The at-capacity Wellington International showgrounds used by the Winter Equestrian Festival would add 84 acres to offer breathing room for hunters, jumpers and dressage on one contiguous layout under a multi-faceted proposal.
While the showgrounds expansion would be good news for those competing at WEF, where space is at a premium, it’s part of a much larger plan involving 600 acres in “The Winter Equestrian Capital of the World.”
The overall concept, called The Wellington, is being spearheaded by Mark Bellissimo in collaboration with the NEXUS Luxury Collection. It must be considered by the village of Wellington’s Equestrian Preserve Committee, which has scheduled a hearing June 7 and 8; then the Planning, Zoning and Adjustment Board and eventually, the Village Council, before any portions of it can be implemented.
A look at the plans for “The Wellington.”
The concept features “resort living,” including a club community involving the Cypress Golf Course, which would have a new clubhouse, a variety of sports facilities, housing that ranges from quarter-acre sites to 5-acre farms, and a town center with a hotel and other amenities.
Some in Wellington expressed apprehension about a previous development plan presented by Bellissimo to Preserve and Zoning panel members. As well as worrying about the environmental impact, those opposing the concept were concerned it would change the equestrian ambience of Wellington and threaten portions of the land meant to be kept for activities involving horses.
This new strategy was devised “in response to feedback by various constituencies” involving the first plan, according to Bellissimo.
He has faced down opposition before. In 2007, as head of Wellington Equestrian Partners, he was finally able to get consensus on transforming the old Stadium Jumping Inc. showgrounds into the Palm Beach International Equestrian Center. That became Wellington International in 2022 after the property’s purchase by the Global Equestrian Group (GEG).
Wellington International is the site of many major competitions, including the show jumping Nations Cup. (Photo © 2023 by Nancy Jaffer)
Show jumpers and the hunters now compete at the main showgrounds, while the Adequan Global Dressage Festival is based at the Equestrian Village, a short canter away down Pierson Road. That property also has a derby field used by hunters and jumpers. That acreage and some adjacent land would go for housing and other development under the proposal. It would involve removing approximately 96 acres from the Equestrian Preserve Area and the Equestrian Overlay Zoning District. There also would be development on a polo field at South Shore Boulevard and Lake Worth.
While plans are in place for the dressage to continue at its current site in 2024, if approval is given for the new application, dressage eventually would share the current Wellington International facility with the hunters. Jumpers would move to the bordering land where clearing already was under way last winter. That area would have 12 arenas, with a stadium planned for the site as well, though that might not come to fruition until 2026. Land close to the showgrounds is valued at possibly $1 million/acre.
A view into the area that is being cleared for an annex to the Wellington International showgrounds.
Before any purchase to add to the showgrounds, zoning on the 84 acres, most of which is owned by Bellissimo, would have to be changed from residential to commercial equestrian before GEG would buy it. That change likely wouldn’t be a high hurdle, considering Village support for the shows. It would also ease the headache of traffic congestion at Pierson and South Shore, since the facility could be accessible by new entrances and exits that would enable showgoers to avoid Pierson, according to Wellington International President Michael Stone.
NEXUS was founded by billionaire Joe Lewis, a British citizen who has a residence in Orlando, Fla., and his Tavistock group. Tavistock presents a celebrity image, with golfers Tiger Woods and Ernie Els in its mix, along with singer/songwriter/actor Justin Timberlake.
As expected, right after the proposal was announced, opposition began revving up.
Suzanne Porter, president of the Mallet Hill Homeowners Association, contends Bellissimo, “is creating a bedroom community for West Palm Beach. This is no longer about horses.”
Porter, who met with Bellissimo to discuss the project, said West Palm Beach is growing as an office and commercial hub that lacks sufficient housing.
“Where it becomes a horse discussion, or where it intersects, it is using previously dedicated horse space to do this for these people.”
She believes there is no chance all the new housing would be bought by horse people.
“That demand doesn’t exist,” she commented.
“If he’s sucessful and if he sells them (the residences), it will be for people who are getting in their cars and driving down Southern Boulevard to go to work. The Village has to make a real decision about whether that’s what they want their village to become, and do they want that to happen so close to the equestrian venues.”
She added, it’s also about whether they want to give acreage from their equestrian venues to let that happen.
Porter did note that the expansion for the showgrounds is “the right thing for the horse show to do”.
Those on social media in opposition to more development are airing many of the same concerns expressed about the initial development proposal.
As trainer/rider Jimmy Torano put it on his Facebook page, “We need to keep this a horse community, not more housing and condos. There’s a place for that. Just not right here.”
It required a jump-off in Mexico, but the U.S. team won the Western Hemisphere’s first Nations Cup that is a qualifier for the Barcelona final this fall. Because of different sponsorship, the March Nations Cup in Welllington, Fla., (won by Canada) doesn’t count for the final.
Why is Barcelona such a big goal? One team from that final will qualify for Paris, which the U.S. has yet to do. And if it doesn’t happen in Barcelona, the last chance is the Pan American Games in Chile shortly thereafter. But who wants to wait for the last minute to qualify?
The team of Laura Kraut, Kent Farrington, Jessie Springsteen and Bliss Heers tied with Mexico after the first round, where Laura was the only rider in the competition to go double clear. It boiled down to a jump-off between Mexico’s Eugenio Garza Perez on Contago and Laura on Baloutinue. The Mexican rider was clear for the tiebreaker in 42.13 seconds, but Laura blazed around in 39.43 seconds to take the win.
Coach Robert Ridland was understandably exuberant.
“It was amazing. We almost went rider for rider with Mexico the entire time, which made for an incredible competition,” he said.
“By the time Laura went, we knew that we would probably be in a jump-off,” said Robert.
“The course was excellent. It was going to be a major test but also doable, but they didn’t lower the standards at all, and it was a real course. By the results, any Nations Cup that only has only one double-clear combination means it was tough.
“It was an amazing Nations Cup. It was a fantastic venue, and they’re wonderful hosts. There’s a lot on the line this year, and it was so gratifying that when we had our call to arms at the beginning of the year. Everyone, including our athletes, owners, and staff, came forward to make this happen. We have a great support team behind us.”
Even the top riders are feeling the pain as costs to enter shows continue to rise, while young riders, up-and-coming athletes and breeders are being priced out of the sport.
Read what the International Jumper Riders Club comments about this, and take a look at a story I did along similar lines earlier in the year. This is a link to that piece. Meanwhile, the FEI Sports Forum this week proposed a new system for 2024 that would have the FEI move away from the Swiss franc, and establish the Euro as the new base currency, with the U.S. dollar as the second currency, set at today’s exchange rate of 1.10.
And here’s what the IJRC has to say about the big picture: “Entry fees and associated costs have increased while the real value of prize money can vary widely due to currency fluctuations in different countries.
Meanwhile a “grey area” in the rider quota procedures means that some Organising Committees (OCs) can offer last-minute spaces to “pay cards” rather than to riders taken on merit.
Entry fees and prize money:
The FEI used to set prize money levels and entry fees using the historically strong Swiss franc (CHF) as the base. After a conference in London in 2011, the FEI enabled OCs to determine these monies using the consumer price index and inflation rate in their own countries. Since then the real value of prize money has eroded by an average of 8.3%. The variations are especially notable where they are paid in the two main currencies used at CSIs, the Euro and US$.
With shows’ own rising costs, last year the International Equestrian Organisers Alliance proposed a new scheme based on the consumer price index in Belgium; one of the highest in Europe, it has increased 18.32% in the past eight years. The IJRC lodged strong objections but while FEI did not adopt the organisers’ plan, it proposed a 10% increase in entry fees, of further detriment to riders and owners.
Currently the FEI-prescribed maximum entry fee is usually applied even where minimum prize money is offered. The entry fee includes stabling but excludes ancillary services such as electricity supply and manure removal, charges for which have increased riders’ outlay per show up to 70% in recent years. At some CSIs 3* and 4* on the European tours, riders can face additional fees of up to €20 euros a day for electricity, €100 a week for horse transporter parking and €300 for a tack box, and €30 per day to keep a horse in a stable in the short break between fixtures. (See here presentation “Lausanne, 27 March 2023 Meeting FEI, IJRC, IJOC and AJO: Conversion rates, Entry fees, Inflation”: for more detail and case studies.)
Meanwhile, a possible solution regarding prize-money for 2024 onwards was presented at the 2023 FEI Sports Forum in Lausanne on April 25. It would re-set the required prize monies in Euros rather than CHF, with a suggested initial conversion rate to US$ of 1.10. Variations would be averaged over 12 months and the system changed only if a 5% threshold was exceeded.
The IJRC appreciates the FEI’s work on the new prize-money proposal and understand the impacts of rising costs to organisers, but believes a further stakeholder consultation is necessary, especially if a formalised proposal needs to be available for FEI board discussion no later than August. The IJRC believes the entire industry has a moral obligation to keep costs as low as possible.
IJRC director Eleonora Ottaviani has also cautioned against a global harmonisation of prize money and entry fee systems, especially in Europe and North America where the markets and CSI business models are completely different.
She said: “One must also take into account that in addition to entry fees established by FEI Regulations, in Europe taxes are increasingly often added that do not comply with FEI rules, such as pay cards, tables, administrative tax etc.
“Such fees affect above all young riders, breeders and up-and-coming athletes who deserve and to be able to afford to compete in sport that respects meritocracy. The increase of the entry fee and of the costs, which are already expensive for central and southern Europe, will become unaffordable for the whole of eastern Europe, where the sport is currently undergoing promising development.”
François Mathy Jr, Vice-President of the International Jumping Riders Club (IJRC) commented: “Our objective is to keep our sport accessible for young and talented riders. A compromise must be reached in order to stop the race of the imaginative extra cost that some events put on the rider’s bill.”
Invitations:
In this same spirit of meritocracy, the IJRC is asking the FEI to reconsider two other rider invitation processes – the reallocation of unused places at CSIs, and the wild card, in the wake of anecdotal evidence that more last-minute entry opportunities are finding their way to “pay cards.”
The categories of rider than can enter any CSI can be seen here FEI Jumping Rules_Annex_V_Implementation_Guidelines_update_2023.pdf In order of priority, they are FEI Longines rankings; riders nominated by their national federation; riders personally invited by the OC; and the wild card.
The thorny issue is the OC invitation, which can be privately extended to riders further down the rankings lists, or even unranked riders who can afford to pay a substantial premium over the set entry fee; some may also buy a hospitality table for the week as an informal condition of entry. This unofficial but widespread practice is colloquially known as the pay card, an essential part of the business model for many shows.
Under current FEI rules, if a rider from the rankings category drops out after the entries deadline, this place can be filled by an OC invitation. The IJRC is asking the FEI to re-offer them to riders from the rankings.
Similarly, there is evidence that up-and-coming riders are missing wild card opportunities because the window to take advantage of them is small. Currently, wild cards must be reallocated by the second Monday before the show starts; if not, they too revert to the OC. The IJRC feels that Tuesday or Wednesday of the preceding week is a more realistic timeframe, especially if a space is notified over the weekend when national federation offices are closed.
The IJRC recognises that an extra pay card is an attractive prospect for the OC, but it is patently unmeritocratic! Reducing the number of ranked riders at a show can potentially weaken the quality of competition for spectators and broadcast, at a time of growing awareness of “social licence” to operate and the efforts taken elsewhere by the FEI to improve riding standards and enhance public perception of our sport.”
Mylestone Equine Rescue in Warren County, N.J., has an opportunity to raise $40,000 to help pay for the care of its horses via a match program involving two donors. The organization cares for neglected, abused and unwanted horses.
If $20,000 in donations come in by the end of April, the donors will match that amount.The majority of funds will go toward caring for the rescue horses, while another portion will be used to help other horses in need through Myllestone’s Equine Relief Fund.
As SusanKelly Thompson who runs Mylestone points out, “Just in the past couple of months, our vet bills have been over $9,000, so the funds are a necessity to providing long-term care for our rescue horses. In addition, we are paying 30 percent to 40 percent more for hay alone, so these funds help in feed costs as well.” That’s something every horse owner can understand these days.
On Saturday April 29 from 10 a.m.-3 p.m., Horsemen’s Outlet in Lebanon, N.J., will be hosting a tack swap, bake sale, and other in-store fundraisers to help Mylestone reach its match. The Help a Horse Day is now the biggest annual fundraiser for the Mylestone horses.
Donations must be marked “match” on checks. If donating through PayPal, let Mylestone know it is for the match.F For more information, go to www.mylestone.org.
The U.S. Equestrian Federation is requiring riders from foreign countries to become competing members of the organization if they want to enter its shows.
The deadline is September 1, giving these prospective members time to take mandatory SafeSport training if they are 18 or older. As a statement from USEF explained, “In our effort to strive for an environment that is safe for our participants and that is free from abuse, USEF aims to ensure all participants are properly trained in abuse prevention. Awareness of abuse prevention, how to recognize abuse, and how to report abuse is critical to our goal to safeguard our participants.”
The new mandate does not apply to foreign riders who are participating only in FEI competitions in the U.S.
