FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Aspen Farms, Yelm, WA, USA
Friday, September 11, 2026

Hundreds of riders from throughout United States Eventing Association Area VII, Canada, and beyond completed their dressage phase today at Aspen Farms Horse Trials in Yelm, WA.

In the Open Intermediate division, the dressage scores of the 13 starters are very close after dressage. Hanni Sreenan and Ebenholtz (pictured above), owned by Amy Haugen, secured the overnight lead with a score of 29.3.

“It was a good test,” Sreenan shared. “Ebenholtz was super rideable. I wish he was a little bit more forward, but it was better than I had hoped. Everything felt easy. He came out strong. I haven’t competed him since the Spring, and he just felt right back to his normal self.”

Sreenan had already walked the cross-country course designed by Morgan Rowsell.

“The course looks fun and super inviting,” she said. “There’s a couple of tricky things out there, but it will be good.”

Marc Grandia and GHS Calexico are second in the Open Intermediate with a score of 30.7, and Emily Pestl-Dimmitt and Aventinus, owned by Louise LaRue, are just 0.2 points behind in third with a score of 30.9.

“Our test today was good–or mostly good–of course it’s never perfect,” said Grandia. “But my horse was relaxed, and she just keeps improving. I’ve walked the beginning part of the cross-country course. It looks forward and flowing. It’s interesting because the course is going sort of different direction. We are leaving out of the old startbox, which we haven’t seen here for a long time. I think it will change the feel a little bit. It looks like a lot of fun.”Emily Pestl-Dimmitt and Aventinus are coming off a successful 3*-Short at Rebecca Farms in Montana.

“I was really happy with him,” Pestl-Dimmitt said after dressage. “It was probably the most relaxed that he has been. He’s getting to a point where he is little bit more rideable each time I go into the ring with him. I was pleased with his temperament. There’s definitely some things we can work on, but I was very happy with him.”

In the Open Preliminary, Canadian Sabrina Glaser and Excalibur Undercover, a 7-year-old Irish Sporthorse, are leading after dressage with a score of 24.5. Patience O’Neal and Viva Las Vegas, a Hanoverian gelding owned by Betsy Kunert, are close behind in second with a score of 25.3. Stephanie Goodman and Cord Johnson, owned by Deanna Briggs, are third with 25.5.

The Preliminary Rider division also features a tightly-packed leaderboard after dressage, with no margin for error for leader Brynn Josey and Gentle Gallucci to maintain their lead on a score of 26.3. Macaulay Dukes and SRF Western Territory are second with 26.8, and Ava Good and Czarina are third with 30.

There is a strong contingent of Junior riders competing at Aspen Farms. Junior Training has 17 competitors, there are two Junior Novice divisions with 16 and 19 competitors respectively, and Junior Beginner Novice has 26 riders.

The larger Junior numbers are partially due to the first-ever Northwest International Young Rider Team Challenge running concurrently with Aspen Farms Horse Trials, which attracted over 20 Junior riders from British Columbia.

The goals of the Team Challenge are to foster team camaraderie and sportsmanship, provide riders with experience in a Championships-style environment, build connections between Young Riders from British Columbia and USEA Area VII, and support the development of future upper-level riders.

The lowest dressage score of the day was 20.9, earned by Hailey Huarte and Her Copilot, a 6-year-old Holsteiner mare owned by Trina Huarte.

See live scoring from all divisions online at ShowConnect, here. Find additional show coverage on Aspen Farms Horse Trials Facebook Page, or follow us on Instagram @AspenFarmsHorseTrials.

📷Photo by Show Photographer Elizabeth Knight Photography
🎥 Reels by Halite Creative