By Alice Collins for Wellington International 

Fifteen up-and-coming small tour horses lined out in the Buffalo Wild Wings Future Challenge FEI Prix St. Georges on Sunday, February 23, the closing day of action in week seven of the 2025 Adequan® Global Dressage Festival (AGDF) in Wellington, FL. The top three all finished within half a percentage point of each other, and the top two horses—who both picked up tickets to the final in AGDF 12—were sired by sons of Totilas. 

U.S. athletes filled the top three spots, with Rebecca Cohen piloting Carol Cohen Hodess and Blake Hodess’ nine-year-old Prince Of Hope, by Total Hope, to 70.559% and the blue sash. Ashley Holzer was the other qualifier for the final, producing a 70.059% test on her own Toto Jr. son Liberty L, another nine-year-old gelding. Andrea Woodard was just 0.05 percentage points behind with a 70% test on Enter At A LLC’s eight-year-old Revolution mare, Roxette. 

Cohen now has a horse qualified for the final of both the Buffalo Wild Wings Future Challenge and the big tour Lövsta Future Challenge, which had been one of her main goals this year. 

“This season I wanted to have my young grand prix horse [Jameson, whom she qualified with a win in week three’s Lövsta Future Challenge] and Prince in the [Buffalo Wild Wings] final, so now I’ve accomplished that and I’m really excited,” she said.

Cohen is a native of Wellington and trains out of her mother Carol’s 3 Graces Dressage, another sponsor of the AGDF series. As well as having a barn full of dressage horses, Rebecca Cohen is also an avid polo player. She has owned Prince Of Hope since he was six. 

“It’s been a really fun journey to develop him to a small tour horse, especially considering that when I first got Prince he got injured and had a year off,” she said. “I’m really happy about today. He gets better and better every time I go in there. Even if the scores don’t always show an upward trend, I feel that he’s more with me and knows his job.

“His highlights are always the trot work and the canter pirouettes. The changes I still need to work on; he’s not as strong in them and goes a bit from side to side, but with more strength and time they’ll get better,” she continued. “He’s the funniest horse ever. He’ll never bite or kick though he pulls faces and has an attitude, but he’s sweet.”

Cohen has been competing at AGDF since its inception, rising through the ranks from juniors. She appreciates the broad opportunities the showground offers.  

“I’ve been living here my whole life and I’m turning 30 this year,” she added. “It’s been great to have a place to go back to all the time and the horses really enjoy competing here. Having this many shows so close to home has also helped develop me as a rider. The developing classes are a super opportunity to get the horses in the big arena without the pressure of doing a full CDI. Both the Lövsta and Buffalo Wild Wings classes are wonderful.” 

Lövsta Future Challenge  

Week seven held the next qualifier for the Lövsta Future Challenge FEI Intermediate II, a developing class for emerging grand prix horses. Canada’s Brittany Fraser-Beaulieu led the charge, more than 2.5 percentage points clear of her rivals. She rode Jill Irving’s nine-year-old Desperado gelding Jaccardo to a unanimous 71.353% victory to punch her card for the final in week 12. 

Erin Nichols (USA) booked the other qualifying spot on offer by finishing second on Premiere Sport Horses’ 10-year-old Governor gelding, Kind Pleasure. Hope Beerling (AUS) logged 67.353% on Sarah Colson’s nine-year-old Evaslunds Daydream (by Hesselhøj Donkey Boy) for third place. 

In the CDIU25 FEI Grand Prix Freestyle, 20-year-old Ella Fruchterman pulled off a new personal best of 69% to top the all-U.S. class riding her and her father Todd Fruchterman’s 16-year-old Danish mare Hannah Montana W, by Blue Hors Doolittle. Fruchterman has already earned her bronze, silver and gold USDF medals and, with Hannah Montana, is the current USDF Finals Open Intermediate II titleholder. 

https://youtu.be/aMy_qtvC1uo

Josh Albrecht rode Coalcyn Equestrian LLC’s 14-year-old Goldenboy Vinckenburgh (by Apache) into second with 68.72%. Sophia Schults rounded out the podium, finishing third with 67.525% on her own Pura Raza Española (PRE) Conocido HGF, a 13-year-old gelding who was bred by Hampton Green Farm. 

Full results from AGDF 7.

Sunday’s action wraps up week seven of the 12-week 2025 AGDF. International competition resumes on February 26-March 2 for Palm Beach Derby week, which also hosts the final World Cup dressage qualifier of the season ahead of the final in Basel, Switzerland in April. Weekly competition continues in the national rings. AGDF hosts seven weeks of CDI competition over three months, finishing March 30. For more information, results, and to watch the live stream, visit www.globaldressagefestival.com.