The US Equestrian Open Podcast

World Championship week is here and the US Equestrian Open has arrived on the biggest stage of the season.
Diarm is joined by EquiRatings analyst Ali Barrett to look at the US combinations taking on Aachen across dressage and eventing, with some familiar names from the Open right at the heart of the action.
They look at Ashley Holzer's chances against a seriously strong European dressage field before turning to the eventers, where Open leader Tammy Smith heads to Aachen with Lilette alongside Will Coleman and Diabolo, Boyd Martin and Cooley Nutcracker, Caroline Pamukcu and HSH Blake, and Phillip Dutton and Denim.
Can the US stay close enough after dressage to put themselves into the medal conversation on Saturday? Who could deliver the biggest individual result? And with Olympic qualification already secured for LA 2028, could that give this team the freedom to really go for it?
Plus, Diarm and Ali look back on a huge US win in the 100th Aga Khan at Dublin and what that result says about the strength and momentum building across the US programme.
Highlights
• The US Equestrian Open leaders taking on Aachen
• Ashley Holzer's World Championship chances
• Tammy Smith and Lilette's route to a potential top five
• Why Will Coleman and Diabolo could be serious medal contenders
• The strength of the US eventing team
• Caroline Pamukcu and HSH Blake as ones to watch
• What Olympic qualification could mean for the US approach
• Team USA's huge Aga Khan win in Dublin

The horses are on their way to Aachen, but for the riders, grooms and support teams, the hardest part might already be behind them.
Annie Bishop is joined by Max Corcoran to pull back the curtain on everything that happens before a championship begins. From the pressure of keeping a horse healthy after selection to packing trunks, flying horses across the Atlantic and solving problems before riders even know they exist, Max shares what life is really like behind the scenes of a championship campaign. They also discuss the unique community among grooms, the logistics of traveling internationally with horses, and why simply making it to the start of a championship is an achievement in itself.
Highlights
What the final weeks before a championship are really like
Flying horses to Europe and the logistics behind the scenes
Packing for Aachen: trunks, tack and travel essentials
The role of a groom during championship week
Why making the team is only the beginning
Stories from Max's Olympic and World Championship experiences

Olivia Dutton started the final day in 12th. By the end of it, she was standing on the podium with an individual bronze medal.
With D on holiday, Annie is joined by Ali Barrett to round up the latest stories across the US Equestrian Open. They discuss the late change to the U.S. jumping team for Aachen, Dublin selections, and why the inaugural Under-25 World Championships are already proving to be such an important pathway for the sport. Ali was on the ground at Millstreet and shares what it was like watching the championship unfold.
Then Olivia joins Annie to relive an unforgettable week in Ireland. She reflects on the mistake at Tryon that nearly cost her selection, tackling one of the toughest cross-country tracks of the season, and the moment she realized her clear show jumping round had earned her an individual bronze medal. She also looks ahead to what's next for Julent and her exciting string of young horses.
Highlights
Team changes ahead of Aachen
Dublin Nations Cup selections
Why the Under-25 World Championships matter
Ali Barrett's view from Millstreet
Olivia Dutton's rise from 26th to bronze
The mistake that nearly cost Olivia selection
What's next for Olivia and Julent
Guests
Ali Barrett – EquiRatings AI & Sports Media Analyst
Olivia Dutton – Individual bronze medallist at the inaugural FEI Under-25 Eventing World Championships

Laine Ashker is doing something no one else in the US Equestrian Open has done: competing in two disciplines at once.
Annie sits down with her on this episode of the US Equestrian Open Podcast to talk about the road to a first four-star win at Maryland with Lovedance, and a Grand Prix dressage career built on Zeppelin that's already taken her to the Open Final in Thermal.
Two horses, two sports, one rider trying to qualify for both finals in the same year. Laine talks through what changed after stepping back down a level with Lovedance, the affirmations practice that's turned her season around, and how eventing and dressage have quietly been making each other better all along.
Highlights
Winning at Maryland with Lovedance
Building Zeppelin's Grand Prix freestyle
The affirmations that changed her season
Riding two sports at the top level
What dressage and eventing teach each other
Guests
Laine Ashker – five-star eventer and Grand Prix dressage rider, the first athlete to compete in both disciplines of the US Equestrian Open

Four disciplines. Dozens of names. One long exhale as Aachen finally starts feeling real. Annie and D sit down with every world championship team announcement now in hand, and the dressage squad alone gives them plenty to chew on.
A fifty-year gap between the youngest and oldest riders on one team? That's not a typo, that's just where this sport is right now. Ashley Holzer's four-decade arc from Seoul to Aachen sits next to Christian Simonson's early-twenties breakout, and somehow it all has to gel into a team.
Then there's the strength-in-depth problem nobody but Germany gets to have: an Olympic champion sitting as second reserve. Annie and D can't decide whether to be impressed or worried for everyone else.
And with Rebecca Farm kicking off, the languishing in-between period officially ends this weekend.
Highlights
Dutta Corp. US Dressage Team breakdown
Fifty years, four riders, one team
Germany's ridiculous reserve list
Eventing, jumping, para, driving and vaulting round-up
Mill Street Under 25s preview
Rebecca Farm predictions kick off