April Event Spotlight: United States Equestrian Federation (USEF) Premier and Federation Equestre Internationale (FEI) Series

The Palm Beach County Sports Commission will partner with Equestrian Sports Productions (ESP) in hosting the United States Equestrian Federation (USEF) Premier and Federation Equestre Internationale (FEI) Series, which includes ten (10) days of showjumping events sanctioned by the sport’s national governing body and international federation. The 10-day stretch of FEI and USEF sanctioned events will take place on April 12-16 & April 19-23, 2023, at Wellington International (formerly the Palm Beach International Equestrian Center) and Equestrian Village in Wellington.

The Palm Beach County Sports Commission aligned with Equestrian Sports Productions for the third straight year to create a competition for participants of the Winter Equestrian Festival (WEF) who were seeking to prolong their stay in The Palm Beaches. Many of the participants from WEF, who traveled from oversees or the northeastern states, were seeking additional FEI and USEF sanctioned events in Palm Beach County during April, due to Florida’s immense desirability that increased after the Covid-19 pandemic. The final day of the ESP Spring Series - USEF Premier “AA” and Jumper Level 6 & FEI 13 will be named the Palm Beach County Sports Commission Grand Prix CSI 3*.

In total, riders representing more than 30 different nations compete in the ESP Spring Series. Last year, this event attracted 4,990 participants, which includes riders, vendors, trainers, grooms, barn managers, exhibitors, and spectators. Additionally, the event generated 10,876 room nights and $9.8 million in visitor spending. The event will be streamed live on the United States Equestrian Federation (USEF) Network. The USEF Network features live-streaming and on-demand video from a wide range of equestrian events each year. US Equestrian members receive full access to over 2,000 hours of content. The USEF Network is distributed globally to more than 70 nations.

April Event Spotlight: Spartan Race

The Palm Beach County Sports Commission is partnering with Spartan Race, Inc. to once again host the Palm Beaches Spartan Sprint Weekend on April 21 -22 at Burt Aaronson South County Regional Park in Boca Raton. Over 9,000 participants from across the Unite d States are expected to compete in the event.

Spartan Race is the world’s largest obstacle competition and endurance brand. T his event will feature Spartan’s signature “Sprint” style race, which encompasses 3.2 miles and 20 obstacles. Obstacles will include fire jumps, tall walls, monkey bars, rope climbs, and more. Runners have the option to enter one of three different divisions. For the most competitive racers, there is the Elite division, which is held first thing in the morning. Racers can also compete by age group (1417, 18 - 24, 25 -29, 30 - 39, 40 - 49, or 50+), or they can simply enter the open division for more recreational racers.

Consistent with Spartan events around the world, the Palm Beaches Spartan Sprint Weekend will feature a youth race, for tho se ages 4 -13 years old, where they are put to the test against ageappropriate obstacles and race distances. While some parents will compete while their kids are racing, many attend as spectators and cheer on the youth.

With an influx of visitors, the even t is expected to create $ 5 million in visitor spending for Palm Beach County while filling thousands of hotel rooms. Last year, the event generated over 4,000 hotel room nights.

The host venue for the event, Burt Aaronson South County Regional Park, has been home to the race since 2019 when the Palm Beach County Sports Commission won a bid to bring the event to Boca Raton. The facility is one of the most versatile sports venues in Palm Beach County.

Palm Beach County will be home to a Spartan Race for the fourth time in the last f ive years. Spartan is the world’s most prominent organization that promotes endurance sports that includes extraordinary challenges . Spartan participants have incredible brand loyalty and travel from all corners of the globe to ex perience these races.