Eventing: Plantation Field/Twin Rivers Review Show
The US Equestrian Open Podcast
Release Date: 09/23/2025
Personal Bests and Early Season Markers
The US Equestrian Open Podcast
Personal bests in Dressage, a returning star in Eventing, and early clues from Wellington as Jumping inches toward its first five-star week. Susan Pape resets the Open benchmark, Jaguars Duende reminds everyone she’s still here, and Lillie Keenan’s depth becomes impossible to ignore nine weeks from the Final. Highlights Giulilanta goes top of the Open leaderboard Jaguar Duende returns with a win The 3* pipeline: why it keeps predicting future 5* horses Week 5 WEF preview: who arrives and why it matter Guests Diarm Byrne, EquiRatings co-founder Hosted by Annie Bishop
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Opening Statements: Highway Shines & Fayvel Returns
The US Equestrian Open Podcast
The new season is taking shape. With dressage already scoring, nine weeks to the first jumping final, and six weeks to the first four-star short, Annie Bishop and Diarm Byrne break down the early movers, the storyline shifts and the names establishing momentum across the Open’s three Olympic disciplines. From new partnerships winning straight out of the gate to returning eventers and a strengthening dressage field, it’s the first real read on 2026 form and how the year may unfold. Highlights Lillie Keenan & Highway make an immediate statement in Florida Scott Brash vs Kent Farrington...
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The US Equestrian Open: A Look Ahead to 2026
The US Equestrian Open Podcast
The US Equestrian Open is back for 2026. With the new season underway and ten weeks to the first jumping final, Annie Bishop catches up with Diarm Byrne to unpack where the Open stands one year on, how the mission is evolving, and why the off-season thinking matters just as much as in-season competition. From unified storytelling across dressage, jumping and eventing to the early movers, breakout names and pathway shifts already shaping the year ahead, it’s a state-of-play conversation to kick off the season. Highlights A 2025 debrief and what the Open learned in year one The calendar: ten...
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Eventing: Where Patience Meets Potential with Kate Sand
The US Equestrian Open Podcast
There is something special about talking to a rider who has brought a horse all the way up the levels. The patience, the instinct, the thousand quiet decisions that shape a partnership long before the big results ever appear on a scoreboard. And for Kate Sand, 2024 was the year all those years came into focus. From the three-year-old off the track with no real record to speak of, to a second place finish at Bouckaert, and a rise into the top four of the US Equestrian Open standings. This is a story built on feel, faith, and a horse who keeps proving he is more than anyone expected. A once in a...
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Eventing: Thanksgiving Special with Jon Holling
The US Equestrian Open Podcast
It’s Thanksgiving Eve and we’ve dragged Jon Holling away from his turkeys, his Packers jersey and his very detailed holiday schedule. Between Bloody Mary debates, and the yearly “do we have enough food” panic, we get a real glimpse into Jon’s world. We talk horses stepping up, young ones learning the ropes, the long road to making them competitive, and what it actually feels like to build your own string from the ground up. A Thanksgiving special with all the good bits. Highlights Thanksgiving in the Holling house, from two turkeys to 25 guests Why Zelda feels like the horse...
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Eventing: TerraNova Review Show
The US Equestrian Open Podcast
TerraNova gave us blue skies, big movement and a four star that absolutely shaped the conversation. Annie was there watching it unfold. Diarmuid was in the desert watching the Dressage Final under very un-California weather. And between the two weekends we learned a lot. About form. About depth. And about who is heading into the winter with momentum. Settle in. There’s plenty to talk about. Highlights What TerraNova told us about the depth in the four star short How the Dressage Final played out and why the result mattered Who delivered at the right time and who signalled big things for...
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Dressage: US Equestrian Open of Dressage Final Preview
The US Equestrian Open Podcast
Big week ahead. The very first US Equestrian Open Dressage Final lands in Thermal and it already feels like a proper championship moment. Annie is with Noah Rattner and DiarmByrne to size up the field, the atmosphere and the storylines building as fourteen combinations head for the desert. This one has everything. Top Americans hitting form at the right time. Felicitas Hendricks back on US soil. Jan and Ben Ebeling lining up together. Riders still tweaking floorplans, pushing their degree of difficulty and deciding where to take the risks. And a venue that gives you that big-stage feeling the...
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Eventing: Terranova Preview Show
The US Equestrian Open Podcast
It is Terranova week and there is a lot on the line. Annie and Diarm look ahead to a field stacked with returning stars, big step-ups, and the last chance to score crucial Open points before the winter break. From Diabolo’s long-awaited comeback, to Dyri’s red-hot momentum, to the rise of Meg Pellegrini and the next wave of US riders, this is a weekend with stories everywhere you turn. They break down the Prediction Centre, the tactics at play, the form horses, and the key combinations shaping the early 2026 landscape. Plus, a quick look at the four-long, where qualifications are on...
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Eventing: The Bouckaert Review Show
The US Equestrian Open Podcast
The 2025–2026 U.S. Equestrian Open season is underway, and Lucienne Bellissimo and Dyri have started on top. Annie and Diarm break down a win that reinforces Lucienne’s 2025 form, makes it eight international victories this year, and gives her an early lead in the Open standings. The team reviews the key results from Bouckaert, including Kate Sand and Top Shelf in second, Buck Davidson and Cerafino in third, and updates on Hot Bobo and Fernhill Salt Lake ahead of TerraNova. With points already on the board, the leaderboard is beginning to take shape. Highlights: Lucienne Bellissimo and...
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Eventing: The Bouckaert Preview Show
The US Equestrian Open Podcast
Listeners, we’re back and can you believe the 2026 U.S. Equestrian Open season is officially underway. Annie Bishop and Diarm Byrne are diving into the first qualifier at Bouckaert, looking at the stories, the riders, and the horses that could shape the season ahead. Lucienne Bellissimo’s Dyri headlines the field, Hot Bobo is back for Karl Slezak and Canada, and Buck Davidson’s Carafino D is one to keep an eye on. They talk form, predictions, and a Bouckaert track that’s only seen four clear inside the time. It might be early in the year, but every point counts. Highlights Include: ...
info_outlineWhat a weekend. Between Twin Rivers, Plantation Field, and trying to keep half an eye on the Europeans, there was no shortage of storylines. James Alliston did what James does at Twin, made the time when nobody else could and added another win to his California record. Tamie Smith and Kynan had a 20, not in the plan, but still plenty to talk about ahead of Morven. Out East, Phillip Dutton and Possante led from the front at Plantation, Commando 3 and Boyd Martin looked sharp, and Caroline Pamukcu’s HSH Blake gave one of his best runs of the year.
Annie and Diarm catch up on the hours of action, who climbed the leaderboard, who might be kicking themselves, and why the final stretch of the Open is going to be fascinating.
Episode Highlights
- James Alliston, the only one to make time at Twin, tightening up the series race
- Tamie Smith and Kynan, a cross-country 20 that wasn’t in the plan, but all eyes now Morven
- Plantation takeaways, Possante’s clear, Boyd’s Commando 3, and Blake looking back to his speedy best
- Movers on the table, how Jess Phoenix and James Alliston are tied up behind Boyd and Phillip
- West Coast notes, Megan McIver and Igor B stepping up, Molly Duda right in the mix
- East Coast sparks, Monica Spencer’s Marvel and Sydney Elliott’s QC Diamantaire adding depth to the picture
Guests
- Annie Bishop, reporting from Plantation with first-hand impressions
- Diarmuid Byrne, pulling up the leaderboards and putting results into series context
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