OVER THE MOON
Winter Haven for the Horsey Set Hunt Country residents swarm to the Sunshine State for equestrian training, show jumping and a few rounds of golf BY VICKY MOON
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here’s no question that a crackling fire and a cozy corner are no longer enough to keep Hunt Country residents content during the winter tundra. (And for the record, an electric blanket won’t work either.) Hence the migration south from Middleburg to Florida is in full flight. We have the Horse Show Set who are in Wellington for the winter: trainer Denise Perry and hubby Roy have settled in with horses and several riders including Ashley Burke, granddaughter of Elizabeth Busch Burke and Bobby Burke (who have a home in the Sunshine State and live just across the lane from Bunny Mellon in Upperville). Heather Berge is showing her jumpers – and her significant other Chris McClary meets her on weekends. Viviane and Pat Garner have settled into their Lately t h e re digs. Betsey Parker has has been a fulla slew of horses and on emigration. ponies, including her Leading the way: prize-winning hunters Top: Nelson Hammell has moved his elegant Lone Star and Listen. Nelson Hammell , garden store to Lake Worth, Fla. (Photo by Vicky Moon) Above: Huntsman Noel Ryan is taking over Olympic gold medalist whose English the Palm Beach Hounds. (Photo by Jim Meads) garden emporium, Joe Fargis is coaching Devonshire, once and riding. Barbara Gosnell has joined the stable and will be there graced the village of Middleburg (along with for the winter with her husband Bud. Donna locations in the Hamptons and other high-end Gumbin traveled south from The Plains and spots). For 30-plus years, Hammell and business trainer Ginny Edwards of Upperville has student Charlotte Thompson under her wing. partner Pete Hawkins’ elegant garden statuary, Trainers Kitty and John Barker are also down oversized glazed pots, obelisks and orchids took the breath away of all those who entered for the season. And then there are the golfers who have their cavernous Worth Avenue location on the flown south for a few rounds: Larry Davis, island of Palm Beach. Then they decided to Charley Matheson, Merritt Jones and Joan take another approach with the business and move to the other side of the Intracoastal and Bob Eliot, to name a few.
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Waterway to the ever-eclectic West Palm Beach design district. Now located in a warehouse just steps away from a cluster of Dixie Highway antique shops, wallpaper outlets, marble experts and lighting showrooms, Hammell has taken up full time residence in tony Lake Worth with extra time off to travel to his homes in Middleburg and Vermont. Dashing and daring Irishman Noel Ryan began riding to hounds in his home country at the tender age of five. “I started with the Stonehall Harriers and also with the County Limerick Foxhounds,” he says. Since coming to the U.S. in 2003 he has gone tally-ho from California, New Mexico, Nevada, Arizona, Nebraska, Montana and beyond, even to New Zealand and Australia. Since 2006, Ryan has lived in Middleburg and served as a professional huntsman for the Loudoun Hunt.Yearning for new ventures he took a job with the Palm Beach Hounds. And yes, they will hunt foxes, not gators! The adorable Sheila Camp Motley of Keswick became a full-time Florida resident last year when she opened her own event design and management firm. “Based under a row of South Florida palm trees, we work with clients to design and connect all of the little details that create each memorable event,” she says. So far this winter, Motley has done the Shady Ladies benefit for the Lupus Research Institute featuring a celebrity sunglasses auction with donations from Snoop Dogg, Bruce Springsteen, Sylvester Stallone, John Grisham and Kim Kardashian. And, don’t forget the book signing for “The World of Gloria Vanderbilt” at Badgley Mischka in Palm Beach. More sunscreen please.
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