The Ridge At Wellington Shows Fill Niche, Opening The Gates To Riveting Show Jumping Competition Story by Kendall Bierer Photos courtesy Phelps Media Group
The morning fog cleared from an open grass field on a Saturday morning to reveal a breathtaking show jumping course — it was the day Deeridge Farm opened its gates to an exhilarating competition. Although the Wellington equestrian community has many stunning grass fields, March 23 marked the first time the center field at Deeridge Farm invited the public to compete on the Jacobs’ family property. Riders were welcomed to the field of the prestigious facility for the $175,000 Ridge at Wellington Invitational Grand Prix Series Finale.
The 2013 winter circuit has featured exciting new jumper action lying outside the Palm Beach International Equestrian Center. The Ridge at Wellington’s $175,000, 1.40m Invitational Grand Prix Series complemented the Winter Equestrian Festival for 10 weeks, offering a variety of venues for Level 2 jumpers as they honed their skills as riders, and those of their young horses. For 10 weeks, the $15,000 Ridge at Wellington Invitational Grand Prix found a home at differing venues throughout the village. The brainchild of Olympic veteran Nona Garson and her business partner, George D’Ambrosio, the Friday Grand Prix series filled a niche in the equestrian community. With the 12-week Winter Equestrian Festival running nearby, the Ridge grand prix series allowed horses to experience new venues and not grow complacent in the same setting as they compete week after week.
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Garson, who operates the Ridge at Wellington in Palm Beach Point, has put on lower-level schooling shows for years — locally deemed “Nona Shows” — to help young horses and riders grow. This year, the “Nona Shows” took a step in a new direction, offering a weekly 1.40m grand prix for 10 weeks, concluding with a $24,750 finale. It was May 2013 |wellington the magazine|
met with open arms as riders made the mile hack to the property to tackle the course. “Really what we are doing is a need. Our focus is to develop our riders and develop our horses. It’s an investment on our end to do that, and that’s something we’re willing to do,” D’Ambrosio said. “Our goal is to have better riders, better horses, better conditions, better everything. We’re just trying to set some nice standards — a European standard of what show jumping really is.” This season has also seen several benchmarks for Wellington; not only the opening of the illustrious Deeridge Farm but also hosting the competition at the beautiful Mida Farm and newly renovated “Tops Field.” Victoria McCullough was first to step forward with a privately owned grass field, offering to host the series at her Mida Farm. McCullough’s property is one of the most coveted in Wellington. With rolling grass fields, lakes and luxurious barns, the property had become desolate after the previous owner left. McCullough stepped forward with Jan Tops to take on the overgrown shrubbery, and bring the once-immaculate polo field to its former glory and use it for show jumping.