Our Equestrian Community

Wellington’s Equestrian Industry Has A Storied Past And A Bright Future

By Deborah Welky

The village’s equestrian industry plays a huge role in Wellington, known around the world as a stellar horse community.

Originally brought to the area in the late 1970s as luxury entertainment and recreation — an important lifestyle factor allowing the community to compete more effectively with developments located on or near the beach — the equestrian element is now firmly intertwined with the Wellington way of life. Indeed, for some, it is the only way of life.

“We’ve come to understand that the equestrian lifestyle in the competitions is unlike any other place in the world,” said Mike O’Dell, project director in Wellington’s Strategic Planning Department and the village’s staff equestrian expert. “Hunter-jumpers are obviously our dominant sport in the village, but we also have high-goal polo throughout the season and local polo throughout the year. The length of our season and the ability to put all these things together in one location is having an impact. It’s in the lifestyle we see.”

The number of horses and competitions is growing every year, O’Dell noted. “More and more people want to be here to be a part of that,” he said. “The lifestyle is the drive to what we see happening with the venues and the competitions.”

In addition to world-class equestrian contests, big hats and big hearts are an integral part of the winter equestrian season. Fashion and fundraising come naturally to those with the deep pockets necessary to support a small army of equine competitors, and Wellington’s social season quite naturally aligns with its equestrian season. It’s a lifestyle like none other.

Initial credit goes to the Palm Beach Polo Golf & Country Club for being the first equestrian-based development to arrive in the community, led by its polo-playing founder William Ylvisaker in the late 1970s.

In the 1980s, Ylvisaker brought horse show promoter Gene Mische to Wellington to start the Winter Equestrian Festival at what was then called the Palm Beach Polo Equestrian Club, now known as the Palm Beach International Equestrian Center.

Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, equestrian sports grew and grew in the community. However, the hurricanes of the early 2000s sparked a crisis for the hallowed equestrian venues. Three major hurricanes roared through Wellington within 13 months, leaving devastation in their wake — not only of the show grounds and polo stadium, but of the spirits of those Wellingtonians involved in equestrian sports.

“Those hurricanes put a damper on polo,” O’Dell said. “The polo stadium had been damaged pretty significantly and the show grounds had taken a pretty good hit as well, so we were recovering. The show grounds also, because of the hurricanes and the financial issues they were having, were trying to keep things moving forward — trying to rebuild and get things back where they were.”

That is when horse show promoter Mark Bellissimo took over control of the Winter Equestrian Festival and the show grounds.

“Mr. Bellissimo came in and he was able to infuse some cash into the show grounds and move forward with its redevelopment,” O’Dell explained.

Likewise, polo also needed a new home. This led the Goodman family to create what is now the International Polo Club Palm Beach.

“In short, we had some noteworthy cash infusions from private investment that helped secure the equestrian community and secure its place in the world,” O’Dell said.

The most significant impact of the equestrian lifestyle may be yet to come. In the past, competition-minded equestrians traveled from their homes in the Northeast to winter in Wellington. Today, O’Dell sees a trend toward total reversal.

“We’re seeing people coming into Wellington who are changing their base of operations,” O’Dell said. “Many come from New York, Connecticut, New Jersey and so on. Their home base has not been Wellington. Now we’re seeing their homes as being in Wellington. They go to the shows in the summer months that take them back up north, but their homes are here. They often leave some of their horses here — and staff to care for their homes and horses year-round.”

That’s just one element of the lifestyle change for equestrians. The other is that they are getting more involved in other aspects of the competitions.

“These people know Wellington, and they know of all the competitions,” O’Dell said. “They want to be a part of the overall activity. So that’s growing as well. I think that we, as a community, need to look at and embrace these competitions and think about how we can continue to expand without changing our lifestyle. After all, it’s the consumers who will drive the competitions. If the demand is there, the venue operators will cater to that demand.”

Over the past year, several of the equestrian venues have been brought under common ownership. Bellissimo, whose Wellington Equestrian Partners already owned the Winter Equestrian Festival and the Adequan Global Dressage Festival, as well as their respective show grounds, has recently taken over the International Polo Club Palm Beach and the Wanderers Club.

“The future of the equestrian industry in Wellington is very strong,” Bellissimo said. “We have seen consistent growth since we took over the Winter Equestrian Festival in 2008, and the popularity of the Adequan Global Dressage Festival has grown in leaps and bounds since the first event in 2012.”

Bellissimo touts Wellington as an “equestrian lifestyle destination.”

“Even more now, there are opportunities for families to visit Wellington not only to watch or participate in horse sport, while also enjoying their time outside of the equestrian venue,” he said. “We have tried to facilitate that in our purchase of the Wanderers Club and the International Polo Club.”

Bellissimo has also seen more and more people buying property for homes and farms in Wellington, which directly translates into them spending more time here. “Our shoulder seasons in the fall and spring continue to grow as people recognize what a special place Wellington is and what a unique venue it provides for horse sport,” he said.

Bellissimo sees a bright future for Wellington’s equestrian industry.

“Over the next 10 years, we hope to see more corporate sponsorship enter the sports, more television coverage, and more mainstream appeal with a diverse audience for show jumping, hunters, dressage and polo,” he said. “There is a lot of room for growth. Everyone can appreciate the strength, grace and power of horses. They are a special animal, and we feel that a way to bring that to the forefront is to popularize the relationship between horse and rider and make sure that people know who the personalities are in the sport.”

Wellington Equestrian Partners will continue to market the community as an equestrian lifestyle destination.

“Having multiple venues within Wellington makes it very attractive for people who want to visit and see top sport, or move to the area for a portion of the year,” Bellissimo said. “We are very excited about the future of Wellington and equestrian sport over the coming decade.”