USEF announced that the 2026 U.S. Grand Prix Championship will be a standalone event, separate from the USEF Festival of Champions, as it may serve as an observation trial for U.S WEG team selection.
Following conversations with a variety of stakeholders regarding the USEF Grand Prix National Championship, the decision has been made to host the 2026 USEF Grand Prix Dressage National Championship outside of the 2026 U.S. Dressage Festival of Champions.
"We see shifting the Grand Prix Championship to earlier in the year as an opportunity to foster competition amongst our U.S. athletes in the lead up to our European tour ahead of next year’s FEI Dressage World Championships,” said Laura Roberts, Managing Director of Dressage at US Equestrian. “This championship also has the potential to play a key role in our development towards the podium for the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games."
The bidding process for this Championship has been opened and will only be for the 2026 competition year. It must take place between the months of April and May.
It is anticipated that the 2026 U.S. Grand Prix Championship may serve as an official Observation Event for the 2026 U.S. World Championship Team for the 2026 Dressage World Championships (WEG) to be hosted in Aachen, Germany, from August 11-15, 2026.
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