Master C formerly was ridden by Liz Halliday, whose mounts went to other professionals after she suffered a traumatic brain injury in a cross-country fall last year. Prior to the prize-giving, Boyd said, “I’d like to give a big shout-out to Liz, who did all the work on this magnificent horse. I hope you’re watching, Liz. This is for you.”
Boyd mentioned, “I’d like to thank the owners of Miks Master C; they’ve experienced the highs and lows of the sport.” The horse was one of the alternates for the 2024 Olympic team, bu was injured and did not compete in the Games. So it was a big morale boost that the winner was recognized with the MARS American-Bred Talent Trophy as the top U.S.-bred horse.
As I pointed out in my Friday posting on this website, there is an abundance of events this autumn. Or maybe an over-abundance? The U.S. Open of Eventing Final ran the week before the Maryland 5-star and two weeks before the Pau, France, 5-star. Next month, there’s the 4-Star Long at TerraNova near Sarasota, Fla.
But understandably, since he collected the majority of the U.S. Open’s prize money, Boyd is a big fan of the U..S. Open’s creation.
“It made no sense for me or this country to send all of our horses over to Europe to compete at 4-Star Long when we’ve got the greatest 4-Star Long in the world, ” he explained, citing great conditions at Morven Park as well as “unbelievable” prize money and a very, very competitive field” and a challenging course. He maintained the event “has taken our sport to a whole new level,” noting “This is a wonderful time to be a professional event rider in the United States of America.”
Will Coleman and Off the Record at the fence where a downed rail dropped them to second place.
U.S. Open winner Boyd Martin, right, and runner-up Will Coleman,, left.
There were only two people on the podium at the event, because Will finished not just in second place, but also third with his up-and-coming mare, Very Dignified, owned by the Very Dignified Group.
Miks Master C and the Off the Record Syndicate’s Off the Record were the only horses in the 20s in terms of penalties at the end of the event (28.7 and 29.1 respectively) but Very Dignified finished on 35.4 penalties and Boyd was right behind in fourth on Shanroe Cooley (35.9), another former Liz Halliday mount.
Boyd noted that getting a new horse, “like the two I’m riding and Will’s second horse, you’re basically relying a lot on its past training with its last rider.
“It’s easier in a way,” he continued, “because you don’t have baggage about the horse and you just get on with it. You don’t have a preconception of its flaws, weaknesses or bad habits. You try and simplify it as much as you can and ride it in probably a different system or a different style. Sometimes they really come around and jell, and sometimes it’s an absolute disaster.
“Lucky for me, the horses from Liz (a group that also includes Cooley Nutcracker)…I’ve sort of clicked with them. They’re still not quite my horses. There are some slight differences in our training or our system or our way of riding, but they’re all champions.”
Referring to Will’s mishap at the triple, Boyd said of his victory, “”It’s a bit of an awkward way to win,” expressing sympathy for the runner-up and his “legend horse.”
Will responded in his usual gracious manner: “Boyd is an incredibly worthy and deserving winner. Boyd absolutely won the weekend.”
Click here for full results.
