October 12, 2025 
There isn’t much that’s more American than the inaugural US Equestrian Open of Eventing Final CCI4*-L ending with an all-U.S. podium. A bald eagle might as well have swooped down over the awards ceremony, eating a hot dog.
In its first ever running, held at Morven Park, it wasn’t so much a question of whether an American would end up on top as which American would end up on top. Heading into the show jumping phase, Virginia local Will Coleman led with Off The Record, and world number five Boyd Martin trailed just behind in second place aboard Miks Master C.
In a dramatic finale, Martin and Miks Master C’s clear round pushed them to the top as Coleman and Off The Record dropped one rail in the triple combination. Martin’s name was written into the history books as winner of the first-ever US Equestrian Open of Eventing.
But there was another American who had her hand in the podium results as well, even though she’s been out of competition for over a year. Liz Halliday developed the winning 13-year-old gelding prior to her 2024 accident. Martin humbly took over the reins after always admiring him from afar.
“When Liz first bought him, I was extremely jealous,” Martin laughed after his win. “‘Mikki’ is totally my type of horse. He has a lot of Thoroughbred in him. He’s one of those horses that moves like a Warmblood, but thinks like a Thoroughbred – a true three-day eventer with an amazing gallop.”
They were slim on experience together, but Martin knew Halliday had done the proper legwork to prepare the horse for a stage like this.
“Coming into this show, I really only did one four-star short,” he continued. “So I was banking on Liz’s training and his experience that Liz put into him over the years. I had this feeling that I just had to try and give him a good ride, and he’d zip around.”
Sounds easy enough, right?
Even more impressively, Martin has now recorded 11 CCI4*-L wins in the past 17 years. No other rider has won as many wins at that level in the same amount of time.
With the best likely still ahead for this pair, Martin looks forward to solidifying his partnership with Miks Master C as they get to know each other better.
“I’m so grateful to the owners for trusting me with one of Liz’s top horses,” he said. “Miks Master C is a legend. He was Liz’s top hopeful, and this whole year we’ve just been getting to know each other. He’s an incredible horse with the right mix of power, grit, and heart.”
Coleman’s consistent performance put him into both second and third place, taking the reserve championship position with Off The Record and third with Very Dignified.
Fans of United States eventing had quite a few reasons to cheer as the weekend came to a close.
