The second day of competition at the 2026 American Eventing Championships saw some impressive leaderboard gains after cross country and some solid dressage scores for Maryland-bred horses and Maryland riders. Five Maryland-bred horse and four Maryland riders finished the cross-country phase on the Intermediate, Preliminary, and Modified divisions; three Maryland-bred horses and five Maryland riders finished the dressage phase in the Training divisions.
Tomorrow, champions will be crowned in the Intermediate through Modified divisions, and two Maryland-bred horses and four Maryland riders will start the dressage phase in the Novice divisions.
STANDINGS AFTER CROSS COUNTY
Open Intermediate
The Intermediate cross-country course took its toll today. Two riders fell, one succumbed to a mandatory retirement, another retired voluntarily, one withdrew, and one was eliminated for a technical error on course. Both Maryland-breds finished without any jumping penalties.
- Point Nemo and Carlin Keefe were in 24th place out of 50 after dressage but they moved up substantially to 6th place out of 44.
- Quiberon was 49th after dressage but moved up to 42nd place out of 44 after cross country.
Open Preliminary
- Tracy Bienemann and Menlo Park were 14th out of 18 after dressage but moved up to 9th out of 17 after cross country. One rider was eliminated on course.
Preliminary Amateur:
- Wonderful Courage was 7th out of 15 after dressage and moved up to 4th out of 11 after cross country. One rider fell on course, one rider retired, and one rider suffered a technical elimination.
Modified Amateur
- Magnific c’Imagination was 3rd out of 18 after dressage, and she is 3rd out of 16 after cross country. One rider retired and one rider was eliminated on course.
- Similarly, Ameristan was 4th out of 18 after dressage and is still 4th after cross county.
Modified Rider
- Emma Whitaker and Sing to Me Cooley were 11th out of 25 after dressage and moved up to 4th out of 23 after cross country. One rider fell and one rider suffered a technical elimination.
- Ryan Keefe and Quality Outlaw were 21st out of 25 after dressage but moved up substantially to sit in 12th after cross country.
STANDINGS AFTER DRESSAGE
Advanced
- Savannah “Woodge” Fulton and Cash Point are in 15th place after dressage. They are the first Maryland pair out on cross country tomorrow, with a ride time of 10:36 a.m.
- Tracy Bienemann and Venezuelan River are 19th after dressage, and they start cross country shortly after Woodge, at 10:48 a.m.
- Bonaire is 21st after dressage and heads out on cross country at 11:20 a.m.
Training Horse
- Crescenda is 5th out of 24 after dressage and leaves the start box on cross county at 1:04 p.m.
- Woodge Fulton and Balou du Etoiles are 4th after dressage and they are close behind Crescenda out of the start box, at 1:24 p.m.
Training Rider
- Cakewalk is in 3rd out of 31 after dressage. Her cross-country ride time is 4:12 p.m.
Training Amateur
- Jessica Goldberg and America Runs on Duncan are 19th out of 43 after dressage. Their cross-country ride time is 3:10 p.m.
- Donald Ruths and Raven are 40th after dressage and due to leave the cross country start box at 3:20 p.m.
Junior Training
- The only Maryland rider in the Junior Training division, Kendall Fraser is 8th out of 27 after dressage. She starts on the cross-country course at 12:56 p.m.
NEW STARTS ON THURSDAY
The Novice divisions get going tomorrow morning and three Maryland riders and two Maryland-bred horses will take on the dressage ring.
Novice Amateur:
- The first new entry for Team Maryland tomorrow is Arlo Bello, a 2019 Thoroughbred gelding (Freedom Child out of Whisperjet (Unbridled Jet)), bred by James Edwin Bryant & Linda Page Davis and ridden by Sarah Crocker of Marshall, Virginia. They will enter the ring at 10:24 a.m.
- The second out is Elizabeth “Liz” Espinosa from Beltsville with a dressage ride time of 11:06 a.m. She will ride Marina Hanson’s Benediction, a 2014 Virginia-bred Oldenburg gelding (Bugatti Hilltop x Heartbreak Hill (Confide)). Espinosa and Benediction have qualified for the AECs in the past and traveled out to Kentucky to compete in the Novice division in 2024.
- Next is Dayna Blumel from Davidsonville on Brave Sand Rider, a 2021 Pennsylvania-bred Thoroughbred gelding (Normandy Invasion x Keystone Pipeline (Louis Quatorze)). Their dressage ride time is11:36 a.m. Blumel is no stranger to the AECs. She took her 2016 Minnesota-bred Thoroughbred gelding Row the Boat (Mizzen Mast x Bailarina (Lord Avie)) to the 2024 championships and placed 36th out of 60 in the Amateur Novice division. She also rode in the Beginner Novice Master Amateur division in the 2021 championships with her 2013 Maryland-bred Thoroughbred gelding Cabo Wabo (JC Piercinator) (Street Magician x Bianca Love (MD) (Bianconi)). They placed 31st out of 51 entries.
- The last Team Maryland contestant in this division is Silver Bop, a 2012 gelding Thoroughbred gelding (Bop x Silver Concern (Concern (MD)), bred by Susan H. Wantz of Taneytown and ridden by Kara Googins from Arlington, Virginia. They will start their dressage test at 11:42 a.m. Googins and Silver Bop qualified for, and competed in, the Beginner Novice division at the 2023 AEcs. They finished 20th out of 46 entries.
Novice Rider
- Mallory Gaines from Chester leads the Team Maryland entries in the Novice Rider division. She will be on Land Rush, a 2013 West Virginia-bred Thoroughbred (Real Estate x Observe (Confide)) and their dressage time is 9:24 a.m.
- Amy Gaynor from Derwood and her own 2005 Appendix Quarter Horse Studly Dudley are the second Team Maryland pair out in this division. They start their dressage test shortly after Gaines’s, at 9:42 a.m. Gaynor and Studly Dudley also competed at the 2021 AECs and finished 37th out of 50 in the Beginner Novice Master division.
CHAMPIONSHIP FINALS TOMORROW
Seven American Eventing Champions will be crowned tomorrow after the final show jumping rounds are finished in the Open Intermediate, Open Preliminary, Amateur Preliminary, Preliminary Rider, Open Modified, Amateur Modified, and Modified Rider divisions.
The order-of-go will be in reverse order of standing. Below are the start times for the divisions in which Maryland connections are competing:
9:45 a.m. Modified Amateur
11:00 a.m. Modified Rider
2:15 p.m. Preliminary Amateur
3:30 p.m. Open Preliminary
6:30 p.m. Open Intermediate