Lövsta Future Challenge/Young Horse Grand Prix Series Supports Local Community

Wellington, FL – February 22, 2021 – The second installment of the $15,000 Lövsta Future Challenge/Young Horse Grand Prix Series is well underway at the 2021 Adequan® Global Dressage Festival (AGDF) in Wellington, Florida. In addition to providing a fantastic opportunity for young grand prix horses, Lövsta donates money from every entry in the Future Challenge to Friends of Palm Beach, a local non-profit dedicated to helping the environment and people in need.

The series idea, originally set up by Tinne Vilhelmson Silfvén and Louise Nathhorst in its home country of Sweden as a talent development program, is for horses age eight to ten years old at the Grand Prix level. Combinations compete in the FEI Intermediate II test, and the winners of each qualifier are invited to the Series Finale during AGDF 12.

Early on, Lövsta Future Challenge also decided to focus on other aspects of competition development, including the environment, sustainability, and a deeper respect for horses through their philosophy of horsemanship. The talent tour is about searching for knowledge and reaching for perfection, embracing the joy of partnership between the horse and rider, and leaving a sustainable footprint within the equestrian sport.

In 2020, Lövsta donated $8,500 to Friends of Palm Beach. At this year’s AGDF, Lövsta will do the same, by donating $250 for every entry in the Lövsta Future Challenge/Young Horse Grand Prix Series.

—“For us at Lövsta Stuteri, sustainability has been a strong driving force,” said Ax:son Johnson. “Our slogan is ‘Save the earth. It’s the only planet with horses.’ To underline our commitment, we have decided to support the charitable organization Friends of Palm Beach with $250 for every entry in the Lövsta Future Challenge once again this season. This fine group of people clean the Palm Beach beaches from trash to support the beautiful creatures of the sea and keep our beaches clean and environmentally safe. The beauty of our ocean and the beauty of our horses align.”

Friends of Palm Beach is a 501(c)3 organization that cleans the beaches of Palm Beach regularly to remove incoming plastics, trash, and unnatural debris and to educate the community on the effects of this on our environment and marine life. They partner with other non-profit job placement programs to help end the cycle of homelessness while also helping to end the cycle of trash in our ocean.

Weeks 3, 5, and 6 of AGDF 2021 were host to the qualifying classes, with four more qualifiers to go. Week 3 awarded the victory to Germany’s Christoph Koschel and Delmonte 7, a 2011 Oldenburg stallion by Destano owned by Koschel Dressage GmbH, who dominated with a 75.367%. Week 5 welcomed a win for Canada’s Pia Fortmuller and Busch, Lars, and Pia Fortmuller’s 2011 Hanoverian mare by Furstenball, Frieda, with a 72.352%. It was Alice Tarjan (USA) and Harvest, her own 2012 KWPN stallion by Connaisseur, that topped the AGDF 6 qualifier to earn their invitation to the Lövsta Future Challenge Series Finale at AGDF 12 with a 72.573%.

To find out more about Friends of Palm Beach, visit www.friendsofpalmbeach.com.