There’s a new spirit at Wellington International

As he drove his golf cart around the Wellington International showgrounds this week, Equestrian Sport Productions CEO Murray Kessler spotted a piece of rubbish in the stabling area. He stopped the cart, retrieved the stray plastic bottle and some crumpled pieces of paper, carrying them away for later deposit in a trash can.

“Lead by example,” Murray explained, heading for said can and dusting it off with a rag before throwing away the litter he had picked up.

What he was doing could be compared to the foreman walking the shop floor. At any company, the foreman is engaged in coordinating the efforts of multiple workers, ensuring productivity and maintaining quality standards. That’s just what Murray aims to do.

He recalled when the 2025 Winter Equestrian Festival got under way 12 weeks ago, people were still throwing trash out of the car windows as they drove off. Since then, there’s been a culture change at the landmark Florida facility 40 minutes from Palm Beach.

Wellington Lifestyle Partners, the new owner of the showgrounds, is committed to its long-term viability. The partnership took over just five weeks before the start of the circuit, with maintenance revving up as much as possible in a short time frame.

“We made a lot of substantive change, but there will be a lot more next year,” Murray promised.

“We’re keeping it clean and people are noticing it. Now you go there at the end of the day, and there’s nothing,” he observed about the absence of debris, aside from the few strays he found. But there are plenty of other issues at the showgrounds, as the original venue is being melded into new territory, “Pod F,” to expand the facility to 100 acres.

Four rings built on Pod F are used for schooling at the moment, which gives horses and riders room to spread out. The merger of the properties, which is going to take several years to complete, will not only alleviate crowded conditions, but means a big refresh for a venue that hosts 28 weeks of shows in addition to WEF, and frankly, was rundown.

“The bones of this place are old, it’s time for a makeover,” said trainer Lauren Hough.

“I want there to be a world class faciilty here. I think they have a limited space to do it, so they’re going to have to be quite clever about it,” the Olympic rider continued.

“I want the best for this, of course, because this is our home. My family is here. I do have the utmost faith in Murray. He’s taken on much bigger things than this. So we’ll hold our breath and hope for the best.”

Great Britain’s Ben Maher, the 2021 individual Olympic show jumping gold medalist, noted when he won the season’s final WEF Challenge Cup on Thursday, that “bigger prize money and updating the facilities here are making a difference.”

Murray understands the difficulties inherent in the showgrounds equation.

“I knew the problems because of years of showing here, and I knew exactly what I was getting into,” he said, explaining he was realistic when he took the job. His presence was what gave immediate credibility to the project.

Challenges don’t daunt the former president of the U.S. Equestrian Federation, who also had CEO credentials at three major corporations before retiring.

However, he noted about the showgrounds situation, “I didn’t know the reasons behind a lot of the problems.”

Expectations for shows are higher today in every way than they were in the era decades ago when WEF emerged on the scene as a new concept. In recent years, improvements didn’t proceed as they should have. Murray pointed out the previous owner of the facility, Global Equestrian Group, was a private equity firm, and he maintained the entity based in Denmark only cared about making money.

“They had to think of every dollar of return they could get out of it,” he said.

To get the full picture of what was needed, Murray talked to 100 trainers, riders and other influences in the community, along with ESP’s leadership team, headed by president Michael Stone and competitions manager and chief operating officer David Burton Jr.

“They knew everything that needed to be done but they weren’t allowed to do it,” under the previous regime.

“I said, `Well, go do it,” Murray recalled.

With such sparkling facilities as the World Equestrian Center in Ocala and TerraNova near Sarasota emerging in the last few years, Wellington is not the only game in the state. Though the number of horses showing in Florida can easily support several show complexes, since exhibitors have real choices now, Wellington International needs to meet their expectations. That underlines the importance of a massive showgrounds re-do.

WLP will build The Wellington golf community at Equestrian Village, the home of dressage half a mile from the main showgrounds. Serious work on that project cannot begin until the newly configured showgrounds is up and running, with dressage moved down the street, presenting a big incentive to get things done.

Dressage, which at the moment is offered only during WEF, will be rehomed at what is now the main showgrounds. It is going to have its own rings, while sharing that area with the hunters. Jumpers will be located on Pod F.

After WEF wraps up on Sunday, more extensive efforts can begin. It’s tough to get everything done during circuit because, “you have to deal with the reality you have 2,800 horses,” said Murray, citing statistics from week 11 of the show. With lighter entries during the spring, summer and fall shows, the entire property does not need to be used, offering flexibility that enables work to continue on other areas of the facility.

A grass field at Wellington International to replace the one at Equestrian Village is ready for planting. Although the new grass ring will be a little smaller by the numbers, Murray thinks it  may well have more usable space because it lacks the berm and water jump complex of its predecessor. It will serve as a stadium with a VIP section.

Next door will be another stadium, with artificial footing, more VIP and skyboxes. The open area in the middle will be reserved for vendors and food concessions. Parking for 3,000 or 4,000 cars will be around the perimeter of the property. If necessary, overflow parking can go in the rings that are not being used on grand prix night. Also in the plans are a covered arena and new FEI stabling for the jumpers.

There’s a different spirit in the air on the eve of this weekend’s featured $750,000 Rolex grand prix, the WEF finale that has attracted six of the top 10-ranked jumpers in the world. Production values for the grand prix have been raised for maximum drama, with 40 lasers  around the ring and video rider intros produced by the team that does the Indy 500.

Murray gave 500 employees a pep talk before the circuit began, using a slide show on the jumbotron in the international arena.

He told them that “we had changed the place, that this is the prominent horse show in America. We have a unique position, different than any horse show in the world. A lot of people rely on us, people have their homes here and there are blacksmiths and vets and they all depend on us. This place is going to get cleaned up and we’re going to have the best service.”

Since then,  he found, “I’ve never worked with a group of people who worked harder than this. They’re incredible.”

Expanding on his guiding philosophy, Murray observed, “We are the premier horse sport destination in the world. We are not the best horse show in the world. I am not going to say we are Aachen, but there’s nowhere else in the world that has what Wellington has. You go to Aachen, it’s six days long, with the best pros (professionals). You come here and it’s three months long and it’s from short stirrup to the Olympic Games riders.”

Noting that while Devon is where champions meet, as the sign over the Pennsylvania show’s main ring states, “Wellington is where champions are made and grow up,” Murray emphasized. He cited the example of his daughter, Reed, who started in short stirrup at the showgrounds and went on to the 2012 Olympic team. Lillie Keenan, he mentioned, began on ponies in Wellington and last week was part of the winning U.S. Longines League of Nations squad in Ocala.

Murray added “75 percent of the Olympic team either lives here full-time or has a home here. What makes us special and what makes Wellington, Wellington, is that we service all levels and they all matter.”

He cited the “virtuous circle” theory that he often used when he headed USEF.

“The best experience attracts the best riders in world,” he stated, and it  follows that if a facility has  “the best infrastructure and the best customer service, everything else will take care of itself.”

He added, “WLP’s business interests are aligned with the sport being fantastic because this is the anchor of the community. It needs to be the best it can be to inspire kids to ride and (families to) buy houses in the area. That’s how the business model works.”

World number seven-ranked show jumper McLain Ward, never shy about bringing issues to Murray’s attention, said he’s a big fan of the CEO.

“I think he’s made a commitment not only to the facility and the ownership group, but also to a lot of long-term relationships that he has within the sport and within business. There were some improvements that were made quickly that were noticed,” said McLain. Those included LED lighting in the International Arena and attention to footing.

“Obviously, the place was in a pretty big hole, so like anything, it’s scratching the surface. I’m optimistic it’s going in a positive direction,” McLain added.

Footing samples are taken every day and sent to the FEI, “which sends back a report with where we are on density. On grand prix day,  I do it three times,” said Murray, who noted samples, which also track moisture content, are taken from 35 locations in the main ring,

Murray’s wife, Sarah Davis Kessler, is part of the showgrounds team. Her affinity for hospitality and design is reflected in the VIP area, where the settings have been upgraded. Crystal glasses, bottles of wine and a charcuterie board are on the tables.

“I’m getting rid of all the plastic,” Murray promised.

He also has plans for dealing with the dust that has been omnipresent in the stable area by putting down rubber on some paths, asphalt millings elsewhere and footing on the pathway that ends at Pony Island, so horses don’t get muddy as they make their way up from the stables.

The CEO is keeping tabs on everyone and everything, pointing out, “I crack the whip.”

He warned a restaurant owner, whose eatery in a vendor area had a messy appearance, “if I ever walk in here again and it looks like this, you’re out the next day. He’s like, `It will never look like that again,’ and it never has.”

Before WLP took over, street sweepers came in once a week. Now they come five days a week at night. Lack of bathroom cleanliness was “always a pet peeve of everybody,”

The remedy for that is in high gear, with cleaning going on at night Wednesdays through Sundays. “Cleaning during the day couldn’t keep up,” Murray pointed out.

Hunter judges Robin Rost Brown and her husband, Otis “Brownie” Brown, took note that the judges’ booths were clean and the air conditioning worked.

“The whole place is pumped up,” said Brownie, while his wife observed, “Everyone seems still happy on Week 12.”