It’s boom times for the Winter Equestrian Festival, and the Adequan Global Dressage Festival as well.
At a press conference today, representatives of those entities, along with a show jumper and dressage rider, told us what we already knew: Wellington, Florida continues to be the go-to for many of the world’s top show jumping and dressage competitors. With both venues offering a total of nearly $13.7 million in prize money, it’s no wonder they are projected to draw a combined total of approximately 10,500 horses for the winter season.
The new Wellington International sign at last year’s unveiling.
That’s why the Palm Beach International Equestrian Center last year was re-christened Wellington International, acknowledging a different ownership for the home of WEF and an emphasis on horse well-being and spectator care.
As Wellington International President Michael Stone explained, the name “showed a clear change for where we were to where we are now.”
The transformed showgrounds has three new permanent barns, something riders had been wanting for “a very long time,” as Michael put it.
Flood-prone arenas number seven and eight were re-done as well. It’s all part of the $9 million spent so far by the Global Equestrian Group, which purchased the facility in 2021.
“Everyone is really appreciative of these changes,” said show jumper Brianne Goutal-Marteau.
Although Wellington once was the destination for equestrians wanting to spend the winter in Florida, it now faces competition from the glossy World Equestrian Center in Ocala, where amenities include a 4-star hotel, a variety of restaurants and state-of-the-art stables, along with a bevy of top-class arenas, both indoors and out. And the brand new sleek TerraNova Equestrian Center just east of Sarasota, Fla., on the state’s west coast, which opened just last year, is also a high-end facility.
Michael Stone, Brianne Goutal-Marteau, Adrienne Lyle, Thomas Baur.
But one of Wellington’s advantages is housing; many of the riders, trainers and owners have bought or are able to rent property in the area. That means they are just minutes away from the showgrounds—some can even ride their horses over.
As Brianne noted, what used to be a 12-week season can now be as long as five months (Wellington International had summer and fall shows), which is a bonus for competitors with families. Brianne has two children, and after a long circuit up north, she said she is “relieved to get here.” Staying in one place for months has big benefits in view of how much time equestrians spend on the road overall.
Brianne also pointed out that the time in Wellington benefits development of horses, since they have such a long period to be trained and get used to the routine.
“All of a sudden, you see babies are almost veterans by the end,” she commented. The fact that WEF offers such a variety of levels culminating at the top, is also an advantage.
Neither WEC nor TerraNova has the numbers drawn by Wellington, or the big money FEI show jumping grands prix often used in selecting team candidates for international championships.
Both Michael and Thomas Baur, who runs Global, noted that Olympic qualifying already has started, and Wellington also will be a destination for those pointing toward the Asian Games and the Pan American Games, set for November in Chile. While for the past several years the dressage Nations Cup didn’t have enough countries participating with teams to make it an official competition of that nature, Thomas noted more countries, including Australia and Spain, are considering fielding squads, along with the omnipresent U.S., Canada and Germany.
Olympic dressage medalist Adrienne Lyle is hoping to qualify for the FEI World Cup finals in Omaha this April, and was happy she could earn points with an early start aboard Salvino in December at Global, before the regular season at the site gets under way.
Adrienne Lyle is a favorite of the Friday Night Lights frestyle crowd. (Photo © by Nancy Jaffer)
“It is honestly one of the coolest atmospheres I think I’ve ridden anywhere in the world,” she said.
“The electricity and enthusiasm on a Friday night you know, freestyles, is really incredible. You can feel it as a rider, your horses can feel it. It’s really an experience I’m not sure you could get anywhere else,” Adrienne contended.
Dressage riders also will have a chance to broaden their horizons by riding at the WEF showgrounds rather than Globbal in week 10 for their 5-star competition.
Changes at the showgrounds have also affected spectators, with peaked tents over the box seats being removed to offer more standing room. The internet on site is improved as well.
Not everything goes as planned, of course. Michael apologized for a parking snafu last weekend as WEF opened, with long delays to get into the venue. He said the police handling it were new, and promised organizers will “get it solved for the rest of the season.”
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