Prince of Hope Lives Up to His Name for Cohen in Future Challenge Prix St. Georges Qualifier

Rebecca Cohen & Prince of Hope. Photo ©susanjstickle.com

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.

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.

CDIU25 FEI Grand Prix Freestyle

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.

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.

by Alice Collins

Wellington International
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