United States Eventing Association

Lexington, Ky.—Aug. 27—The Bates USEA Preliminary Championships came to an exciting conclusion Thursday at the 2026 USEA American Eventing Championships (AEC) presented by Nutrena Feeds, as competitors headed into the Rolex Stadium with championship titles on the line. After three phases of competition at the Kentucky Horse Park, the final rails had fallen, the victory gallops had been made, and three horse-and-rider combinations emerged as the newest AEC champions in the Bates USEA Preliminary Amateur, Rider, and Open championships.

Bates USEA Preliminary Rider Championship

Lexington-based rider Allie Knowles led the Bates USEA Preliminary Open Division from start to finish, taking home the champion title on her dressage score of 26.9 aboard Katherine O’Brien’s Tip Top Quality.

Knowles has ridden the 7-year-old Belgian Warmblood for about a year, after buying him sight unseen at the urging of trainer, coach and mentor Ian Stark.

“Ian found him for me in England on Facebook,” she confirmed. “Then he went and tried him, and it was just kind of, maybe serendipitous. He’d been through a few sales barns in the hunter/jumper world and really hadn't found his niche. Ian did his first cross-country school on him that day, and I couldn't get over there quick enough to ride him, and so, yet again, on Ian's word, we just bought him sight unseen, and he has been spectacular.”

Indeed, the “superb” 7-year-old just started eventing last year and has proven to be not only talented but super-genuine, Knowles shares. They contested their first CCI3* at Bouckaert (Fairburn, Georgia) last week, and Knowles planned to run him back at the Preliminary level this weekend in case he needed a confidence boost.

"And he's really nailed it,” she said with a smile. “I didn't realize we were going to start competing on Tuesday, so I felt a little bit bad for him but he has answered all the questions, and he's just been phenomenal. He won last weekend. He won this week, and he just just really didn't put a foot wrong. I can't fault him on anything. He lost a shoe in the very beginning of cross-country, and he just dug in.”

Tip Top Quality will now enjoy a well-earned break before ramping back up to finish his season at Morven Park in the USEA/USEF Developing Horse Championships, which Knowles is philosophical about.

"I think it is a really gigantic ask," she said. "The last two years, it hasn't ridden amazingly well; it's caused quite a lot of problems, and it's been very difficult, but given all the information I have, whether he finishes it in first or he finishes it by walking home, I think it's going be a learning experience for him. I think it's going to be good for him. He's tougher than he seems is what I've learned. He’s a little bit frail, like in his body, he's very light, very dainty, and he's a little bit fragile when you ride him in the contact, and he kind of seems worried,” she elaborated. "But then when you really put it to him he always answers, and this weekend and last, I was like, ‘Wow! I think he might end up being the best cross-country horse I've ever had!’ ”

Considering the strength and depth of Knowles’ and O’Brien’s horsepower currently, that is high praise indeed.

Texas-based Louisville native Lauren Lambert moved up to be Reserve Champion on her own and Anna Hailey’s FE Alfonso Z (Asca Z x Indira Van De Veldhowek), adding nothing to their dressage score of 29.

FE Alfonso, an 8-year-old Zangersheide gelding was imported by Clayton Fredericks and caught Lambert’s eye in Ocala as a rising 5-year-old. “I just saw him across the dressage warm up,” she said, “and he kind of walked up and made eye contact with me, and it was love at first sight.”

Since then it’s been a work in progress. “He's a bit powerful and a little bigger than maybe my normal type of ride,” she admitted, “but I knew it would come together, and it's taken a few years for him to really be able to harness his power. I think this year it's coming together”.

They’re using the USEA AEC this weekend as a stepping stone to the CCI3*-L at Tryon [Mill Spring, North Carolina]. “I really wasn't expecting to come out and go for time on cross-country this weekend,” Lambert added, “but he loves to run, and he likes to run fast, and he was coming back to me, so we went out and had a good time. And here we are. He left all the rails up; he's really dependable in the show jumping.”

This weekend was FE Alfonso’s third trip to the USEA AEC, and Lambert also produced the 2026 Bates USEA Preliminary Amateur Champion, Elle White’s ride Biscotti. “It's really special to develop these horses, and then have the pleasure of pairing them with incredible young riders or adult riders, and watching them succeed. It's just the greatest joy”

The plan is to keep FE Alfonso and to take him up the levels as far as they can go; does that mean all the way?

“Absolutely,” Lambert is convinced. “I sure do [think he can be a top level horse]. He has the heart of a lion. It's just me figuring him out. I'm learning a lot from this horse because he is the most lofty, powerful horse I've ever ridden. But he has the heart of a lion.”

Rounding out the Kentucky top three in the Bates USEA Preliminary Open division is Lexington rider Alexandra Baugh on Altorac Farm’s Hubert Des 3 Arbres (Troubador D’Aurel x Ulm Du Bouly), a 13-year-old Belgian Sporthorse fondly known as "Frenchie" in the barns. They’ve been together for three years, but a bad fall from a different horse last year, and then another earlier this spring was a factor in Baugh deciding to drop down a couple of levels this summer.

“We sort of just decided, you know what, we're not trying to be heroes out here," she said. "I've gone Advanced on the horse, but I wanted to take him out in the Prelim, get him feeling really happy, get me feeling better again, getting used to going out the start box. And this weekend, actually, it was the first time in a long time we've gone out the start box, and it actually felt like it was easy, and I knew exactly what he was going to do, he knew what I was going to do, and I could make tighter turns, and knew he'd pick up on it. And it was actually really great.”

Bates USEA Preliminary Amateur Championship

Elle White on Lindsay White and Elizabeth Rader’s Biscotti (Benidetto x Hey Nurse) are your 2026 Bates USEA Preliminary Amateur Champions, jumping clear over the colored poles in the Rolex Arena to take the win on their dressage score of 30.7. Biscotti evented up the three-star level with Elle’s trainer in Texas, Lauren Lambert, and she's has had the ride for almost two years.

“He's just been the best teacher I could ask for,” she beamed, “and he's the best boy! I knew he could come here and do his job, so I'm really happy with him.”

Elle and the 14-year-old Rheinland Pfalz-Saar moved up to the Preliminary level in Ocala this spring and competed in the CCI2* Young Rider Championships, where White was a working student with coach Karen O’Connor. The USEA AEC is a stepping stone on their way to the CCI2*-L at Tryon this fall, and with both O’Connor and Lambert on site to give advice this weekend, Elle had plenty of expert help.

“What really helped me coming down here was [Karen] said it was just another day in the office, and I kept telling myself that, and telling my horse that as I was walking down the ramp, and that was really helpful to me and kept me breathing too.”

Despite a rail down, Lauren Hoover and her own Monbeg Capricorn (Capri Van Overis Z x ESI Lady), a 10-year-old Irish Sport Horse that she’s ridden for about five years, moved up one spot to finish in second place on 37.0. Hoover took over the ride from Olivia Dutton, and they competed in the CCI3* at Terranova (Myakka City, Florida) this spring. Based in Dallas, Texas, Hoover spent the summer juggling a full-time job as an accountant with building a new farm and house and moving in, so this was their first competition back since March.

“I felt really rusty on cross-country yesterday,” she admitted, “but that's his jam. We've got a good partnership now, so he never felt too strong or anything, and then on the flip side, I wasn't quite sure if I'd done enough conditioning because it's the ground's been so hard in Texas. It's been really hard to do our canter sets, so I wasn't quite sure how we would jump today, and he jumped great. The rail that I had was me, so I'm pretty happy with that actually.”

Dressage leaders Jordan Duffett and Charlie Il Postino (Indoctro x Call Me Kyrah) added only cross-country time to their original score of 26.1 to finish in third place, a fraction behind Hoover on 37.3. Duffett found Charlie, a 10-year-old Holsteiner gelding, on a trip to Germany with her friend and upper level rider, Katie Malensek, and imported him as a 6-year-old.

"I've produced him up to this level, and he's been such a joy to produce. Best brain, and he just wants to work and give it his all," she said.

They looked at tons of horses on their trip but Duffett said she knew Charlie was "the one."

“I love his canter, absolutely love it, and just pretty much that. I don't know. I could just tell when I was cantering him around that he could jump out of any stride, and yeah, I knew.” They are hoping to do a CCI2*-L to finish out the season this year, and then “just keep going. He's such a trier, and we just need to keep solidifying the phases.”

Bates USEA Preliminary Rider Championship

Shelby Bradley and her gorgeous gray Commando D’Osthuy (Ogano Sitte x Up Star D’Osthuy) led the Bates USEA Preliminary Rider division from start to finish, adding nothing to her dressage score of 28.5 to clinch the win. Commando previously evented with Sydney Elliot and did some show-jumping with Jacob Fletcher, but Bradley confided that she was still anxious as she waited to enter the Rolex Stadium as the last rider in her class.

"I felt very nervous. Show jumping has never been my strongest phase, but 'Commando' has given me a lot of confidence in it and taught me a lot.” The cross-country phase the day before however was, “so much fun! It was amazing. I thought it was a great track. It was well designed, lots of fun questions but they were fair, and it's always fun to get to gallop around in Kentucky!”

Bradley hails from Arkansas and has a busy program of students, many of whom are competing alongside her this weekend.

“It just helps keep things in perspective. Like I try really hard to tell myself the same things I would tell them. Like go out there and just do your best and have fun. And yes, there's pressure, but enjoy the pressure. And we do the training at home, and we prepare for this. And then you just get to come here and perform. So it helps me to keep everything in perspective too, and just know that we just need to all have fun.”

Reese Dellangelo was faultless in both jumping phases on Michael Dellangelo’s Figaro Des Premices (Quidam De Revel x Acapela De Kreisker) to finish on their dressage score of 29.8 and take the Reserve Championship title. Figaro Des Premices competed at the Paris Olympics with Alexander Peternell, and the 11-year-old gelding found his way to Dellangelo’s barn via her trainer Susie Beale and mutual friend Austin O’Connor.

“He's very nice to look at,” she described acquiring him last August, “but he also knows his job, and he knows how to take care of me, and that was something that we were kind of looking for, and he definitely does that for me.”

Third place in the Bates USEA Preliminary Rider division went to Adelyn Rinehart and Corona Life (Catoo x Sandra VI) a horse she’s ridden for the last four years or so. Rinehart got "Clara" from Sharon White, and trains with Meghan O’Donoghue and Alyssa Phillips; she was happy that they completed their first Intermediate together before coming to the USEA AEC as it gave her added confidence.

“She's just such a wonderful horse; she's my first like real quality horse that I've had, and she's giving me the taste of competitiveness and that that we can be competitive and come out and have a great result. It was a really nice setup coming here, being like, ‘Oh, we've done bigger fences, so we can kind of come here and take a little bit of the notch off and just show off a bit.' So yeah, it was awesome!”

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About the USEA American Eventing Championships (AEC)

The USEA American Eventing Championships (AEC) presented by Nutrena Feeds is the pinnacle of the sport at the national levels. Held annually, the best junior, adult amateur, and professional competitors gather to vie for national championship titles at every level from Starter to Advanced. This ultimate test of horse and rider draws hundreds of combinations from around the country to compete for fabulous prizes, a piece of the substantial prize money, and the chance to be named the National Champion at their respective levels. In fact, the 2021 AEC garnered over 1,000 entries and now stands as the largest eventing competition in North American history. The 2026 USEA American Eventing Championships presented by Nutrena Feeds will be held on Aug. 25-30 at the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington, Kentucky. Click here to learn more about the USEA American Eventing Championships.

The USEA would like to thank Presenting Sponsor: Nutrena Feeds; Advanced Final Title Sponsor: Adequan; Platinum Level Sponsors: Bates Saddles, Marshall+Sterling Equine Insurance; Gold Level Sponsors: ARMA, Gallaghers Water, PulseVet, Schneiders Saddlery, SmartPak, Standlee; Silver Level Sponsors: Auburn Labs, Kerrits, The Jockey Club Thoroughbred Incentive Program, Rood & Riddle; Bronze Level Sponsors: 70°, Antech Diagnostics, Athletux, The Chronicle of the Horse, Devoucoux, D.G. Stackhouse & Ellis, Dubarry of Ireland, Equestrian Team Apparel, Grayson-Jockey Club Research Foundation, John Deere, Retired Racehorse Project, Ride EquiSafe, Santa Cruz Animal Health; Contributing Level Sponsors: AnimaSol, CrossCountry App, Foxhollow Farm, Georgetown/Scott County Tourism, Kentucky Equine Research, Kentucky Horse Park Foundation, Lexmark, LV Harkness, Only Fools and Horses, #WeRideTogether, YETI; and Prize Level Sponsors: ARRO Helmets, The Dad Den, Dandy Products, Equiluxe Tack, Equine IMED, FLAIR Equine Nasal Strips, I Love My Horse Boutique, The Infused Equestrian, Love Equestrian, Majyk Equipe, Mare Modern Goods, Natalie Hummel Coaching, Neighborly Tack, Outlaw Nutrition, Parkmore Supplements, Peak Performance Equine Spa, Poseidon Animal Health, Rachel Dory Fine Art, Right Path Equestrian, Saddle Bird Boutique, Sidelines Magazine, Strides For Equality Equestrians, STRIDER, Stylish in the Saddle, VTO Saddlery, and XLR8 Equine.