By KENNETH J. BRADDICK
OCALA, Florida, May 15, 2026–Ellesse Gundersen and her home-bred Quintessential 4 won the U.S. Championship Grand Prix Special Friday while top rated Christian Simonson made mistakes on Indian Rock that kept the pair off the podium but still in the lead for the title.
Ellesse, who three years ago switched from her native Philippines to compete for the United States, rode the 12-year-old Hanoverian gelding to a score of 70.042% for the victory after placing second in the Grand Prix two days ago.
Christian based in Wellington as is Ellesse, was runner-up at 69.808% on Fleau de Baian, a 16-year-old Dutch-bred stallion that has helped the 23-year-old rider develop at top sport, placed second on 69.808%.
Jodie Kelly-Baxley of Destin, Florida on Grayton Beach, 15-year-old Dutch-bred gelding, placed third on 69.234%.
Ellesse said described her journey with Quintessential as “a privilege to be able to have it be so long.”
When they came out of the arena, she said to her husband, Danish jumper rider Henrik Gundersen, “I felt like I had the same horse as I did the first day, which is what we’ve been aiming for, to have consistent rides and clean rides. We know we can turn up this horse when we need to. That’s not the problem. I think now he’s showing that he’s very consistent and we know what we’re going to have when we go in the ring. And today I had the same feeling as I did Wednesday, which was a great feeling.”
Although she did not apply to be on the World Championship team that will prevent her inclusion at Aachen, team coach Christine Traurig said the federation will help her go to Europe to gain competition experience.
Christian on Indian Rock on which he became reserve champion at the World Cup Final in Fort Worth, Texas last month, placed sixth on 68.532%. The duo incurred a penalty for going off course–not uncommon in the Special that was only their second at this level–and there were issues with the one-tempi changes.
However, the duo are still at the top of the standings with only the Freestyle to come Saturday night.
He explained of his ride, “I think I can preface it by saying Rocky’s not a machine, I’m not a machine. And there’s no other way I’d want it to be. I think in a world that’s like ever more artificial, working with living beings and in a sport that’s like this combination of two beings together, I love it. I love also when things don’t go right or when they do go right, because for me, it’s very neutral. Is it bad or good if you’re just learning? To me, that’s the best part of it all. Today it’s like any other day–you can have off days. I think there were moments where I probably could have done better as a rider to like prep Rocky in certain positions.
“Upon reflection, it’s a score and it’s lower than normal, but is it bad? I don’t know, because I’ve learned a lot already. That for me is like a huge win, and I’m actually very, very grateful for it. I’m pretty grateful and happy that I’m learning a lot. I’ve done now both of the cardinal sins of the Grand Prix Special.”
The results of this championship will determine a squad to go to Europe ahead of the World Championships in Aachen, Germany in mid-August.
The American selectors’ attention will be primarily on the CDIO4* Nations Cup in Hagen, Germany the first week of July where the U.S. will field a team.
Jane ridden by Marcus Orlob was one of the most noticeable absences from the national championships, having finished at the top of the standings. The 12-year-old Dutch-bred mare has returned to light work with owner Alice Tarjan after a minor injury led to the horse being pulled from the championships.
Also not participating So, too, was Helix, the 14-year-old Dutch-bred gelding that Adrienne Lyle rode at the Paris Olympics for the rider’s third Games. Adrienne is also the coach of Christian Simonson.
Helix was scheduled to compete in the CDI3* Grand Prix later Friday in the horse’s first international event since the World Cup Final a year ago. He was not nominated for these championships.
Results:
| Rank | Competitor | Score | E | H | C | M | B |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Ellesse Gundersen (USA) Quintessential 4 | 70.042% | 71.489 | 68.723 | 69.681 | 70.106 | 70.213 |
| 2. | Christian Simonson (USA) Fleau de Baian | 69.808% | 69.787 | 69.468 | 69.574 | 69.787 | 70.426 |
| 3. | Jodie Kelly-Baxley (USA) Grayton Beach | 69.234% | 68.191 | 69.894 | 68.404 | 70.106 | 69.574 |
| 4. | Ashley Holzer (USA) Hawtins San Floriana | 68.915% | 70.213 | 68.511 | 67.766 | 68.617 | 69.468 |
| 5. | Jordan LaPlaca (USA) Gold Play | 68.638% | 67.128 | 69.787 | 67.979 | 69.574 | 68.723 |
| 6. | Christian Simonson (USA) Indian Rock | 68.532% | 68.532 | 67.468 | 68.213 | 67.574 | 70.872 |
| 7. | Meagan Davis (USA) Toronto Lightfoot | 68.319% | 67.660 | 67.979 | 67.979 | 68.936 | 69.043 |
| 8. | Katherine Bateson Chandler (USA) Haute Couture | 67.532% | 67.872 | 67.447 | 66.809 | 68.298 | 67.234 |
| 9. | Jaclyn Pepper-Millard (USA) Limited Edition | 67.213% | 67.553 | 66.915 | 67.660 | 67.660 | 66.277 |
| 10. | Sarah Tubman (USA) Dow Jones 1 | 66.936% | 67.660 | 66.277 | 66.915 | 67.766 | 66.064 |
| 11. | Kevin Kohmann (USA) Famous | 66.511% | 66.277 | 65.638 | 65.957 | 67.979 | 66.702 |
| 12. | Jennifer Williams (USA) Joppe K | 66.149% | 65.638 | 66.277 | 65.106 | 66.915 | 66.809 |
| 13. | Kasey Perry-Glass (USA) Heartbeat W.P. | 65.957% | 63.191 | 67.128 | 65.638 | 67.447 | 66.383 |
| 14. | Geñay Vaughn (USA) Gino | 65.830% | 64.574 | 65.000 | 65.638 | 66.489 | 67.447 |
| 15. | Nora Batchelder (USA) Nova | 61.872% | 62.128 | 61.809 | 60.532 | 61.489 | 63.404 |
| 16. | Tina Konyot (USA) Grover | 58.553% | 57.660 | 59.043 | 57.872 | 59.681 | 58.511 |
 Find details on Equestrian Hub |
