Wellington is America’s winter horse capital and the equestrian capital of the world. “Like young flavorfully crafted wine, Wellington rose from the fertile South Florida soil to bear fruit, ripen, and ferment into a full-bodied experience unlike any other.” Sue Weakley from Equestrian quarterly wrote. 

The winter edition of the Equestrian Quarterly magazine 2013 is celebrating Wellington as the premier destination for winter equestrians.

Charles Oliver Wellington bought 18,000 acres back in 1951. Back when he bought this property it was nothing but a soggy swamp. The state of Florida passed legislation to drain off the water in this area. The entire area became fertile farmland. There were over 2000 acres of Strawberry Fields here back in those days. In the early 1950s less than 100 people lived here and called Wellington their home. The property that Charles Oliver Wellington purchased became known as “Flying Cow Ranch”.  A lot of people ask us what that means. Well it’s actually the owner’s initials and the same icon that he used for his airplanes.There is still a road here called, “Flying Cow Ranch”. 

Charles Oliver Wellington died in 1959. Mr. Wellington’s son started to develop a little bit of the land in order to pay for the estate taxes.

It took a long time for this area to develop but equestrians started to discover this area.  Soon it became known as America’s winter home for the equestrian elite. Each year polo players, equestrian jumpers, dressage and other horse enthusiasts came to this area for the winter season.

Polo is the sport of Kings and soon Wellington became known for Polo.  This was the high society of all things equestrian as women adorned with their big hats came from up North to Palm Beach to watch polo games. Celebrities and royalty from all over the world have been in Wellington at one time or another to watch or participate in a polo game.

Polo enthusiasts such as Prince Charles, Lady Diana, Tommy Lee Jones, Sylvester Stalone, Mary Lou Whitney, and many others have spent time here in Wellington.

Nic Roldan is a third-generation polo player. He was raised here in Wellington. He was born in Buenos Aires Argentina. He is the winner of the crown jewel of polo- the U.S. Open.

Riders from many nations come to compete in Wellington’s jumping competitions. You will see flags from Venezuela, Argentina, Brazil, Italy, Spain, Canada and many other nations. The weather is fabulous in Wellington in the winter. Every weekend is filled with excitement in Wellington where you can watch shows jumping, dressage, and polo games every single weekend. There is not another place around that you can watch all of these sports at the same time during the same weekend. 

If you are an equestrian rider or polo player you will love to move to Wellington because you can stay here for nearly 6 months out of each year being able to compete. The finale of each season is held at the Palm Beach international equestrian Center towards the end of the march. Then you can travel throughout the rest of the spring and summer for your other competitions. Making Wellington your equestrian home is the best decision you can make!  

Wellington is also the host for the great Charity Challenge each year. In this exciting event there are 32 rider teams that are randomly paired with 32 charities serving locally local charities in Palm Beach County. Hundreds of thousands of dollars are raised each year. 

The Masters come here as well each year. Last year we were honored to have the Olympic Games gold medalists Carl Hester and Charlotte Dujardin who joined other Olympians: Steffen Peters, Adrienne Lyle, Tina Konyat, Minne Tilde, Ashley Holzer, Jacqueline Brooks, Per Sandguaard, and Tinne Vilhelmson-Silfven to participate in this event.  

On March 9, 2013, the Challenge of the Americas which is an international dressage event will be held here. This is a one-of-a-kind international Grand Prix musical freestyle challenge called “dancing for women around the world”. This event raises money for the breast Cancer research foundation. It will be held at the Jim Brandon Equestrian Center. 

This is all what makes Wellington such a great place to live! Contact us to help you find your Wellington Equestrian winter farm at 561-753-0135. 

Authored by Katerina Gasset