The U.S. Open is synonymous with world-class competition on U.S. soil for top international athletes in the sports of golf and tennis. This year, equestrian sport receives its own set of high-profile events with the US Equestrian Open. It is a new, branded series with annual finals in the Olympic disciplines of dressage, eventing and jumping. The first final, the Rolex US Equestrian Open of Jumping, takes place today, March 29, during the last week of the Winter Equestrian Festival in Wellington, Florida. U.S. Equestrian Federation President Tom O’Mara and Chief Marketing & Content Officer Vicki Lowell shared how the idea for the series came to fruition, a basic overview and the goals that they hope to achieve with the series.

The Initial Idea for the US Equestrian Open Series

O’Mara explained that idea for the US Equestrian Open series was the convergence of several factors. Around the same time that a USEF Board of Directors ad hoc strategic planning group was looking into ways to grow equestrian sport in 2022, Olympic eventing gold medalist David O’Connor joined the USEF as the Chief of Sport. The organization gathered insights on the sport from these individuals and USEF staff members. O’Mara said they came to the realization that “we didn’t have something that was really being pitched to the non-equestrian world.”

Lowell noted that equestrian sport is difficult for mainstream audiences to follow. After studying other sports, the idea for appealing and understandable equestrian events became a focus of the organization.

“There was a desire to create a branded series for US Equestrian that would feature the Olympic disciplines so that we could have a major championship each year in the United States,” Lowell said. “It would allow fans to build and follow our three major sports and also would give our athletes in the United States an additional pathway opportunity that we could build on over time.”

O’Mara added that creation of the series aligns with the USEF’s vision statement that focuses on bringing the joy of horse sports to as many people as possible. The USEF hopes to grow the recognition and fan base of equestrian sport with this new initiative, which officially launched in the fall of 2024.

So why call it the US Equestrian Open similar to other U.S. Open sporting events?

“This is taking our sport and explaining it to the non-equestrian world in a way that they are familiar with from other sports,” said O’Mara.

Mapping Out the New “Supersized” Events

The USEF tailored the US Equestrian Open series format for each of the Olympic disciplines. Since there are already a handful of jumping series, the USEF aimed to create a “supersized” event. The result was the Rolex US Equestrian Open of Jumping. It takes place during final week of the Winter Equestrian Festival with two qualifiers leading up to the final. Several international and U.S. jumping riders compete at the Winter Equestrian Festival each year, so it seemed like a natural fit for the USEF’s initiative.

“We wanted it to be an event with a big audience and top athletes coming and make it at the true world-class level, where you’re getting the best in the world. And that’s why we ended up coming to Wellington,” said Lowell.

The strategy was different for the US Equestrian Open of Eventing and the US Equestrian Open of Dressage, which have a series of qualifiers all season long that lead up to the respective finals in the fall. The US Equestrian Open of Eventing final will take place at Morven Park International & Fall Horse Trials in Leesburg, Virginia, Oct. 9-12, 2025. About a month later, the US Equestrian Open of Dressage final will take place during Desert Dressage II in Thermal, California, Nov. 13-16, 2025.

Lowell explained that USEF partnered with event organizers to build on the established competition calendar rather than trying to add new events to the already busy schedule.

“We took those events that existed and created a product that’s easy to follow and can get fans engaged and then brought a lot of the media attention to it with the fan guides and the microsite, the podcast, the docuseries and the exposure on ESPN 2 and ESPN 3,” she said.

O’Mara pointed out that the year-long series give fans a chance to stay engaged by checking leaderboards.

“Our fans, and even non-equestrians, can now follow our sport,” said O’Mara. “You can look at the standings all year long, and there’s conversation about who’s moving up and down, much akin to other sports.”

Accolades for US Equestrian Open Winners

For the inaugural series, the USEF worked with Susanne Ross Blackinton-Juaire to create the US Equestrian Open trophy. It incorporates a horse-and-rider figure for each of the Olympic disciplines. Also, the USEF logo atop the trophy can rotate to face the respective discipline figure during each of the finals. Harkening back to studying other sports, O’Mara said he envisions tiers being added to the trophy base over time like the National Hockey League’s Stanley Cup.

In addition to a brand-new trophy, the US Equestrian Open winners will receive substantial prize money. For the Rolex US Equestrian Open of Jumping, $250,000 was added to the existing Grand Prix class’s prize money for a total purse of $750,000. The year-long series winners will receive $50,000 for both the US Equestrian Open of Dressage and US Equestrian Open of Eventing, and $200,000 in prize money is available for both finals.

“It’s the most money ever being given at this level of eventing and dressage,” said O’Mara.

According to O’Mara and Lowell, reception has been positive among riders and sponsors. O’Mara explained that riders at qualifiers recognize that they are earning points toward their rankings. Lowell noted that previous sponsors as well as new ones are excited to get behind the series.

While the initiative takes on big-picture goals, O’Mara stated that the focus ultimately goes back to the partnership between horse and rider.

“We all know half of the excitement about our sport is the emotion that the partnership between a horse and a human brings about in anybody. The horses are one of the athletes out there, so it’s a team sport,” said O’Mara. “That is interesting to people and there’s no other sport that can tell that story.”

To find out more about the US Equestrian Open series, visit the microsite.

Check out the respective quick guides for dressage, eventing and jumping to learn more about the series finals.