by Nancy Jaffer | May 16, 2026
After the first two competitions, results of the U.S. Equestrian Federation’s Grand Prix Dressage National Championships didn’t offer much optimism for how the riders would fare at the world championships in August.
In the Grand Prix, only three broke 70 percent in their scoring. In the Special, that was down to one — Ellesse Gundersen with Quintessential 4 — and she’s not even a candidate for the world championships.
But pessimism has no place in the DNA of U.S. Technical Advisor/Chef d’Equipe Christine Traurig.
The World Championships this year aren’t the end game — the U.S. is focused on the 2028 Olympics at home in Los Angeles. Happily, as the home team, the U.S. doesn’t have to qualify for those Games, but medals are the goal there. And before that, there are the Pan American Games next year.
Since the competition doesn’t include the likes of Germany, Belgium, Britain, etc., it’s not as tough as the other major goals, but it is a chance for horse/rider combinations to prove themselves on a big stage and show their potential.
In the meantime, Christine is doubling down on her determination.
“I always look at it this way,” she said.
“Roll up your sleeves, tell them to step it up. It comes down to keep at it; good training, good riding leads to good performance.”
When it comes time for riders to discuss their performances with Christine, “There’s explanations, no excuses,” she told me.
I often mention how impressive Christine was in clinching a bronze medal for the U.S. at the 2000 Sydney Olympics. Even before she rode, the Danes already were getting ready to collect the bronze. But her gritty performance clinched the honors for the U.S. and all the Danes could do was untack their horses and go home.
She retains the same brand of determination in preparing the riders.
Christine Traurig was instrumental in the development of Ellesse Gundersen and Quintessential 4, the new U.S. Grand Prix champion combination.
“I think right now with the combinations we choose to go to Europe, they will really say `Okay, we’ve got to train, we’ve got to practice, we’ve got to perform. It’s always like that once the riders go to Europe . They say, `We better straighten up,” Christine observed.
There will be “more of that, I think as we go towards LA, but it also has to happen at home.
“We need to train, we need to produce more horses and not always look to the handful, because things can go wrong.”
A case in point is what happened to defending national champion Christian Simonson and Indian Rock in the Special, where they produced a subpar test that also included a rider error.
“When we only have a few, the ones in that group of the few can also get a little complacent. So within our country, we need to build competition.
I think we have to up our game in the training and develop a bigger group of horses.”
In addition to “the coaching of the riders and training of the riders, we have to look at all aspects of developing horses. We cannot just say, `That’s a good rider, that’s a good horse’ and then see what happens We have to step up our game,” Christine advised.
Christine Traurig
While she expects a great deal from others, she also has a big responsibility.
“I look critically at myself. Do I need to be more clear, do I have to be more firm, does the conversation have to be a little more in depth? For myself, I have to have a strategy, a format, an approach, so the outcome is productive.”
Ellesse and Quintessential 4 are an example of what Christine’s involvement can produce.
“When the horse was nine years old doing the Grand Prix, Christine was a big part in helping me kind of shape the direction to take him,” Ellesse said. “I’ve followed that very carefully for the last three years now, and she wasn’t wrong,” said Gundersen.
“I trust her guidance completely, and like she said, you’re building the team for more than just one event. LA28 is really important. Pan Americans are very important. We need to have a strong presence in all championships.”
While she felt it was too soon for her and her homebred mount to compete at the world championships, she is hoping to gain experience by being among the eight or so riders who will show in Europe before the title meet.
In talking about what needs to happen for U.S. riders to excel on the world stage, Christine mentioned there also is the growing awareness of how to handle social license to operate that must be taken very seriously.
“It’s not only about the movements in the test, it is also that they are very aware of what, nowadays in the sport — after the sport has been under such scrutiny — do the judges want to see?
“The judges are under as much pressure as we as coaches trainers and riders are. We are still in the period of transitioning from what was and what is now, (what) it is going to be and has to be. When the judges are out there, they are being tough. This is what we have look for in order to keep the sport loved and popular.”
Here is Christine’s answer to that: “A horse that is through and gymnasticized. It is adjustable and flexible, uses his body and uses his topline, therefore can create the right amount of energy from the hind quarters. That is not necessarily accomplished by numerous repetitions of exercise for the test. it is the basic work that is just as important.”
Saturday night was the final class of the championship, the Grand Prix Freestyle, but Indian Rock was withdrawn from the start list after his uncharacteristically uneven Special. Christian was still part of the Freestyle, but with his other mount, Fleau de Baian, who won the class. But in the overall standings, he finished fourth, while Ellesse took the title.
Also scratched from the freestyle were Kasey Perry-Glass (Heartbeat WP) and Genay Vaughn (Gino), thirteenth and fourteenth respectively in the Special. Tina Konyot did not break 60 percent in the Special with Grover and thus did not qualify for the Freestyle.
Marcus Orlob, who was the top qualifier for the championships with Jane, was not entered, as the mare was recovering from an injury.
Click here for freestyle results
by Nancy Jaffer | May 15, 2026
The consistency of Ellesse Gundersen and her homebred Quintessential 4 was the good news at the U.S. Equestrian Federation Grand Prix Dressage National Championship, as they moved up from second place in Wednesday’s Grand Prix to first in Friday’s Grand Prix Special.
“I think now he’s showing that he’s very consistent and we know what we’re going to have when we go in the ring. And today, I had the same feeling as I did Wednesday, which was a great feeling,” said Ellesse, whose ride at the World Equestrian Center Ocala was marked at 70.042 percent.
And now for the bad news: the championship is being held to select eight or so riders who will go to Europe for competition in Germany prior to August’s world championships at Aachen. But while Ellesse may well be selected to make the trip abroad, it will only be for mileage. She didn’t apply to be a candidate for the world championships themselves, so she can’t be selected for the U.S. team, no matter how good her scores are when she competes abroad.
Explaining why she didn’t apply, Ellesse noted that she and the horse are both young (age 34 and 12 respectively) saying, “I know we have some very strong combinations that are a little bit more mature than both myself and the horse together. They have a lot of experience, and I think it would be unfair a little bit to throw myself and the horse into such a big event for our first tour in Europe. We have not toured Europe yet together. I think it’s right to let him have a year of touring, without such a big goal, and then continue on to have a very successful horse in the future. He’s only 12, and I’m still young. I hope that we will be a part of the team in the future and be a very strong part of the team.”
It should be noted, however, that she was the only competitor to break 70 percent in the Special, while she was one of three who hit that mark in the Grand Prix.
Here’s more bad news. Christian Simonson, the top-ranked American in the international standings, dropped from first in the Grand Prix to sixth in the special after several mishaps with Indian Rock.
Rocky appeared to be in a mood, bucking once before entering the arena. Then he kicked out in his first piaffe, earning four scores of 4 and one 2. Ouch.
And instead of going into the canter half-pass, Christian started tempi changes as someone in the audience yelled out to him and the bell rang, so he circled, went into the half-pass and was charged with a deduction for the error by the three foreign judges and two U.S. officials.
The mistakes were costly, putting Rocky on 68.532 percent.
Discussing the situation, Christian cited “miscommunication” between himself and his horse, though he noted of the mistake in the half-passes ,”that was just me.”
He added, “Throughout the whole test, I could have done more to get him in better balance.”
He had only done one Special with Rocky, and that was last year. Christian lacked the required Special in order to qualify for the championship, so he was added as a wild card.
He elaborated about the mistakes, “You can have off days. I think there were moments where I probably could have done better as a rider to like prep Rocky in certain positions. I think Rocky also just didn’t have the over-the-topline, pushing power and balance in certain spots that are pretty normal.
“That’s why we had the mistake in the ones today. Upon reflection, it’s a score and it’s lower than normal, but is it bad? I don’t know, because I’ve learned a lot already. That for me is like a huge win, and I’m actually very, very grateful for it. So that’s kind of my rumination and thoughts of today so far. And I think I’ll go back and watch more and understand how I can improve.”
He added, “Throughout the whole test, I could have done more to get him in better balance.” He had only done one Special with Rocky, and that was last year. He lacked the required Special in order to qualify for the championship, so he was added as a wild card.
Christian did finish second with his other mount, Fleau de Baian (like Rocky, a Dutch warmblood owned by Zen Elite Equestrian), nudging 70 percent with a mark of 69.808.
Christian Simonson and Felix.
Saying he was “super proud of him,” Christian noted about Felix, “Throughout the whole test today, he was unbelievably honest. Every step, I felt like he was with me today. The extensions were super fun. I saw his whole front leg during the extensions, and I was like, ‘Oh, cool!’ I’m really proud of him today. He was a super, super good horse.”
Third place went to Jodie Kelly-Baxley on another Dutch warmblood, Grayton Beach, who is by Negro. She was thrilled with her mark of 69.234 on the horse she has trained since he was three, putting in 11 years with him.
“I’ve been blessed that I brought a couple of young horses all the way through the Grand Prix,” she said.
“I have a little more experience under my belt now. I get them as young horses because, well, I own him myself and it’s what I could afford. I wouldn’t have it any other way. I really love that. He and I are our best friends also.
Grayton Beach and Jodie Kelly-Baxley.
“I drag him around with me everywhere. If he’s on the trailer, I’m driving the truck, and that’s the only way it’s ever been. He goes for trail rides once a week and I always trailer him, and we go for the gallops in the fields. We do all the things together. I think that brings the trust down centerline.”
click here for results
by Nancy Jaffer | May 13, 2026
Of course Christian Simonson and Indian Rock won big on the first day of the U.S. Equestrian Federation Grand Prix Dressage National Championship.
What else would you expect from the defending national champion and Rocky, who were second in the Zen Elite FEI World Cup Finals last month? And don’t forget that at age 23 — while still eligible for U25 competition — Christian is the top-ranked American on the global standings in seventh place.
On Wednesday, Christian and Rocky marched with authority into the Grand Arena at the World Equestrian Center in Ocala, and just took over. With a score of 75.196 percent for the Grand Prix, Christian was nearly five marks ahead of runner-up Ellesse Gunderson on Quintessential 4, who earned 70.348.
The only other entry to be judged at more than 70 percent was third-place Meagan Davis on Toronto Lightfoot. She was delighted with her test, telling her horse loudly enough to be heard in the stands, “What a good boy!” as she walked out of the arena. Her total was 70.065 percent.
Meagan Davis, Christian Simonson, Ellesse Gunderson
Rocky, part of the Dutch Olympic team in 2024 with Emmelie Scholtens in the saddle, became Christian’s partner in 2025, after the stallion was purchased by Zen Elite.
Although the two made their international competitive debut as a combination at WEC last May, the Grand Prix was the first time they had ventured into the Grand Arena, with its imposing pillared backdrop of the Equestrian Hotel. Aside from the World Cup, they have won every outing.
“It’s quite surreal to see a massive hotel as you’re coming down a diagonal, and the stadium itself is so large,” Christian recounted as he discussed his test on the handsome Dutchbred.
“It feels very grandiose, and it’s really fun. I think the venue here as a whole also is just so well designed for the stabling and all the bits in between. To be here is also quite cool.”
Asked about the high points of his performance, he said, “I think the piaffe/passage tour is what I was really, really proud about today. Adrienne (Lyle), my coach who guides me each step of the way, we had a specific game plan for today, and Rocky really understood what exactly we were trying to do and just gave such an amazing feeling. To have Adrienne’s guidance through each step while we get ready for a championship feels so special.”
This is the first time in 12 years that the national Grand Prix championship has been a stand-alone. The USEF dressage championships are held in a group in Illinois each summer, but the idea of a separate competition for Grand Prix was designed to help select the competitors who will be sent to Europe to prepare for August’s world championships in Aachen, Germany.
Having the Grand Prix championship on its own “makes a lot of sense, particularly in a team selection year,” said Adrienne, an Olympian who rode in that 2014 Festival of Champions at the U.S. Equestrian Team Foundation in Gladstone, N.J.
“The timing of our other national championships just makes it so you’re not going to have the top combinations going there. So it makes a lot of sense, especially from a team selection point of view. It definitely changes the strategy because it’s early in the season. So it’s not like you’re going to have all season to build toward a championship.
“But in a year when the world championships are in August, you need to be `built’ by now. It’s really important for people to go head-to-head; our country is so big it’s too hard to compare apples to oranges otherwise. Everyone’s under the same pressure here.”
The 16 riders participating had to earn their way to this championship by fulfilling qualification requirements. While Christian didn’t have a Grand Prix Special to his credit during the qualification period, he got acceptance as a wild card. How could you send a team to Germany without Christian?
He and Rocky have developed a deep relationship in a relatively short time. They’re more than just pals.
“I feel like I get to be so present with him and each moment it feels like a constant communication back and forth,” he mused.
“I’m like, ‘Hey, let’s do this,’ and he says, ‘Okay, I want to go here.’ We kind of talk back and forth to each other during the test. It does feel like when we compete, I don’t have to really worry about anything else. I could just have an honest conversation and dance with him.”
Rocky got an appreciative kiss from his rider after their performance.
Christian added, “For me, he feels like a horse that would go through fire for me. I wouldn’t ask him to, but that’s just really how he feels. He’s just unbelievable.”
Ellesse, world number 84 in the rankings, is a Filipina who grew up in Malaysia and now rides for the U.S. But what makes her situation really unusual is the fact that Quintessential, or Q as he is known, is a homebred, not a purchase from Europe. She was there when he was foaled. Her history with the son of Quaterback 6 in effect goes even further back. When she was competing in Young Riders, she rode his dam, Corlette, whose bloodlines go back to Cordoba.
Ellesse Gundersen and Quintessential 4
“To really see him come all the way to being one of the best here, I think it means a lot. It’s been amazing, the journey we’ve taken. And then to be up here, he’s just getting better and better. I think that’s a huge win in my heart,” she said of her Hanoverian.
When Q was in the early stages of training, her husband, Henrik Gundersen said “He’d make a really nice hunter.” She short-circuited that in a hurry.
Meagan noted her horse came into the ring “with a little extra exuberance, jumping three feet over the entry. I’m not sure what happened.”
Meagan Davis and Toronto Lightfoot.
She observed that after the momentary lapse from the Oldenburg by Totilas, “he just settled right in and did his job and answered all of my questions. He was a true partner today, and that’s what has really built our relationship, is the partnership we have together, and I can show off our trust we have in each other.”
Missing from the line-up is Alice Tarjan’s Jane, the horse who finished at the top of the qualification. The mare, ridden by Marcus Orlob in the 2024 Olympics, is recovering from an injury.
The competition continues Friday with the Grand Prix Special. Click here for results
by Nancy Jaffer | May 10, 2026
Great Britain’s great horse and rider combination, Lordships Graffalo and Ros Canter, held their lead from dressage through cross-country and Sunday’s show jumping at the MARS Badminton Horse Trials, adding a mere two time penalties to their original score of 23.7. They became the sole combination to have won the event three times, also logging victories in 2023 and 2025.
“Amazing “is the only word to describe it in the long history of Badminton, which began in 1949.
The winner in the iconic Badminton setting.
Ros and the 14-year-old son of Grafenstolz finished 8.2 penalties ahead of New Zealand’s Tim Price and Falco, who had put in a fault-free show jumping round to move up from a fifth-place tie after cross-country. The scoring differential meant Ros could have had two knockdowns in the final phase. But of course, Walter, as her British Sport Horse is called affectionately, didn’t consider toppling a rail on the route set by Kelvin Bywater.
“He jumped his socks off in there today,” said Ros.
Ros and Waler had the crowd with them as they delivered a round free of jumping penalties.
“I knew my plan and can’t thank everybody enough for all they put in to help me . It takes an army to do this. People say, `You’ve trained him well,’ ” but she insisted, “he really does make my life easy. He loves it and looks and feels a million dollars.”
A knockdown and 0.8 time penalties dropped another British rider, world number one Harry Meade, from second to third with Annaghmor Valoner. He still is waiting to win his first 5-star.
Harry called Ros and Walter winning Badminton three times “staggering. It doesn’t happen in our sport.” Especially considering that it’s less than four months since Ros gave birth to her daughter, Seneh — and was pregnant when she won Burghley last September.
On Mother’s Day (in the U.S., but not the UK) Harry pointed out the fact that “she’s a recent mother and she’s done it with all the excitement and challenges and family life that go with it, it’s outstanding.”
As Harry mentioned, “it is so difficult to get a horse to the start line,” noting from those who were prospects last December, “30 to 50 percent don’t even reach there.
So then, “To go through the whole week and just deliver not only well enough to win, but do it in the style every single time, it doesn’t just happen.”
While “Ros is always wonderful at crediting Walter,” Harry continued, “her technical capability and coolness under pressure means their achievement will stand the test of time, not just for Walter, but for her as an extraordinary achievement.”
Ros Canter and baby seneh.
Tim, who is still recovering from a broken collarbone he suffered in a fall with a bicycle earlier this spring, called Falco “a fantastic little horse. It’s all about his head and his heart. If he’s enjoying himself he gives me everything he’s got to give.”
To start on Eric Winter’s cross-country course on a Badminton first-timer 17-year-old slight make-believe event horse was a little bit nerve-wracking. He just dealt with the course so well. It was such a joy.”
Ros still is processing the fact that she and Walter achieved a three-peat. Once she can get her mind around it, she said, “It will be incredible.”
But Ros had a word of encouragement for aspiring eventers who don’t think they can reach their own pinnacle. She recollected when she was starting out in the juniors, “I really wasn’t very good.”
At the national championships, she was second going into show jumping, but so nervous there, “I couldn’t cope with pressure. at all” and sank to the bottom of the standings after a wipe-out in the triple combination.
This horsewoman has come a long way, but the lesson she wanted to impart is that “you can learn to be good under pressure. It’s not just about learning to ride well, it’s all the other things that go with it.” So for those who are following a dream to compete and win, she advised, “it is possible.”
Cosby Green was the top American in the standings, finishing twenty-second with no jumping faults and just 0.4 time penalties on Jos UFO de Quidam.
The only other U.S. rider to complete the event from four American starters was Tiana Coudray on Cancaras Girl. She had two rails and 1.4 time penalties to wind up fortieth, last of those who finished. But there were plenty who didin’t complete, since the original field numbered 61.
Click here for results
Click here to read the cross-country article or click on the second feature on this site’s main page
by Nancy Jaffer | May 9, 2026
Great Britain’s Ros Canter and Lordships Graffalo may be on their way to a record third MARS Badminton Horse Trials win. All that’s in the way is Sunday’s show jumping course, after they put in a stellar double-clear cross-country trip Saturday to keep their lead from dressage on 23.7 penalties.
“He’s just an absolute legend, isn’t he?” Ros said of her mount, best known as Walter.
“He lets me ride how I need to ride,” said Ros, who is a legend herself when you consider she had a baby less than four months ago and is still breast-feeding.
“He gives himself every chance to play the game,” Ros continued, rhapsodizing about her horse. She admitted as she came to the final cross-country fence, she thought, “Please don’t mess it up.”
A European Championships gold medalist and Olympic team gold medalist, Ros had extra pressure trying to make the time.
Until Badminton, “I haven’t been fast yet properly this year,” she said. While that is understandable, considering that she’d been so involved being a mother to baby daughter Seneh, she was able to meet the challenge of the clock with the assistance of her equine partner. In fact, she was 13 seconds under the optimum time on Eric Winter’s course.
What a treat it would be, and how fitting, if she were to win her third Badminton with Walter on Mothers Day! Actually, in the United Kingdom , the equivalent of the USA’s Mothers Day is called Mothering Sunday, and it was celebrated in March. But you can bet there will be a celebration if Ros wins this Sunday.
Ros Canter and Walter doing their dressage test.
Ros has a rail in hand, 6.6 penalties ahead of world number one, her compatriot, Harry Meade, on Annaghmore Valoner. His double-clear moved him up from eleventh after dressage. On cross-country, Harry bounced back after being eliminated with Cavalier Crystal for a fall.
The all-British top four has Sarah Bullimore in third with Corimiro (32.1) and 1.2 penalties in front of Katie Magee and Treworra (33.3).
Just seven combinations in the 49-horse field were double-clear, with eight entries retiring on cross-country and six eliminated.
Things did not go so well for the U.S. riders. Tiana Coudray and Cancaras Girl dropped from second after dressage to forty-fifth in the 59-horse field, standing last of those who finished cross-country. She had 42 jumping penalties and 25.6 time after her mare tripped going up the bank at 18AB, the LeMieux Village, and then stopped at the house element. The 2024 Badminton winner, Caroline Powell of New Zealand with Greenacres Special Cavalier, also had a problem at that obstacle and retired.
Tiana noted, “Today didn’t go at all the way we were hoping, but nonetheless, Nana jumped around and came home to complete her third Badminton.
“She recovered very well and looks fantastic. While it is obviously a huge disappointment, we are immensely proud of our little girl and mustn’t lose sight of the fact that she is basically an overgrown pony who has given us 1,000 times over more than we ever expected of her. Nana we love you.
The top American is now Cosby Green, in twenty-ninth place with Jos UFO De Quidam, having only 13.6 time penalties added to her dressage score of 34.9 penalties, moving her up from thirty-fifth at her second Badminton.
“His whole heart was out there,” Cosby said of her horse.
“I couldn’t be happier with him.”
At the infamous Vicarage Vee, she noted cheerfully, “He was way braver than I was.”
Cosby added, “I think I had my eyes closed. By the time I opened them, we were over the last jump.”
No other Americans finished.
Grace Taylor retired Game Changer on course, while Cassie Sanger and Refield Fyre were eliminated for a fall in the water at the multi-part Sustainability Bay combination. Cassie, 21, was the youngest rider in the competition this year.
Click here for results
by Nancy Jaffer | May 8, 2026
She may have picked up a British accent, but she’s definitely an American and now Tiana Coudray is standing second with 28.1 penalties on Cancaras Girl at England’s prestigious MARS Badminton 5-Star event.
The leader after the first day of dressage on Thursday, she was moved back after that segment concluded on Friday by the four-time 5-star winner, Great Britain’s Lordships Graffalo and Ros Canter, who gave birth to a daughter less than four months ago.
Ros Canter and Lordships Graffalo
The defending champion is on top of the standings with 23.7 penalties, 4.4 ahead of Tiana.
A member of the U.S. team at the 2012 London Olympics, Tiana came to England and never left, but still rides under the U.S. flag.
Of her16-year-old Holsteiner mare’s test, she said, “It started a little bit rocky. She was a bit shy and making a few little mistakes. We threw a point away here and threw a point away there.”
On the other hand, “the quality throughout was really good. When she does a clean test, there will be a lot more again,” Tiana believes.
A bright spot was a mark of 9 for a flying change.
“She’s always had phenomenal changes,” said Tiana, who bought the mare from Scotland because she seemed like a prospect for a “cute junior horse.”.
Calling the mare “an absolute darling,” Tiana noted, “She really struggled with the dressage. She was never flashy on the flat. She wasn’t worth a huge amount of money,” so the decision was made to keep her.
“I’m just so grateful that the universe made that happen. I had a long spell of not having horses at the top level. She’s the one that got me back out here. It’s been a long, long process developing her,” Tiana revealed.
“She just proves that if you keep chipping away and you train them well, they can keep growing and growing.”
Just 0.5 penalties behind Tiana is Belgium’s Lara de Liederkerke on Hooney D’Arville with 28.6, 0.1 ahead of 2025 Maryland 5-Star winner Felix Vogg of Switzerland on Cartania.
The second-best U.S. result belongs to Grace Taylor, tied for fifteenth with Game Changer on 30.8 penalties.
Click here for results
