TDN Weekend December 2016 Issue 9
Issue link: https://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/934158
For the horse lover that fancies a new experience, a 20-minute drive from Eau Palm Beach takes you to Wel- lington, an 8,000-acre equestrian para- dise where the who's-who of the show and polo worlds converge every win- ter. Riding britches and boots seem to be the norm no matter where you stop around town, and a stroll through the exclusive Grand Prix Village provides some of the most fantastical equine living quarters these eyes have ever seen. Many well-known players in the Thoroughbred game are also active participants in the show world; among them Adena Springs, My Meadowview, Mary and Chester Broman Sr. and Three Diamonds Farm. A pair of former world-caliber show riders-turned-Thor- oughbred trainers, Olympic silver medalist Michael Matz and Rodney Jenkins, are also among those who achieved success on both sides of the 'equine pond.' And if name dropping is your thing, famous names that can be heard tossed about in regular conver- sation in Wellington are Springsteen, Selleck, Gates, Bloomberg and Jobs. Those names alone should signal to the equestrian neophyte the level of investment required to play in a world where millions of dollars are spent in the quest for a blue ribbon, or for the chosen few, an Olympic medal. The Palm Beach International Equestrian Center, which sprawls over 160-acres, is comprised of 12 competition rings