Dressage-News

THERMAL, California, Nov. 15, 2025–Benjamin Ebeling on Bellena became the first US Open champion with victory Saturday night in the Grand Prix Freestyle that decided the $250,000 event and just a week after the rider’s 26th birthday.

Ben and the 15-year-old mare that he has been competing since the beginning of the year scored a personal best 79.930% for the win after placing second in the Grand Prix for the final of the year-long qualifying event at the Desert International Horse Park. Two of the five judges awarded the combination more than 80%.

Ben, based in Wellington, Florida, took over the ride on Bellena from his U.S. Olympic team rider father. Jan, who placed fifth in this final competition of musical performances.

Felicitas Hendricks, who flew from Germany with her Drombusch OLD to compete here for the first time, placed second on 78.260%. Felicitas and her 14-year-old gelding won team gold and Freestyle bronze at the European Under-25 Championships two months ago. At the 2023 U-25 Europeans she and Drombusch took team and individual golds and freestyle silver. She is a regular competitor on Wellington’s Global Dressage Festival since her first participation on Faible AS as a junior rider in 2015.

Anna Marek of the Ocala area community of Dunnellen who had won the Grand Prix Friday rode Fayvel to third place on 77.830%. Anna was reserve for the U.S. team at the Paris Olympics.

Both Ben and Felicitas are coached by Christoph Koschel, a former  German team rider.

The US Open series was created by the U.S. federation to further develop the three Olympic disciplines of dressage, eventing and jumping ahead of the 2028 Games in Los Angeles.

“This has been incredible to watch unfold all year long,” Ben said after his victory. “I really do feel like this series has opened dressage and especially the freestyle to a wider range of audience that can appreciate horse dancing. I mean, who the heck doesn’t like that?

“This final has meant so much to both me and my family and my fellow competitors. I’m really, really happy to be back in in my home state (California) and the first five star on the West Coast.”

Bellena, he said of the horse he rode, is “spectacular. I’m really happy that the judges agreed today. And every time I’ve asked her to come into the clutch, she always comes through for me. So. She’s a pretty special mare.”

The top 18 qualifiers in dressage already split $50,000 of the overall purse of $250,000, leaving $200,000 for this weekend’s final.

The Grand Prix was intended to be the top 18 combinations, but the final was down to 12 riders and horses.

Results:

US Equestrian Open Dressage Final CDI5* Grand Prix Freestyle

Rank	Competitor	Score	E	H	C	M	B
1.	Benjamin Ebeling (USA) Bellena	79.930%	79.900	78.450	82.075	78.400	80.825
2.	Felicitas Hendricks (GER) Drombusch OLD	78.260%	79.675	78.375	77.700	77.900	77.650
3.	Anna Marek (USA) Fayvel	77.830%	79.300	77.200	77.375	77.725	77.550
4.	Kristina Harrison-Antell (USA) Finley	75.470%	77.450	73.875	77.525	73.700	74.800
5.	Jan Ebeling (USA) Jubi’s Tenacity	75.445%	76.100	74.625	76.175	75.825	74.500
6.	Geñay Vaughn (USA) Gino	74.890%	76.250	74.775	73.775	74.250	75.400
7.	Charlotte Jorst (USA) Zhaplin Langholt	73.305%	74.650	72.800	72.275	70.875	75.925
8.	Laura De Cesari (USA) Rossi	70.915%	70.250	70.100	71.050	72.900	70.275
9.	Nadine Schwartsman (USA) Royal Flash R	70.775%	71.000	74.300	68.775	72.475	67.325
10.	Karen Lipp (USA) Infinity	70.420%	68.600	69.400	71.900	70.300	71.900
11.	Brittney Simpson (CAN) Kartsevo Goldfinch	69.965%	71.675	69.150	70.525	68.775	69.700
12.	Laine Ashker (USA) Zeppelin	66.260%	65.725	66.050	66.250	66.100	67.175
Find details on Equestrian Hub