Ben Ebeling Wins Inaugural U.S. Equestrian Open Dressage Final at 2025 CDI Thermal

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2025 CDI Thermal

Ben Ebeling (USA) and Bellena claimed the inaugural US Equestrian Dressage Open Final at the 2025 CDI Thermal, hoisting the impressive trophy to conclude the first year of the finals across the three Olympic disciplines.

The partnership earned a personal best score of 79.903% for their freestyle composition to a mix of iconic female pop artists to stand firmly atop the podium. Felicitas Hendricks (GER) and Drombusch OLD took second place on a final score of 78.260%, while Anna Marek (USA) and Fayvel finished in third on 77.830%.

The competition this week at Desert International Horse Park also marked the first-ever CDI5* hosted on the West Coast.

US Equestrian Open

The US Equestrian Open is in its inaugural year and features the three Olympic equestrian disciplines of dressage, eventing, and jumping. Each discipline’s series consists of qualifying events that lead up to a final that ultimately names a US Equestrian Open champion.

The US Equestrian Open aims to build towards the excitement of the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games and support the growing momentum around the sport amongst mainstream audiences. The Dressage Final was hosted in Thermal, California, with $200,000 in prize money distributed to participating combinations and a $50,000 high point series incentive across the qualifiers.

The US Equestrian Open of Dressage is formatted based on points accumulated through qualification via Freestyle tests held at 23 CDI's this year in the U.S.A.

From 18 to 14, Nightmare for Alvord

The Top 18 series ranked riders were invited to the Final, but in the end only 14 decided to make the trek west to California.

Eline Eckroth, Evelyn Eger, and Kevin Kohmann declined their spots, which created openingq for Laine Ashker and Julio Mendoza, but they also declined. The following ranked riders were Jan Ebeling, who accepted to compete, followed by Micaela Mabragana, Anna Merritt, James Koford, Tinne Vilhelmson, and Laura de Cesari, who did not go to California.

The 27th ranked rider in the series, Adriane Alvord, accepted the invitation and flew her horse to California, but the trip turned into a nightmare. She took to Facebook: "Shortly after receiving my invitation to compete, I received word at the end of October that my entry had been flagged by FEI since I hadn’t met the 5* criteria of earning a 65% in the Grand Prix at a CDI to be eligible. (...) However, I was informed that because it wasn’t stated in the rules for the US Open, they had offered for me to still compete, but would have to forfeit earning prize money."

Alvord continued, "While I was bummed over that news, I opted to still go, as we had already made travel arrangements. That, and I had already scratched going to the US Dressage Finals in order to save my horse and prepare for the US Open. I told them if I was just going for the money, I wouldn’t be going. This past Sunday morning, after the horses had arrived the night prior, I was told during the FEI vet check in that the original exception (that had been granted) was being taken back, and I would not be allowed to compete. I either had to change to the 3*or show as an exhibition rider in the US open/ 5*. I declined both offers, and USEF went to bat for me fighting hard to do what was right. I owe so much thanks to USEF, as well as to all the riders in the 5* who came together to help the FEI re-grant the exception (that had originally been offered before I flew my best friend over 2,500 miles to California). Thanks to the hard work from USEF, my letter , and the letter from the other competitors, Tuesday morning I got the call from USEF with the great news that the FEI had accepted my entry, and I was cleared to compete in the US OPEN 5*."

Her horse Selfmade, a 13-year old Hanoverian by San Amour x Lupicor, did not pass any of the horse inspections.

"On Thursday morning, for the first time ever, Selfie was asked to re-present d the following morning for the 5* jog. I chose to do seeing as I felt confident that my horse was fit and sound to compete," said Adriane. "Unfortunately this morning my fate was sealed, and the ground jury stuck to their original decision to not allow me to compete. (...) The one good thing that came from this was to see just how many people I have in my corner - both friends, fellow competitors, USEF, and those from FEI that also pushed hard for me. What is most important is that my horse is OK , and we will come back to fight another day."

The OC of the CDI Thermal communicated to Eurodressage that, “we as OC were not involved in any decision making process. The FEI finally made the decision on Thursday that she could compete with no prize money and no scores to count for the FEI Dressage rankings. She would only be able to compete in the Final of the US Open Dressage. Then the President of the Ground Jury and the FEI Veterinary Delegate decided upon morning reinspection that the horse was not fit to compete.”

Marek Wins the Grand Prix

The competition started on Friday 14 November 2025 with the Grand Prix and US Equestrian Open Dressage Series winner, Anna Marek, rode Fayvel to the top of the Grand Prix 5* with 70.804%. She was followed by fellow American, Ben Ebeling aboard Bellena who earned a 70.522%. Felicitas Hendricks (GER) and Drombusch OLD rounded out the podium on a 70.500%, with the top three just three-tenths of a percentage of one another.

Marek (Dunnellon, Fla.) put the US Equestrian Open Dressage Final on her radar with Fayvel, a 2010 KWPN gelding (by Zizi Top x Houston) owned by Cynthia Davila, at the beginning of the year, targeting the Freestyle in four CDI competitions together to earn their qualification berth. Ultimately, with two mounts competing at Grand Prix, Marek totalled 105 points at the conclusion of the qualifying season to earn the overall Series title and a $12,500 bonus.

At the CDI Temecula, the warm-up round for the Freestyle, Marek and Favel won, setting themselves up as favourites for the Kur victory.

“I had a very excited Fayvel to start the test and he started to settle as it went on," said Marek on Friday. "After the first extended trot I was like ‘Hey buddy, we need to get it together before this next movement,’ and after that the rest of the test just flowed so well. What I loved about it was the energy I had, and he was so rideable at the same time, which is the goal.”

Ebeling Wins the Freestyle and U.S. Open Final

A total of twelve combinations moved forward to contest the Grand Prix Freestyle 5* under the lights on Saturday evening 15 November 2025, with four different combinations earning personal bests and competitors across the competition representing the U.S., Canada, and Germany.

Ebeling (Wellington, Fla.) and Bellena, a 2010 Hanoverian mare (by Belissimo x Welser) owned by Vantage Equestrian Group II, LLC, were unstoppable in their freestyle, energizing the crowd and showcasing the best of their growing partnership together.

“Every time I ask this horse to come through for me, she is just so clutch," said Ben. "She’s just an incredible competitor and I’m so lucky to have her by my side and in that arena. We’ve been working together for a year now and we’re just continuing to build this synergetic and symbiotic bond. Our freestyle really highlights her personality as a diva mare and is a testament to strong powerful women. The freestyle includes sections of songs from artists like Rihanna, Beyonce, and Gwen Stefani, and honestly, I don’t think anyone can do it better than a mare and that’s been the inspiration behind this freestyle."

Of the evening and monumental achievement, Ebeling noted the format of the competition and the opportunity to highlight the Grand Prix Freestyle a positive push the sport needs to be able to connect with more people and attract a broader audience.

“I think it’s such a great way to capture the hearts and minds of a wider audience. It’s an amazing opportunity for our sport and to show that we can make it fun and entertaining, while highlighting the incredible attributes of our horses. Getting to have my name inked on this trophy with other greats, including two Olympians, it just motivates me more to keep going and keep pushing.”

Ebeling got a cheque for 66,000 USD for his freestyle win.

German Finishes Second in US Open

With her own 2011 Oldenburg gelding Drombusch OLD (by Destano x DiMaggio), Felicitas Hendricks (GER) set the tone in the second half of the class, earning a 78.260% to put the pressure on both Ebeling and Marek to deliver.

Hendricks, who earned her qualification during the Wellington season in her campaign last spring, flew to Europe in spring to drop back down to the Under 25 ranks and compete for Germany at the 2025 European Under 25 Championships in Kronberg in July. Her frequent flyer horse has now been flown to the U.S. West coast to compete at the U.S. Open and in the desert for the first time.

Felicitas was thrilled with both her horse and the experience.
“I’ve been with this horse for a long, long time and he just never stops impressing me. I think today was one of the best feelings we’ve had together,” said Hendricks of her ride. “It’s special when you have been partners for as long as we have and you still feel like you’re continuing to grow and develop together - getting better with every ride. I’m so thankful for him and to be able to experience this together.”

Marek Third

Marek and Fayvel finished their week with a strong third-place finish in the final class of the week, capping an incredibly strong season for the pair, which included their overall series win, alongside their FEI Grand Prix CDI5* win on Friday evening.

“What’s really fun about showing this horse is that he’s uncomplicated to ride. He lets me really ride and not hold back. With Fayvel, I can really go for it and on a night like tonight, when the pressure is on, I know I’m going to fight for it and he’s going to be right there with me every step of the way and we don’t need to hold back,” explained Marek. “It’s been an amazing week here for us in California and I’m so grateful for the opportunity to compete here with him.”