2025 has certainly been a good year for Boyd Martin and it has culminated in him being awarded the World Equestrian Brands United States Eventing Association (USEA) Rider of the Year at the USEA Annual Meeting and Convention Year-End Awards Ceremony.
Australian born Boyd Martin, who now resides in Pennsylvania and rides for the USA, won the award for the ninth time with an unprecedented 510 points, more than 200 points ahead of his fellow riders.
“I left home when I was very young. At 17, I left school and became a working student, and at the beginning, it was not very glamorous," says Boyd in an interview with US Eventing
"I think the thousands and thousands of hours of work that I put in while in Australia actually makes me appreciate my time here in America. It was a blessing, in a weird kind of way, to get started on my career in Australia. At the time, there was not much money in it, the quality of the horses was pretty low, and the events were a bit rustic, but in saying all of that, I learned to be a really, really good horseman.”
In 2025, Boyd was crowned the Defender/USEF CCI5*-L Eventing National Champion at the Defender Kentucky Three Day Event with Commando 3, where he also finished second, sixth, and seventh overall internationally. The results helped propel him into the World No. 1 spot on the FEI Eventing World Athlete Rankings for the first time in his career, making him the first U.S. rider to top the eventing world rankings in over 20 years.
Boyd’s horse on that occasion, the 12-year-old Holsteiner gelding Commando 3 was also recognised, taking the Standlee USEA Horse of the Year, having enjoyed two CCI5* podium finishes at Defender Kentucky and Les Etoiles de Pau (FRA) as well as helping the USA win team silver at CHIO Aachen. Freedom GS, owned and ridden by Jessica Phoenix (Canada) was the winner of the Bates USEA Mare of the Year.
Californian-based Tamie Smith was named the Bates USEA Lady Rider of the Year after a year that saw the retirement of her top horse Mai Baum who concluded his career in winning fashion, claiming the CCI4*-S title at Rebecca Farm. It was an event that also saw the rise of her young horses, Lillet 3, who took CCI4*-L victory at The Event at Rebecca Farm and Kynan, who also delivered an impressive fourth-place finish there.
