Brittany Fraser-Beaulieu and Medoc Are 2026 Prix St. Georges Future Challenge Champions
By Alice Collins for Wellington International
Wellington, Fla. – March 22, 2026—Following three months of intense, world-class competition at the 2026 Adequan® Global Dressage Festival (AGDF) in Wellington, FL, the curtain came down on the last day of international dressage on Sunday, March 22. This year, the one-of-a-kind dressage circuit boasted 426 FEI entries, with 20 different nations represented and nearly 2,000 national entries.
After five qualifiers throughout AGDF, nine horse-and-rider combinations lined out to contest the Buffalo Wild Wings Prix St. Georges Future Challenge Final on Sunday, with Canadian Olympian Brittany Fraser-Beaulieu taking the champion’s sash riding Jill Irving’s 9-year-old Medoc (Vivaldi x Sir Donnerall) on 68.588%.
Reserve champion went to Lars Peterson (USA), whose test on Helgstrand Dressage’s 8-year-old New Rock (Indian Rock x Jazz) earned 67.853%, with a high score of 70% from the judge at B, Monique Peutz-Vegter (NED). Hope Cooper (USA) completed the top three line-up, riding JKS Dressage Horses’ nine-year-old mare Madelivia (Ferdinand x Chippendale) to 67.353%, rounding out a trio of Dutch Warmbloods on the podium.
The popular series is open to developing small tour horses aged 7 to 9. It is designed to offer horses with international quality the opportunity to perform a test under CDI conditions in the main ring but without some of the pressures of an international show. Riders can showcase their developing horses in the stadium for assessment by international judges.
Fraser-Beaulieu and Medoc qualified for the final during AGDF 5 with a score over 73%, though a few errors in the final pegged the score back—most notably when Medoc got his legs in a muddle in the change at the end of the final extended canter on the diagonal. The picture-perfect black gelding made up for it with exemplary trot work and a beautiful, consistent frame.
“We are so fortunate to have a class like this,” said Fraser-Beaulieu, who is the top-ranked Canadian rider at 19th in the world. “It’s amazing to get the young horses out in an environment like this with top judges. It gets them used to the show ring and the atmosphere. Jill purchased Medoc when he was 5, and he just grew. He’s a very big horse, so we took our time with him, but he’s pre-schooling all the grand prix work—it comes naturally for him.
“His piaffe/passage is phenomenal,” she continued. “So, he’ll probably be an even better grand prix horse, which is exciting. He has a lot of power; I just have to teach him how I can access it while he stays relaxed. But that takes time over the years to develop.”
Read more:
