By KENNETH J. BRADDICK
OCALA, Florida, May 13, 2026–Christian Simonson and Indian Rock were clear-cut victors of the Grand Prix to open the U.S. national championships Wednesday aimed at selecting an American squad to go to Europe to pick a team for the World Championships in three months.
Christian, who appears likely to repeat as national champion–the youngest rider now aged 23 ever to attain the title since it was created in 1991–was awarded 75.196% to lead the starting lineup of 16 horse and rider combinations at the World Equestrian Center.
The win came a month after becoming reserve champion on the 13-year-old Dutch-bred stallion owned by Zen Elite Equestrian Center at last month’s World Cup Final in Fort Worth, Texas. This was the first head-to-head competition of the top U.S. combinations since 2014 when a similar competition was staged to prepare for the World Equestrian Games in Normandy.
Ellesse Gundersen, who switched from her native Philippines to ride for the United States three years ago, was runner-up on a personal best 70.348% on Quintessential 4. The Wellington-based rider bred Quintessential and 12 years ago witnessed the birth of the horse she owns with her Danish jumper rider husband and Marcia Radosevich.
Meagan Davis of Loxahatchee, Florida and Toronto Lightfoot, 13-year-old Totilas offspring owned by Scott Durkin, placed third on 70.065%.
The top three on the podium were the only combinations to score at least 70%.
Absent from the lineup was Jane, the 12-year-old mare ridden by Marcus Orlob on the U.S. team at the 2024 Paris Olympics, that was withdrawn after a minor injury and had topped the qualifying competition lineup.
The national title will be decided by the Grand Prix Special scheduled for Thursday and the Freestyle Saturday night.
Christian Simonson less than two years ago was competing in the under-25 division until Zen Elite bought Indian Rock that had been competed on the Dutch team at the 2024 Paris Games.
“I think coming back this year,” he said of the return on the horse, “Rocky and I have developed a lot more of our partnership. Actually this week, this CDI last year was our very first CDI together. And so it’s just been learning so much about him and he’s just like today, he’s just such an incredibly honest horse that at any moment I feel like I can just be there for him and he’s there for me.
“And that was kind of the feeling I had today where he just feels so unbelievably honest and I feel so grateful to ride him.”
Their ride in WEC’s main arena was his first in the centerpiece stadium, an experience he described as “quite surreal to see a massive hotel as you’re doing the diagonal. And the stadium itself is so large, it feels very grandiose, and it’s really fun.”
Ellesse said the result for her on Quintessential was “not just one thing. I think it’s the whole journey with the horse. To really see him come all the way to being one of the best here, I think it means a lot… and he’s just getting better and better. So I think that’s a huge win in my heart.”
Results:
| Rank | Competitor | Score | E | H | C | M | B |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Christian Simonson (USA) Indian Rock | 75.196% | 74.674 | 75.217 | 78.587 | 74.565 | 72.935 |
| 2. | Ellesse Gundersen (USA) Quintessential 4 | 70.348% | 69.348 | 71.196 | 71.957 | 71.304 | 67.935 |
| 3. | Meagan Davis (USA) Toronto Lightfoot | 70.065% | 67.609 | 71.522 | 68.913 | 70.978 | 71.304 |
| 4. | Ashley Holzer (USA) Hawtins San Floriana | 69.957% | 70.109 | 70.978 | 68.587 | 71.413 | 68.696 |
| 5. | Jordan LaPlaca (USA) Gold Play | 68.804% | 68.152 | 69.891 | 68.913 | 68.152 | 68.913 |
| 5. | Jodie Kelly-Baxley (USA) Grayton Beach | 68.804% | 69.239 | 70.870 | 68.152 | 69.239 | 66.522 |
| 7. | Katherine Bateson Chandler (USA) Haute Couture | 68.152% | 67.065 | 68.913 | 67.609 | 69.457 | 67.717 |
| 8. | Sarah Tubman (USA) Dow Jones 1 | 68.022% | 67.174 | 68.913 | 67.283 | 68.261 | 68.478 |
| 9. | Christian Simonson (USA) Fleau de Baian | 67.804% | 66.304 | 68.261 | 67.935 | 68.261 | 68.261 |
| 10. | Geñay Vaughn (USA) Gino | 67.456% | 66.957 | 69.022 | 67.717 | 65.543 | 68.043 |
| 11. | Jaclyn Pepper-Millard (USA) Limited Edition | 65.870% | 65.761 | 66.957 | 64.565 | 64.783 | 67.283 |
| 12. | Kevin Kohmann (USA) Famous | 65.391% | 65.978 | 65.326 | 64.239 | 66.087 | 65.326 |
| 13. | Kasey Perry-Glass (USA) Heartbeat W.P. | 63.696% | 64.457 | 63.913 | 62.717 | 62.935 | 64.457 |
| 14. | Jennifer Williams (USA) Joppe K | 62.652% | 64.348 | 62.391 | 60.978 | 63.043 | 62.500 |
| 15. | Tina Konyot (USA) Grover | 62.456% | 61.739 | 64.565 | 63.043 | 63.261 | 59.674 |
| 16. | Nora Batchelder (USA) Nova | 61.587% | 60.543 | 60.870 | 60.652 | 63.152 | 62.717 |
 Find details on Equestrian Hub |
