The Winter Equestrian Festival, held from late January to early April in Wellington, Fla., is going to be expanding. Wellington Equestrian Partners LLC, along with Stadium Jumping Inc. (the WEF manager) announced today (Jan. 6) that they\’ve purchased 277 acres adjoining the WEF showgrounds and that they have an option on 87 more acres, a total of 364 acres.
Most of the land was purchased from Glenn Straub, owner of Palm Beach Polo. Real estate investor Mark Bellissimo controls Wellington Equestrian Partners. The purchase price wasn\’t revealed.
Gene Mische, the Stadium Jumping president, said the new acreage will allow them to build a permanent grand prix stadium, a derby field, more riding arenas, and improved stabling. He also said they\’re hoping to get approval from the Wellington town council to build an indoor arena, which would allow the WEF to hold indoor grand prix events to prepare U.S. riders for the FEI World Cup Final held each April.
Mische said they\’re still working on a master plan for the new acreage.
“The purchase will allow us to enhance and expand the current show grounds, which have been at or near capacity for a number of years,” said Mische. “The sale will also allow us to maintain the integrity of the Wellington Equestrian Preserve and allow us to continue to develop this unique equestrian lifestyle.”
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Said Bellissimo, “Gene and I, in collaboration with the equestrian community, plan to transform these properties into a truly unique world wide equestrian destination, which will allow us to steward these assets for the Village of Wellington and the equestrian community at large.”
He added, “Glenn could have pursued other sale options with a more residential focus that would have created higher unit density and potentially could have delivered greater financial returns.”
But Straub insisted, “This wasn\’t about money. This was about the respect I have for Stadium Jumping and for Gene and Mark\’s collective vision for the equestrian community here.”
Straub has donated a bronze statue of a jumping horse and rider to Stadium Jumping and Mische. The plaque on it reads: “To Gene Mische, In appreciation of your tireless efforts in support of the equestrian community and your great contributions to the character and uniqueness of the Village of Wellington.”
