The Torano Family: United By Horses And At Home In Wellington By Lauren Fisher
The husband-and-wife team of Jimmy and Danielle Torano has been a staple of the Winter Equestrian Festival and the South Florida equestrian scene for decades. Jimmy grew up in Miami, riding with his mother as a child and competing in the hunter/jumper ranks as a junior with top trainer Don Stewart. At the age of 18, he turned professional and began working as a rider and trainer at Palm Beach Polo & Country Club. Several years later, Jimmy met Danielle Laurenzo when she came to train at the facility in her final junior year. Danielle started at a young age as well, riding with Leslie (Burr) Howard, before meeting Jimmy in 1990. While Jimmy was training Danielle, the pair also began dating. They became engaged in 1993 and married in 1995. During this time, Jimmy decided to start his own business, and JET Show Stables found its home base at Dani-
elle’s family farm in Fort Lauderdale. Jimmy and Danielle have since ridden at the Winter Equestrian Festival every season, making the commute from Fort Lauderdale for years, until recently moving to a new facility here in Wellington. That makes the busy show days much easier, which is now a necessity as the couple also has two children who keep them constantly on the go. In 2006, daughter Natalia was born, and in 2010, Jimmy Jr., or “JJ,� followed. Each child sat on the back of a pony before they could even walk, competing in the leadline division at WEF as babies, and developing an immediate love of the family sport. Now 10 years old, Natalia is showing this year in the
(Below) Torano family members at home at the Winter Equestrian Festival.
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february 2017 | wellington the magazine
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