Last Updated on March 14, 2026 by adminahb
Frederic Wandres & Verrenberg. Photo ©Centre Line Media
Wellington, Fla. – March 13, 2026 — Although only one rider can occupy the highest step of the podium, there were effectively two winners from Friday night’s Lövsta Stuteri World Cup™ Grand Prix Freestyle. The German anthem played for Frederic Wandres’ top score of 76.24% with Hof Kasselmann’s Verrenberg, but it also felt like a victory for second-placed Kevin Kohmann (USA), whose result in the showcase class of Week 10 at the 2026 Adequan® Global Dressage Festival (AGDF) secured him a start in April’s FEI World Cup™ Final in Texas. Spain’s Pablo Gomez rounded out the all-male podium and added another flag to the top trio.
Wandres gave much of the credit for his personal-best performance on Verrenberg — at 10, the youngest horse in the nine-horse starting lineup — to his fiancée, Lars Ligus. Ligus rode the Vilancio x Johnson gelding for several weeks while Wandres was in Germany, with Wandres only returning to Florida at the start of Week 10. Fittingly, Ligus was presented with the Lövsta-sponsored grooms award of $500 for his care and preparation of Verrenberg.
“He’s a really promising horse,” said Wandres, who was on the German Olympic gold medal-winning team in Paris with Bluetooth OLD. “Of course, there’s a lot to improve, and Verrenberg is a bit green here and there, but he has everything. He’s very consistent in the arena to bring these good results already at this young age, which is not so normal.
“I was wondering whether we should do the three-star or the World Cup freestyle this week, but we so love the Friday nights under the lights, so the decision was made. It’s so special for us here,” continued Wandres, who rode to a freestyle soundtrack originally put together for Bluetooth. “This is Verrenberg’s fifth CDI and he becomes better and better — I think the future looks promising for him.”
Kohmann was laser-focused on qualifying for his third straight FEI World Cup™ Final on Diamante Farms’ 17-year-old Dancier x Davignon I gelding, Dünensee. Not only did he need to finish as the top North American rider in the class, but he also needed to score more than 73.85%. Once his score of 75.715% was announced, he had an anxious wait to see if Ashley Holzer (USA) would top him.
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