By Alice Collins for Wellington International

Twelve promising small tour horses went down centerline in the Buffalo Wild Wings Future Challenge FEI Prix St. Georges on Sunday, March 16, hunting one of the two remaining slots in week 12’s prestigious grand final. Sunday marked the closing day of week 10 of the 2025 Adequan® Global Dressage Festival (AGDF) in Wellington, FL. 

The class is open to developing small tour horses aged seven to nine. As with all the developing horse series at AGDF—of which there are three—they are designed to offer horses with international quality the opportunity to perform a test in front of a panel of international judges in the atmospheric main stadium at Wellington International’s dressage venue without some of the additional pressures of an international, such as a trot-up, or having to stable overnight at the venue for several days.  

In the Prix St. Georges Future Challenge in AGDF 10, Canadians occupied two of the three top spots. Belinda Trussell and the eight-year-old mare Quincy—who qualified in AGDF 5—topped the class on 71.206%. Andrea Woodard slotted in between the two Canadians with a 69.471% performance for second on Enter at A LLC’s eight-year-old Roxette. The Revolution x Quite Easy mare earned a ticket to the final in two weeks’ time. Camille Carier Bergeron finished third on her own MSJ Fürst Zonik (by Fürstenball x Zonik), another eight-year-old, and picked up the second ticket, as qualification passed down to non-qualified combinations. 

Trussell is still building a relationship with Susan Zucker’s diminutive mare Quincy (by Quantensprung x De Niro), as she was imported from Europe in the summer of 2024.

“I’m super happy that I get to do the final,” said Trussell, who is a two-time Olympian. “Quincy is a new horse for me. She came over from Europe and she was green with some of the upper level stuff. We’ve been getting to know each other, solidifying the relationship, and getting her used to the climate.

“We call her Mouse. At first it was because she was tiny, and now she’s Mighty Mouse. I love this horse so much. She has kindness in her eye, she’s delicate but then she has fire at the same time. Here is this tiny mouse coming, but when she clicks on, watch out! It’s so important to find these horses that physically have the ability and that mentally are okay with the stimuli so we can get to the point where we have beautiful dressage that looks soft and effortless.”

Trussell appreciates the developing horse classes as a vital step on the challenging road to international grand prix. 

“This was a good opportunity to give Quincy a bit more mileage,” continued Trussell. “I love that these classes exist for the young horses so that we can prepare them from a younger age to deal with this kind of environment. She’s been good every time this season so I know she can handle the environment, but she does get hot so I have to figure out what triggers that and how to keep a lid on it and how to use it for good. That’s part of this whole journey.

“This season has been amazing for her and for me too; I’ve gotten better at going in there and focusing on riding the horse and not on what the judge is thinking. I can feel that the consistency of going out and showing [consistently across the AGDF season] is super important.”

After the final in week 12, Trussell will focus on moving Quincy up to Intermediate I level and possibly contesting some CDIs. The bigger picture remains the international grand prix ring, the pathway to which she feels is facilitated by classes such as the Prix St. Georges Future Challenge. 

Buffalo Wild Wings Small Tour Future Challenge Qualified Finalists
AGDF3 Molly O’Brien on Fortunato H2O 73.676%
AGDF3 Mary Haskins Gray on Rutherford 72.402%
AGDF5 Belinda Trussell on Quincy 2017 71.412%
AGDF5 Hope Beerling on Top Gem 2017 69.823%
AGDF7 Rebecca Cohen on Prince Of Hope 70.559%
AGDF7 Ashley Holzer on Liberty L 70.059%
AGDF8 Ashley Holzer on Derek 75.049%
AGDF8 Callie O’Connell on Franky Di Fonteabeti 72.353%
AGDF10 Andrea Woodard on Roxette 69.471%
AGDF10 Camille Carier Bergeron on MSJ Fürst Zonik 68.117%

Layne and Williams Book Big Tour Finals Spots 

In the final qualifier in the Lövsta Future Challenge Developing Grand Prix horse series, U.S. athletes Kelly Layne and Jennifer Williams scooped the two remaining qualification berths. Layne rode her own and Eva Levy’s 10-year-old Livaldon x Fürst Rousseau Hanoverian gelding Living Diamond to the win with 68.5%. Williams booked her ticket to the finals with her own Babylon Berlin, a 10-year-old by Bordeaux x Sandro Hit, with a 67.735% performance.  

The series is for emerging big tour horses aged eight to 11. In each qualification round, competitors tackled an Intermediate II test. In the week 12 final, which carries a prize pot of $15,000, horses will perform a Grand Prix level test.  

Lövsta Big Tour Future Challenge Qualified Finalists
AGDF3 Rebecca Cohen on Jameson 67.912%
AGDF3 Austin Webster on Guildenstern Sol 65.441%
AGDF5 Hannah Bressler Jaques on Jim 70.353%
AGDF5 James Irwin on Flirtfaktor S 67.059%
AGDF7 Brittany Fraser-Beaulieu on Jaccardo 71.353%
AGDF7 Erin Nichols on Kind Pleasure 68.735%
AGDF8 Marcus Orlob on JJ Glory Day 73.294%
AGDF8 Amanda Perkowski on Sonata MF 70.618%
AGDF10 Kelly Layne on Living Diamond 68.5%
AGDF10 Jennifer Williams on Babylon Berlin 67.735%

Young Horses

In the young horse ranks, Alice Tarjan took advantage of the last qualification opportunity, leading the class for five and six-year-old horses on her own six-year-old stallion Orado (by Desperado x Johnson). They sealed a starting spot on the roster for the final in week 12. 

 Young Horse Future Challenge Qualified Finalists
AGDF3 Jennifer Williams on Jackpot 76.6%
AGDF5 Hope Cooper on O Romeo S 83.2%
AGDF7 Madeleine Bendfeldt on Zapatero 77.2%
AGDF8 Beatrice Boucher on First Delight 2019 78.6%
AGDF10 Alice Tarjan on Orado 82.6% Email

Full results from the national and developing horse classes in AGDF 10.  

Full results from the CDI classes in AGDF 10.

Sunday’s action wraps up week 10 of the 12-week 2025 AGDF. International competition resumes during AGDF 12 (March 26-30), which is a CDI4*. Weekly action continues in the national rings. AGDF hosts seven weeks of CDI competition over three months, finishing March 30. Spectator entry is free. For more information, results, and to watch the live stream, visit www.globaldressagefestival.com.