By Alice Collins for Wellington International 

The Lövsta Future Challenge developing grand prix horse final awarded a champion title to Canadian Olympian Brittany Fraser-Beaulieu for her energetic 72.5% performance on Jill Irving’s 11-year-old Jaccardo. The final, in which horses performed the FEI Young Horse Grand Prix test, took place on Friday, March 28, in the main stadium at Wellington International’s Adequan® Global Dressage Festival and offered a $10,000 prize pot.  

Marcus Orlob (USA) continued his successful week on Alice Tarjan-owned horses, finishing reserve champion on the stallion JJ Glory Day with 70.842%. Kelly Layne repeated her third-place finish from the previous year to once again take the yellow sash with her own and Eva Levy’s Living Diamond.  

The Lövsta Future Challenge is open to horses from eight to 11 years old. The class encourages riders to bring their up-and-coming international quality horses out in a championship-type environment without the pressures of a CDI, such as having to stable away from home. The series continues to grow in popularity, attracting 48 entries this season. All qualifying rounds held throughout AGDF 2025 used the FEI Intermediate II test, so the final was a step up in intensity. 

Fraser-Beaulieu has had the ride on Jaccardo, a Dutch Warmblood gelding by Desperado x Jazz, since Irving bought him in Wellington in early 2023. The horse scored eights and 8.5s across the board for his extended walk and was very concentrated in the atmospheric arena despite a stiff breeze. 

“We are over the moon to have won tonight,” said Fraser-Beaulieu, who also won the previous day’s optional warm-up class with Jaccardo. “The horse gives me a sense of secure power. Sometimes he’s a little bit cheeky, but what I need is to give him space and allow him to settle into the movement. I’m not putting too much pressure on him in the ring right now, I just want him to have a great experience so he’s ready for grand prix next year. 

“We’re so lucky to have this class, to get into the main ring at AGDF, and to get the young horses used to it all in a class like this. It’s very positive on their way to grand prix and I’m so grateful for the opportunity to participate in the Lövsta Future Challenge,” added Fraser-Beaulieu, who worked with her long-time coach Ashley Holzer to prepare Jaccardo for the final. 

Orlob presented JJ Glory Day (by Grand Galaxy Win T x Deemster) in a snaffle and their sheet was peppered with eights, but they had the misfortune of a rain squall passing over mid-test, causing a few spooky moments. 

“Unfortunately, he wasn’t happy with the flower boxes today, but I can’t be mad at him,” mused Orlob, who has been riding the nine year-old—the equal youngest in the final—since he was four. “He’s a great guy. I think he has all the elements to be a good grand prix horse; he’s spicy enough, but not stupid in the head and he likes to work. We’ll do a couple more national grands prix now, then hopefully next season start in some CDIs.”

Despite Layne’s apparent consistency with Living Diamond, she had in fact not competed the 10-year-old Livaldon x Fürst Rousseau gelding since the 2024 Lövsta final as she handed the reins over to a young rider in the interim. 

“I got the ride back as purely my horse in the last two months which is why I was so late qualifying, but I was able to put it all together to be here,” said Layne, who previously represented her native Australia—including at the Tokyo Olympics—but switched codes to ride for the U.S. a month ago. “This is the best event for the young horses and I’ve tried to be in it every year. It really helps you to understand how to ride your horses and test whether you have a partnership with them in this environment—because you know out the back it’s not the same. 

“I was so proud how focused Diamond was on me tonight,” she added. “He was on every single aid, although I still can’t ride him with the power that I’d like to show yet because I can’t quite keep it under control—as you saw in the prize ceremony. So I aimed to ride a neat, precise, accurate test.” 

Antonia Ax:son Johnson of series sponsor Lövsta Stuteri said, “The idea for this series all started when I met Tinne [Vilhelmson Silfvén] 25 years ago. She came to work with me and I asked her what was lacking in the production of top horses, and she said it was this for developing horses, so we decided to start it. 

“At first we could hardly find anyone who wanted to enter, but today we have a really strong tour in the U.S and Sweden and Amsterdam,” she continued. “We have it for jumping and dressage, and for young riders also, so we’re trying to grow this in a systematic way. Wellington is a place where we can give our horses, but also to others, an opportunity to grow and to learn at their own pace.” 

A grooms prize was awarded to each of the top three grooms: Fraser Beaulieu’s groom Julie-Anne Munns was handed a cheque for $1,500, with both Orlob’s groom Allison Nemeth and Layne’s groom Gabrielle Angelico each picking up a $750 prize. 

Click for full results of the Lövsta Future Challenge Final

Dressage competition in week 12 resumes on Saturday, March 29, with both the Diamante Farms CDI3* and the Coastal Steel Structures CDI4* Grand Prix Special classes. There is also action in Young Riders, Ponies, Amateurs, and young horse classes, as well as at all levels in the national rings this weekend. The AGDF 2025 season wraps up on Sunday. 

AGDF 2026 will kick off in the new year, with the opening week slated for January 7-11. For more information and results, and to watch all the classes hosted by Wellington International in the main arena on live stream, visit www.globaldressagefestival.com. 

Click for full results from all classes in AGDF 12.