OVER THE MOON
At the horse show in Wellington, Fla., there are eight rings of competition of all levels and many riders from around the world. Right: The late James P. Mills Sr. (circa 1935) (Photo courtesy of the Museum of Polo)
Heading South for Winter The horsey set migrates to Florida for the Winter Equestrian Festival and the Museum of Polo Gala BY VICKY MOON
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s winter winds whip through the Virginia countryside, many from hunt country can be found in warm and wonderful Wellington, Fla. First, there’s the jumping crowd at the Winter Equestrian Festival. Ashley Kennedy Whitner rented a home and stayed south with her sons Walker and Davis. Denise DeRisio (who trains Dorli Burke and her daughter Ashley) was joined on weekends by husband Roy Perry. He was monitoring renovations on their new farm back in Middleburg, which was once part of “Hickory Tree.” Betsey Parker has a magnificent new home near the show. Her 10-year-old Hanoverian gelding, Way Cool, ridden by Victoria Colvin, won the $50,000 Palm Beach Hunter Spectacular. Jennifer Greenleaf, Alexa Lowe, Heather Beargie, Tracey Weinburg, Joe Fargis and Allison Firestone Robataille were competing. Meanwhile, Nicky Perry flew down from
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Upperville to watch her three horses with rider Daphne Alcock.
One remarkable bonus for those stuck at the horse show far from the exclusive retail opportunities on Palm Beach’s Worth Avenue is the plethora of pop-up boutiques right on the show grounds. Carole Thompson’s new shop, Vintage Vixen, offers fashions by Emilio Pucci and Lilly Pulitzer (who just celebrated her 80th birthday). The ever stylish Hermès luxury emporium is indispensable for everything from scarves to saddles. And then there’s the polo crowd. The buzz this season is all about International Polo Club founder John Goodman’s legal maneuver in adopting his 42-year-old girlfriend, Heather Laruso Hutchins, as his daughter. Goodman, 48, is also facing criminal charges of DUI manslaughter, vehicular homicide and leaving the scene of a February 2010 crash and could face up to 30 years in prison. The victim’s
parents have filed a $100 million civil suit while Goodman’s biological children are fighting to reverse the adoption. The annual Museum of Polo Gala is a must for many from Middleburg including Andi Gilman, who took time out from her horses and her imported Scottish salmon business, justthebest.com, to fly down with attorney Dick Riemenschneider for a long weekend. A highlight of the event, held in a tent at the museum with dinner and dancing to the sounds of the John Cat Band, was the posthumous induction into the Hall of Fame of James P. “Jimmy” Mills Sr. His daughter, Mimi AbelSmith, has been spending the winter on Jupiter Island, and his son, James P. “Jimmy” Mills Jr. were scheduled to accept the award. A lifelong devotee of the sport, Mills, who died in 1987 at age 78, led his Yale team to the Intercollegiate Indoor Championships in 1931 and 1932. Rated eight goals (with 10 being the very best) at age 25, he won the 1933 U.S. Open, the Monty Waterbury Cup in 1933 and 1936 and the Junior Championship (now known as the Silver Cup) in 1929 and 1933. He joins other notable sportsmen in the hall, including Winston Guest, Averell Harriman and Harry Payne Whitney. “I remember as a little girl traveling to Colorado with him and we came upon his favorite old polo pony in a field,” Mimi Mills recalls.“The pony’s name was Quaker and he was long retired, but he ran right up to my father. It was so meaningful years later. He loved his horses.” Mills played on the victorious East team in the 1934 East-West series and in England won the Hurlingham Champion Cup, the Roehampton Open Cup and the Coronation Cup. His much-celebrated career was cut short when he developed debilitating spinal arthritis in his late 30s. While he did give up polo, horses remained a large part of his life and for many years a charity polo match in his honor was played to benefit those suffering from the disease. SAVE THE DATE: Chris Ohrstrom, a historic paints and wallpaper expert who has consulted at Colonial Williamsburg, Monticello and the White House, is scheduled to speak March 29 at Long Branch in Millwood as part of the Nancy St. Clair Talley Lecture Series. For details 540-837-1856 or locket@historiclongbranch.com.
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