March 5, 2025 
It may not being going out like a lamb, but it is shaping up to be a busy March for the eventing world.
This week, in a blow to the sport, it was announced that the Grand Slam of Eventing will not run in 2025. The famous series, which has only been won by two athletes in its 24-year history, was put on indefinite hold after Rolex pulled its longstanding sponsorship this season.
Awarded to the rider who earns consecutive victories at Defender Kentucky, Mars Badminton, and Defender Burghley, the Grand Slam of Eventing was one of eventing’s most lucrative prizes, offering a $350,000 bonus for winners since 2008.
Pippa Funnell of Great Britain first rode Primmore’s Pride and Supreme Rock to a Grand Slam win in 2003. Twelve years later, three-time Olympic Champion Michael Jung of Germany repeated the feat aboard La Biosthetique-Sam FBW and FischerRocana FST.
“The organizers of the Grand Slam of Eventing are currently exploring alternative formats for the series,” US Equestrian said in a press release after appeals for a new title partner proved to be unsuccessful. “While discussions with potential sponsors are ongoing, a new sponsor for the series has not been identified at this time.”
Meanwhile, the inaugural U.S. Open of Eventing series returns this week to continue its 2024/2025 season. This year will kick off at Bouckaert Farm in Fairburn, Georgia (March 6-9), the third of almost 20, 4* qualifying legs taking place across the country this season. Two more qualifiers will follow this month: Carolina (March 13-16) in Raeford, North Carolina; and TerraNova (March 27-30) in Myakka City, Florida.
With $1.5 million in prize money on offer across all three disciplines, the US Equestrian Open Series hopes to elevate American horse sports in order to better prepare riders riders for the championship demands of the 2028 Los Angeles Olympic Games.
Geared, primarily, toward strengthening America’s dressage and eventing programs, the U.S. Equestrian Open of Eventing Series will award $50,000 in prize money to the three-highest placed combinations following the conclusion of the 2024/2025 qualifying period. An additional $200,000 will be distributed at the US Equestrian Open of Eventing CCI*4-L Final at Morven Park (October 9-12) in Leesburg, Virginia.
Though it’s still early in the year, U.S. rider Phillip Dutton currently has a dominant lead in the standings on 75 points. Jennie Jarnstrom-Dennis of Sweden sits in second on 45 points; while Emily Mastervich Beshear and Sara Kozumplik, both of the USA, are tied in third place on 40 points.
