Which 5* winner do we have kicking off our Monday news today? You won’t have to look too far to take a guess — it’s none other than Maryland 5 Star champion Austin O’Connor! Did you guess right? Click here for the latest edition and test your recognition skills.
U.S. Event Results
SAzEA Fall H.T. (AZ): [Website] [Scores]
Major International Events
Sydney International Three-Day Event CCI4*-L (Australia): [Website] [Scores] [Live Replays]
News & Reading
The FEI Eventing Nations Cup will have a refreshed format in 2026 as the FEI aims to encourage more nations to compete and to vie for the title at the season ending finale held at Military Boekelo in October. The Nations Cup will once more be hosted in the UK and Europe next year, and the teams will start from a clean slate with double points at the Final. In previous years, the Nations Cup champion was often decided in advance of the final due to points accumulation, and while points will still accrue from each leg, the Final now becomes anyone’s game. Additionally and as always, the top nation not already qualified for the next Olympics via another route (i.e. the FEI World Championships, where the top seven nations less the host nation — in this case, the U.S. for the LA28 Olympics — will earn a berth to the Games) will earn its team spot for the Olympics. You can read more on the changes to the Nations Cup format here.
TerraNova closed out the year in a big way for the start of the 2026 US Equestrian Open of Eventing series. The CCI4*-S served as a qualifier for the 2026 Final, and it was the final chance to earn some points toward that $50,000 leaderboard bonus (split among the eventual top three points earners at the end of the season). Read a full recap on that final qualifier here.
Are you participating in No Stirrup November? This concept, originating from a desire to get stronger in the saddle, has gone through several iterations over the years, and it’s important to remember that your horse’s back should not pay the price for your no stirrup practice. If you want some tips for getting stronger this month, here’s a place to start.
Video Break
Will Coleman’s Off the Record enjoying his holiday time:
