US Equestrian Open
Dressage Final
The Final is an amazing opportunity for our sport and to show that we can make it fun and entertaining, while highlighting the incredible attributes of our horses. Getting to have my name inked on this trophy with other greats, including two Olympians, it just motivates me more to keep going and keep pushing.
WHAT IS THE US EQUESTRIAN OPEN OF DRESSAGE?
The US Equestrian Open of Dressage is a season-long Series of Grand Prix Freestyle qualifiers across the United States, ending in a $200,000 CDI5* Final at Desert International Horse Park in Thermal, California.
Riders earn points in the Grand Prix Freestyle at each qualifier. The top 18 in the final standings are invited to the 2026 Final on November 13-14.
How the Series Works
Points come from the Grand Prix Freestyle at designated CDI3*, CDI4*, CDI5*, CDIO and World Cup qualifiers held in the US. The Series is open to all FEI athletes, US and foreign. Points depend on placing and on the number of starters in the class.
Each rider's best four results count, and a rider needs at least two qualifier starts to be ranked. If riders finish level on points, the highest average Grand Prix Freestyle score takes the higher place.
Reaching the Final
The Final is Desert Dressage II CDI5* at Desert International Horse Park in Thermal, California, on November 13-14, 2026, with a minimum of $200,000 in prize money.
Each rider brings one horse. If a rider declines, the invitation passes to the next ranked rider. The Final opens with the Grand Prix, drawn in groups of five by Series ranking, and 60% is needed to go through to the Grand Prix Freestyle.
COUNT DOWN TO THE FINAL
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Entries Are in: Ten Head to the US Equestrian Open Dressage Final
After 25 qualifying Freestyles at 24 events in six states, ten riders have accepted their invitations to the US Equestrian Open of Dressage Final at Desert International Horse Park on November 13 and 14.
2026 US Equestrian Open of Dressage Final: Entries
Last year’s champions, Ben Ebeling & Bellena, are not entered, so the title is up for grabs. Four of this year’s finalists rode in the 2025 Final. Kristina Harrison-Antell finished fourth, Geñay Vaughn sixth, Charlotte Jorst seventh and Nadine Schwartsman ninth.
The resumes in this field run deep. Six of the ten have represented their country at a championship or Nations Cup. Micah Deligdish represented Israel at the World Championships in Aachen this year. Vaughn rode at the 2025 FEI World Cup Final in Basel, and Jorst competed at the 2016 Final in Gothenburg. Michael Klimke finished second at the 1990 World Cup Final. Devon Kane & Vamos won Nations Cup team silver at Wellington in 2025. Harrison-Antell rode for the U.S. at the 2003 Pan American Games.
Fire Fly has done it too, winning team gold at the 2023 Pan Ams under Anna Marek. His new rider, James Koford, whose signature results came at the U.S. Dressage Finals, won three straight Grand Prix Freestyle titles on Adiah HP from 2017 to 2019.
How Kevin Kohmann Won the 2026 US Equestrian Open of Dressage Series
Kevin Kohmann is the 2026 US Equestrian Open of Dressage Series Champion. He made four Series starts this season on three different horses, Dünensee, Famous and Sonata MF, and every one of them added to his final total.
He went into Dressage at Devon ninth on 40 points. He came out of it first on 65.
The horse who secured his 2026 title was Sonata MF, an 11-year-old American-bred mare who had never done an international freestyle. Their first FEI start together was at TerraNova in May. Five months later, at Devon, they scored 77.105% and won the CDI-W by 0.590 over Brittany Fraser-Beaulieu & Jaccardo, with 13 in the class.
The freestyle was brand new, too. His wife, Devon Kane, chose the music with her mother to celebrate a mare made in the USA, and Kohmann had it for just a week before Devon.
"This was our second time going through our freestyle, we only got the music a week ago," Kohmann said.
The 25 points from Devon put Kohmann on top of the standings for good, and the panel left little room for argument. All five judges had Kohmann and Sonata MF in their top three. Hans Voser at H and Cesar Torrente at C both had them first, and Torrente's 79.150% was the highest individual score in the class.
Inside the Art of Crafting the Perfect Dressage Freestyle Soundtrack
For Collier Wimmer, the business that now shapes some of the sport's most memorable freestyles began as a favor.
"It was a happy mistake that Three Wishes was founded," she said.
Wimmer grew up in a dressage family. Her mother, Ashley Wimmer, is the rider in the house, and Collier spent her childhood at horse shows, riding in backyard lessons and, eventually, on a collegiate team. As a young girl, she admits she found most of dressage a little dull. The freestyle was the exception.
"I always loved watching the freestyle classes because that was always interesting," she said.
When she was in high school, her mother's coach needed music for a freestyle and thought the tech-savvy teenager might be able to help. Armed with little more than Windows Movie Maker ("our OG digital audio workstation," Wimmer laughed) and a sense of what music suited the horse, she put one together. It went on to score well at regionals, and word spread.
Latest News
US Equestrian Open Dressage Quick Guide
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Check the Latest Results
View the 2026 Leaderboard
Four to Follow:
Devon Kane & Vamos
Second in the field on average, inside a half-mark of almost everyone, Devon Kane and Vamos head to the Final one small step from the top.
Four to Follow:
Geñay Vaughn & Gino
Unbeaten in the West last year and tested in the East since, Geñay Vaughn and Gino return to Thermal with unfinished business.
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Four to Follow:
Ali Potasky & INXS
Potasky and Inxs have improved at every freestyle, and their Devon personal best puts them second in the field.