United States Eventing Association

Lexington, Ky.—Aug. 29—After three days of competition, six new USEA Novice Champions had their chance to shine in the iconic Rolex Stadium at the Kentucky Horse Park. With scores tight across the divisions, Saturday’s show jumping left little room for error, but these horse-and-rider combinations rose to the occasion when it mattered most. From long-awaited AEC dreams finally realized to partnerships that have overcome their fair share of challenges, each champion had a special story to tell as they celebrated a memorable finish to their #AEC2026.

USEA Novice Rider Championship

The scores going into the final phase of the USEA Novice Rider Championship could hardly have been closer, with several combinations on the same score. The riders knew that every second in the spacious Rolex Stadium would be crucial, and the track had been influential all morning.

Kirsten Wood kept her cool on Helen Farley’s Sophia Tharseo (Scimitar x Smooth Sedona), a 15-year-old Oldenburg mare, delivering a smooth and swift clear round to finish on her dressage score of 25.3 and take home the champion title.

Competing here has literally been an ambition of hers since childhood.

“Probably 10 years ago, I had my little my first pony, and we had just gotten into eventing,” she explained. “I had done hunter jumpers a lot beforehand, and I was like, ‘I want to go to the American Eventing Championship!’ So I got this little envelope, and every week I would put like $10 or $15 into it, and I was like, ‘Once I qualify, I'm gonna have enough for the entry fee!’ Well, unfortunately, my pony had to retire, and we never made it. But now that makes me so much more grateful to be here today. It only took me 10 more years.”

Wood only started riding "Sophie" last December; her trainer Helen Farley suggested she come and sit on her as both horse and rider were coming back off separate breaks. Wood immediately clicked with Sophie, and after starting the year at Beginner Novice they gradually ramped up to recognized eventing and qualified for the AEC this summer.

Winning the dressage and maintaining that lead throughout was beyond her wildest dreams, Wood said.

“I was just coming here to enjoy my horse. I felt like just being here was the accomplishment, and however the week went, we were just going to take it one day at a time. And I'm just extremely grateful for the ride on this horse. I had no idea if you would have asked me a year ago that I would be here standing with the horse of my dreams, my trainer that's been with me for the past 12 years—she's been with me through everything, and just to be able to be here with this horse and her has just been a very special experience for me.”

Wood starts nuclear medicine school in North Carolina next week, but hopes to be able to continue her partnership with Sophie. "So on my breaks, I'm gonna come back home and ride her. But we're just going to give her a good break, and I'll hopefully just come back and be able to have some fun with her.”

Kyleigh Christians and her own Magnifique K (Lupicor x Flouriet K) also jumped clear on the final day to finish as Reserve Champions on their dressage score of 27.1.

A 9-year-old Dutch Warmblood, Magnifique K is registered with USEA as 18 hands, but Christians thinks he probably sticks around 17.3. “My horse's name is Moose, and he's pretty big; he's like a gentle giant. He is like a giant moose. He's got a great personality, just super low key. He can be a little buddy sour, so our first day here was a little stressful, but now he's been just super.”

Moose has been with Christians for a couple of years but this has been their first full year eventing together as Christians tore her shoulder their first year together. “He's just been great. I've had a little bit of a lag in my eventing span, so he's really built my confidence up, and he's just been super fun," she said.

Christians has come to the AEC here before with friends but this was her first time competing. "It was a great experience. We love the Kentucky Horse Park, and I think it's everybody's dream to ride in the Rolex ring, so that was kind of the highlight, being able to go in there.”

A single rail down would have dropped Christians and Moose down to eighth place, but Christians kept her cool. "I think everybody gets a little nervous. I just think I kind of went in with the mindset that I'm just grateful to be here. He's just been super, it was just really fun," she said.

Meredith Barden and her own 7-year-old Irish Sport Horse Rathlees Candyman (Sligo Candy Boy x Castle Clover Pride) moved up a spot with a confident clear show jumping round to finish on the podium in third place on their dressage score of 28.5.

Barden is an equine science major at the University of Kentucky (UK) and on the UK eventing team. She’s had her horse "Bruce" for about a year.

"He's just so awesome," she said. "He's the best, and I really don't know what else to say besides that. He's really such a good boy, and even when there's a few times where I thought I messed up a little bit he definitely helped get me out of it.”

They’re planning to move up to Training level at their next show since this weekend turned out so well.

USEA Novice Amateur Championship

After three phases over three days, Hannah Reeser emerged as the clear winner of the USEA Novice Amateur Championship on Virginia Reeser’s Ltl Ireland Summer Soldier (October Fox x Abby Darling). They didn’t need their fence in hand Sunday, and jumped clear within the time in the Rolex Stadium to finish on their dressage score of 24.3.

That was an especially sweet victory for Reeser who bred the 12-year-old Morgan and has been with her every step of the way since she was a foal. “It's been a really long journey,” she shared. “Show jumping has been by far our weakest phase so we've been in this position, a couple of times and haven't been able to to fulfill it. So being able to do it now is just unbelievable. I'm over the moon.”

The scores for the next dozen or so places were separated by just one rail, so the pressure was definitely on the riders as they entered the storied arena.

Both combinations in second and third place finished on their dressage scores on the exact same mark: 29.9. Robyn Stix and her own Je T’aime Opera (Je T’aime Flamenco x Foxy Cleopatra R), a 9-year-old Irish Sport Horse were closer to the cross-country optimum time and thus claimed the Reserve Championship honors.

When Stix first started riding her horse, they won five events in a row. "She was foot perfect; the type of horse you could put anyone on without any worries,” she said.

But at Terranova (Myakka City, Florida) that Fall Je T’aime Opera “dumped me before the start flags in show jumping” she recalled. "And there began our journey of trying to figure out what was going on, because she started rearing and spinning, and acting just generally unhappy.”

Je T’aime Opera was diagnosed as neurological and underwent two neck surgeries, so to come back from that to compete, to qualify for AEC, and as the cherry on top to come here and finish as Reserve Champion has been above and beyond anything Stix was hoping for.

“I think there were a lot of people who, for my own sake, were telling me to sell her,” she said. "Because they saw me really struggling, and they wanted me to be happy, and I just couldn’t; she’s my my heart horse, and I think she's kind of proved to everyone that she's pretty amazing. I mean, she's still not an easy horse anymore, but she's definitely worth it.”

On the podium in third place, also on their dressage scores of 29.2 was Maureen (Molly) Gall on her own Thieo (Vitorio TO x Brieaki), a 13-year-old Arabian gelding. Gall fits in eventing around a career as a creative director in Kansas City and being a mother to a 9-year-old. She has been riding Thieo for about four years.

“He’s a little, hot Arab,” she smiled. “He’s a rocket in your pocket, and he loves to go, go, go, and he absolutely loves cross-country and jumping!”

They’ve moved up the levels together with the help of trainer Julie Wolfert, and at only 15 hands, Gall says she has to be aware of keeping her leg on to make the horse stride distances across country. They lost the tiebreaker with Stix because, in fact, they were a little too fast Friday, but Gall insisted she was still delighted with her first experience of riding at the AEC.

“Oh my Gosh, it was just a dream come true!" she said. "You see all of the world’s best equestrians in the Rolex Arena, riding their rounds and at the Head of the Lake, and to finish the event on my dressage score, it’s almost indescribable, it’s fantastic!”

USEA Novice Master Amateur Championship

The USEA Novice Master Amateur leaderboard has remained unchanged since day 1, and it’s definitely been a good three days at the office for La Grange, Kentucky, rider Jane Musselman who finished in first and third on her two rides in this division.

Musselman’s winning ride, Cayr Della Caccia (Canturo x Babelle), an 18-year-old Holsteiner gelding, added just 1.6 cross-country time penalties to their dressage score to finish on 24.5 and claim the championship. It almost wasn’t to be as Musselman tried to sell "Jovie" six months after she bought him after being dumped three times at three separate events. He spent a few months with Musselman’s trainer, Phillip Dutton and didn’t sell, and three years later they’re in top spot on the podium.

“He's been wonderful ever since,” she said. “We've had a lot of fun together, and he helped me get my [USDF] bronze medal. He's been great.”

Splitting Musselman’s horses in second place was Lynn Sadler on her own What’s Happening (Silvio x Chelsea Small Talk), a 14-year-old Oldenburg gelding. They also jumped clear in both phases to finish on their dressage score of 26.0.

Musselman rode Double Diamond C (Diacontinus x Lois Lane CBF) into third place finishing on her dressage score of 28.5. The 13-year-old Hanoverian joined her string in February, and this was just their fourth event together. By lucky chance, Musselman had mentioned that she would love to find a younger Jovie, and trainer Martha Lambert suggested they try him in Ocala, “and so I did, and I fell in love with him!”

Musselman admits to being "obsessed" with eventing. "I got my first pony on my third birthday," she said. "My mom rode, so that's that's why I did, and I definitely took a little break in college, but I started back in my early 20s, and I think I like it more as an adult than I ever did as a kid.”

Musselman juggles her passion with being a mom to 12-year-old twins so typically rides Monday to Friday so she can spend weekends with them.

USEA Novice Junior Championship

Scores were tightly bunched at the top end of the USEA Novice Junior Division after the first two phases. A professional clear jumping round in the Rolex Stadium on the final day paid off for Avery Zupan aboard Cynthia Newman’s RS Chief as she moved up to take the Championship title on their dressage score of 29.3.

Zupan has been riding the 12-year-old Holsteiner/Quarter Horse gelding for about four years now, and this is their first time competing at the AEC.

“It’s definitely been a goal for a while for both of us," said Zupan. "We've gotten such good chemistry that it was kind of easier to get here this year. It's definitely bigger and a lot more anxiety, but he's been so good, and I guess we’re more experienced now, where we could just come out here and do our best, and yeah, just kill it!”

Zupan’s goals coming into the weekend were simple. "To just be positive and and have him feeling good and confident when we leave here so that we can come back and have another great AEC experience again. But he definitely showed out this weekend.”

With not even a second’s worth of time splitting Zupan from her nearest competitor she knew she would need to be faultless in the Rolex Arena over the colored poles to maintain her position.

"I was OK with staying in second,” she admitted, “and even if I bumped down to time penalties or a rail, I would have been OK if he came out there and was strong, and we had a positive round. But when I saw that I was first, I was like, ‘Oh, that's so fun!’”

Zupan trains with Jennifer Burke out of Deer Creek Stables in Texas and juggles riding with school. She’s in her senior year of high school, but she maintains, “It’s definitely a bigger struggle, but I have my priorities!”

Alexandra Swales and Unique (Fuhler x Abydos Maya) were achingly close behind, just 0.1, and also finishing on their dressage score of 29.4. Swales has been riding the 16.2-hand Canadian Sport Horse mare for about a year and a half, after trying her at her trainer, Tanya Amato’s barn, Jump For Joy in Aiken, South Carolina.

"Her owner brought her down and rode her a few times and showed me all her little buttons and stuff. She did Preliminary up in Canada, so she has lots of funny buttons and different things to do different fancy dressage things," she said.

They started out doing eventing academies locally before deciding to aim for the AEC here at the Kentucky Horse Park. Swales competed here in 2024 at the Beginner Novice level on a different horse and finished fourth.

“We started doing recognized and got qualified and were very excited,” she said. "There was originally about 30 in the division, so I would just have been happy if I was in the top 15, but I'm really proud and excited that we were able to get better than last time”.

Swales wasn’t too nervous before entering the Rolex Stadium. “Going down the ramp I had my Sour Patch Kids ready in my pocket, and I told ‘Nikki’ if we get over this without any rails or anything, she can get a Sour Patch Kid when we're done because that's her favorite treat!" she said.

Kyla Lucas steadily stalked the leaders all weekend, adding nothing to her dressage score of 31.9 to complete the Championship on the podium in third place. Lucas has been riding her mother Melissa Lucas’s Fernhill Next Star (Cornet Oblensky x Van Meta), an 8-year-old Dutch Warmblood for about a year, and she said it’s been a learning journey.

"She's quite the mare!" she said. "She's definitely very hot and a bit spicy. She's very special. Last year I was getting bucked off of her daily, and it was not going so well, but now that we're here, it's just incredible to think that I'm here with her now and doing this and in third place after this; it's just incredible!”

Lucas is based in Aiken but trains with Julie Richards in Newnan, Georgia, and thinks a month spent based with her there, as well as monthly visits subsequently made all the difference.

"We just started to click together after [that]. She started to like me. I started to like her, and it just kind of clicked," she said.

USEA Novice Junior 15 & Under Championship

Katherine Naselsker emerged victorious in the USEA Novice 15 & Under Championship on Alyssa Dykgraaf’s Foudroyant de Bellerose (Tin Tin de la Pomme x Uptown Girl of Bellerose), finishing on their dressage score of 28.4 and rising one place on the final day to clinch the win. The 15-year-old Belgian Warmblood, also known as "Roy," has been in the family for a while.

“We’ve had him for almost 11 years. He was 5, I was 4, and my little brother was 3, and I'm 14," said Naselsker. "My mom actually started him; she took him training until 2023. He's amazing and such a good horse. He just has the best temperament; he's never rude or mean."

Naselsker, who grew up riding "naughty ponies," took over the ride on Roy in 2024.

“I think [my mom] saw my legs were getting a little too long for the ponies!" she said. "My goal on him was just to get confident. Like this, he's going to prepare me for things like this. He will be 16 next year, so he won't be able to do the upper level stuff. So riding him, he just gives you so much confidence. I don't think when I started riding him there was a goal; it was just take it day by day, see where the wind takes us and just go from there.”

Gabriella Britton and her mother Beverly Britton’s Chesterfield Dauntless (Fort Prado x La Rocca), a 13-year-old U.S.-bred OTTB, moved up one place to finish as Reserve Champions on 34.2 despite an unlucky rail on the final day. Britton’s mother rode "Sebastian" here at the AEC two years ago, and then passed the ride to her daughter last year after Gabriella’s own horse needed a second ACL surgery.

“I kind of took him over for the season,” Britton smiled, “and he's a really good boy. He was here in 2024 and came fourth with my mom in the Beginner Novice. It's just really cool seeing all the work come together in the end, and getting to do it all on my mom's horse with her next to me and my dad supporting me. It's just really cool.”

Another OTTB, Pace Deppa’s Toby The Coal Man (Mineshaft x Major Melissa) finished in third place, just an agonizing 0.1 behind on their dressage score of 34.3. Deppa has been riding the 20-year-old Thoroughbred for a couple of years, and they competed here at the AEC in 2024 in the Beginner Novice division.

Their career together has been educational, he shared. “He's taught me a lot of things that are very important in this sport; he’s one where if you're worried, he's worried. So if you're worried to a fence, he's not gonna do it. So he's teaching me how to be brave to the fences.”

USEA Novice Horse Championship

The top six combinations and the top six scores in the USEA Novice Horse Championship remained unchanged since day 1. Home Track Farm’s HTF All Eyes On Me (HHS Comet x Douglas Cruise Line) was named the 2026 USEA Novice Horse Champion after adding nothing from both jumping phases to his leading dressage score of 25.6.

Owner Allison Pratt was looking for a nice 5-year-old to contest the USEA Young Event Horse (YEH) Championships, and Chris Talley tried the Irish Sport Horse in Ireland at the urging of his husband Lee Maher, and Fernhill Sport Horses’ Carol Gee. He knew pretty quickly he had to have him.

“Within five minutes, I knew he was the one," said Talley. "He's incredibly well balanced, and he's just a very, very smart, trainable horse. He’s kind of much wiser than his age, but that also comes with him just getting stronger and stuff like that. He thinks he should jump the biggest jumps, but sometimes that thought gets in the way of his body and where he is maturity-wise, but he's been amazing all weekend; we led from start to finish, and I couldn't have asked more of him.”

Known as Paco in the barn, a reference to Tupac Shakur’s album "All Eyez On Me," he arrived in the U.S. in mid-November last year, and Talley gave him plenty of time to acclimate before beginning to train him in Florida at the beginning of the year. While Talley recovered from back surgery in March, Maher rode and qualified Paco for AEC.

It was important for Talley to see how Paco would react to the Championship atmosphere here this weekend before heading to the USEA YEH 5-year-old Championship at Fair Hill (Elkton, Maryland) this fall.

“I thought this was just a good prep run," he said. "I know he's a nice horse, but I didn't really expect this. I always went the best for my horses, but this is just above and beyond. The biggest thing was just to bring him here to give him the experience in the atmosphere, and so this [and Fair Hill] will probably be all the rest that he does this year.”

Talley admitted that even though he’s competed here at the Kentucky Horse Park in the CCI5*, he still gets nervous walking down that ramp into the Rolex Stadium, and for owners and riders alike, the Kentucky Horse Park AEC experience is hard to beat.

“It's been warm, but the weather has been beautiful, and the ground's amazing, and the horses love it, and the owners love it too," he said. "We've been fortunate to walk down that ramp at the five-star and now the four-star level, but not everybody gets the chance to do that. For so many riders it's kind of a childhood dream, and it's so iconic, I hope it stays here for the years to come.”

Ellen Sebanc’s Orion RSF (Gaudi x O Baby) finished in second place on their dressage score. Sebanc bought the dressage-bred 7-year-old Dutch Warmblood gelding as a weanling and has brought him along herself. They competed at the AEC last year but since then have only done one event as Sebanc had her first baby, a daughter, at the beginning of the year.

Between her baby daughter, building a farm and traveling long distances to event from her Texas base, Sebanc’s future plans for Orion are still up in the air. “I honestly don't know,” she admitted. “He's probably ready to move up to Training, I might go do some hunter stuff with him, I might do some dressage stuff. I don't know, I don't have any big plans."

She did reveal though, that she loves the horse so much that she is earmarking for him for her 8-month-old daughter!

Just 0.1 behind, Jessica Gibson rounded out the podium in third place on her own Stormy Clover (Hill Master x Kilmihill Lass) on their dressage score of 27.2. Gibson bought the 13-year-old Irish Sport Horse about three years ago but took time off to start a family.

“He’s kind of my comeback horse,” she said. “I took a hiatus from showing, and now I’m figuring out if I can juggle the kids, the farm, the customers, and riding myself. So it's been a really fun journey, he has just been a blessing, he’s a real special guy. He’s exactly what I want to be sitting on, a real old soul.”

Gibson runs a boarding barn with 38 horses out of Akron, Ohio, and has generously let some of her clients ride "Stormy" at the lower levels this summer and is undecided on future plans for him. “He is all heart,” she said, “but I’m not sure that he wants to go Training or Prelim. I mean, he was great at Training, but his jam is Novice. And if I can see him pack somebody safely around Novice, and that's going to be his job, and he's going to enjoy it, then that's what I want to see him do”.

Adams Horse Supply Novice Adult Team Championship

The Adams Horse Supply USEA Adult Team Championships (ATC) also crowned its Novice level champions on Saturday, with 3 Ditches and a Dude taking home the team title.

The winning team featured Justine Perrotti and Cyprinus Carpio, Samantha Marcoux and Seeing Is Believing, Sarah Varney and Love You More, and Jasmine McPherson and Sloan, who combined their efforts throughout the week to finish on a team score of 94.8 and earn the top spot on the podium.

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About the USEA American Eventing Championships (AEC)

The USEA American Eventing Championships (AEC) presented by Nutrena Feeds is the pinnacle of the sport at the national levels. Held annually, the best junior, adult amateur, and professional competitors gather to vie for national championship titles at every level from Starter to Advanced. This ultimate test of horse and rider draws hundreds of combinations from around the country to compete for fabulous prizes, a piece of the substantial prize money, and the chance to be named the National Champion at their respective levels. In fact, the 2021 AEC garnered over 1,000 entries and now stands as the largest eventing competition in North American history. The 2026 USEA American Eventing Championships presented by Nutrena Feeds will be held on Aug. 25-30 at the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington, Kentucky. Click here to learn more about the USEA American Eventing Championships.

The USEA would like to thank Presenting Sponsor: Nutrena Feeds; Advanced Final Title Sponsor: Adequan; Platinum Level Sponsors: Bates Saddles, Marshall+Sterling Equine Insurance; Gold Level Sponsors: ARMA, Gallaghers Water, PulseVet, Schneiders Saddlery, SmartPak, Standlee; Silver Level Sponsors: Auburn Labs, Kerrits, The Jockey Club Thoroughbred Incentive Program, Rood & Riddle; Bronze Level Sponsors: 70°, Antech Diagnostics, Athletux, The Chronicle of the Horse, Devoucoux, D.G. Stackhouse & Ellis, Dubarry of Ireland, Equestrian Team Apparel, Grayson-Jockey Club Research Foundation, John Deere, Retired Racehorse Project, Ride EquiSafe, Santa Cruz Animal Health; Contributing Level Sponsors: AnimaSol, CrossCountry App, Foxhollow Farm, Georgetown/Scott County Tourism, Kentucky Equine Research, Kentucky Horse Park Foundation, Lexmark, LV Harkness, Only Fools and Horses, #WeRideTogether, YETI; and Prize Level Sponsors: ARRO Helmets, The Dad Den, Dandy Products, Equiluxe Tack, Equine IMED, FLAIR Equine Nasal Strips, I Love My Horse Boutique, The Infused Equestrian, Love Equestrian, Majyk Equipe, Mare Modern Goods, Natalie Hummel Coaching, Neighborly Tack, Outlaw Nutrition, Parkmore Supplements, Peak Performance Equine Spa, Poseidon Animal Health, Rachel Dory Fine Art, Right Path Equestrian, Saddle Bird Boutique, Sidelines Magazine, Strides For Equality Equestrians, STRIDER, Stylish in the Saddle, VTO Saddlery, and XLR8 Equine.

About the Adams Horse Supply USEA Adult Team Championships

The Adams Horse Supply USEA Adult Team Championships, which debuted in 2014, is the capstone event for the USEA Area Adult Team Challenges, providing adults the chance to compete as a team and represent their Area of the country in a friendly and fun environment. Historically, adult riders had three regional Team Challenges in which to compete with fellow adults in a team environment, with the locations changing each year. In 2013, the USEA Adult Rider Coordinators voted to move to support Adult Team Challenges taking place in all 10 Areas across the country, with the finale being the ATC at the USEA American Eventing Championships presented by Nutrena Feeds. Each Area can send up to nine teams and 39 riders for the BN, N, T, and M levels, plus an additional eight members if they are at the Starter level only. Adult Riders know how to have a good time, and there is no doubt that they bring an increased level of excitement and camaraderie to the AEC! Click here to learn more about the USEA Adult Team Championships. The USEA would like to thank ATC Title Sponsor, Adams Horse Supply, and contributing sponsors ARMA, Bates Saddles, The Chronicle of the Horse, FarmVet, FLAIR Equine Nasal Strips, Gallagher’s Water, Kerrits, Marshall+Sterling, Nutrena Feeds, PulseVet, Schneiders Saddlery, Sidelines Magazine, SmartPak, and Santa Cruz Animal Health for sponsoring the Adult Team Championships.