US Equestrian Open Of Dressage Making Its Debut In 2025
By Mike May
This year, US Equestrian is staging a series of 24 qualifying events as a build-up to the inaugural US Equestrian Open of Dressage. This year-long competition series started in early January in Thermal, California, before moving here to Wellington, host of seven events through the end of March. The series will conclude where it began, with a finale in Thermal at the Desert Dressage II CDI5* set for Nov. 13-16.
Of the 24 qualifiers, 16 of them are being held in Florida — seven in Wellington, five in Ocala, three in Myakka City and one in West Palm Beach. The other eight qualifiers are being held in Del Mar, California (three qualifiers); Thermal, California; Lexington, Virginia; Sherwood, Oregon; Devon, Pennsylvania; and Mill Spring, North Carolina.
According to Laura Roberts, managing director of dressage at US Equestrian, she is excited about the chance to fully promote the sport of dressage and put dressage athletes and horses on a higher-profile pedestal.
“This is a great opportunity to showcase top dressage sport from coast to coast of the United States, but particularly out west in the buildup to the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games,” Roberts said. “The US Equestrian Open of Dressage Series and Final are open to all FEI-registered athletes and horses, both from the U.S. and abroad. Each competition gives the athletes a platform to showcase their talents and compete with their peers across the country. With unprecedented prize money on the line, we look forward to witnessing exceptional performances and crowning the inaugural US Equestrian Open of Dressage champion.”
One of the local dressage riders in this competition is Kevin Kohmann, who is based at Wellington’s Diamante Farms. After the first two weeks of the qualifiers, Kohmann had a strong start and was in first place. At late February, he was in a three-way tie for 21st. One of Kohmann’s competitors in this national dressage competition is his wife, Devon Kane, who is in a three-way tie for 15th. She, too, is based out of Diamante Farms.
Kohmann said that the key to success in high-level dressage is to have a horse that knows and trusts its rider. Likewise, the rider must know and trust his or her horse. “It’s teamwork at this level. It’s a friendship between the rider and the horse,” said Kohmann, who is also trying to qualify for the World Cup of Dressage, which will be held this year in Basel, Switzerland, from April 1-6.
After seven qualifying events for the US Equestrian Open of Dressage, the top 25 riders in the standings come from six different countries (Germany, the United States, Canada, Sweden, Spain and Argentina). Seventeen of them are from the United States.
After those seven qualifying events, there’s only a six-point differential between the top eight riders. The leaderboard features a three-way tie for first between Evelyn Eger of Germany, Geñay Vaughn of the United States and Denielle Gallagher of Canada, each with 40 points. There is also a three-way tie for fourth between Felicitas Hendricks of Germany, Adrienne Lyle of the United States and Anna Marek of the United States, each with 37 points. Meanwhile, there’s a two-way tie for seventh between Americans Kristina Harrison-Antell and Eline Eckroth, each with 34 points.
According to local dressage expert Kenneth Braddick of Dressage-News.com, the US Equestrian Open of Dressage is off to a strong start, but he expects to see updates in future years, such as the location of the final. This year, the final will be held in California, as a nod to the upcoming Olympic Games in Los Angeles.
“Florida has become the center of dressage in all the Americas, with most U.S. and foreign riders competing in Florida,” he said. “The thought is to stage a Thanksgiving show at Global in Wellington with a real festive atmosphere, plus perhaps with more prize money.”
Again, of all the 24 qualifier events for the 2025 US Equestrian Open of Dressage, 16 of them are in Florida with Wellington hosting seven.
Through the middle of February, the US Equestrian Open of Dressage had already hosted eight qualifiers — three of which took place in Wellington.
The dressage series will reward athletes with $200,000 in prize money, which will be distributed at the US Equestrian Open of Dressage Final in November. An additional $50,000 series incentive will also be awarded for high-point scorers.
Upcoming Wellington events on the calendar of qualifying competitions include the Palm Beach Dressage Derby CDI-W & CDI3* Feb. 26 to March 2; the Global Dressage Festival 10 CDI3* & CDI5*, March 11-16; and the Global Dressage Festival 12 CDI3* & CDI4*, March 26-30.
Learn more about the new US Equestrian Open of Dressage series at www.usequestrianopen.org.
