Wellington's Greatest Show

      Every winter Wellington’s greatest show comes to town and stays till spring—a lot longer visit than Barnum’s used to last.  Yet, many residents fail to drive the few extra miles to see this equestrian extravaganza. And before we know it, May is here, the arenas are empty, and we’ve missed the magic of this unique equine experience. 

         The show these days is not your father’s horse show. 

         At first, the lineup was simply horse and rider running the course in record time and tripping the fewest rails. Nowadays, actual circus-like side shows keep the little ones (and the adults with ADD) entertained while the horses move in and out of position—which for some is enough entertainment. Honestly, spectators like me can’t get enough of the form and beauty of a well groomed thoroughbred’s glossy coat, braided mane and rippling muscles. But, for the aforementioned crowd with short attention spans, there is a veritable fair to be had. 

     On Saturday nights starting at 6 pm families can enjoy fire jugglers, face painting, petting zoos, carousels, bounce houses, live bands and casual bites like tacos and wood-fired pizza. A three-ring event, indeed. 

     Wellington’s worldwide equestrian festival began to ­­­­­­gain popularity in the early 70s. It is now the longest running and largest equestrian festival in the country. Over 42 countries bring riders of all ages and ranks with their 6000 ponies to compete for more than a half a billion dollars in prizes. 

       

     Sure, you could stay home and watch a few races on your hand-held device, or view it streamed on the web, but you would miss the energy that shared events bring; the sense of community and belonging that corporate enjoyment fosters.

     During any live event, the unexpected is bound to happen. Once we saw a horse approach a 7-foot faux wall, dig in his hooves and clearly shake his head “No!” causing his rider to fly off and dangle saddle-side a few seconds before straightening and turning his horse around to jumpy the wall again. Here’s how it went:

 The height of wall reached  7'2".

There went the horse. His rider urged him to the wall and the horse slammed his front legs ahead of him to a dead stop in front of the wall. His master visibly displeased, swung the animal around to make a second attempt.

Galloping fiercely toward the wall, the horse again dug his hoof heels firmly into the turf and to the crowd's great astonishment

distinctly

shook

his 

head 

from side-to-side as if to say

  "NO!

 I AM NOT GOING OVER THAT WALL!"

The horse then veered sharply to the right avoiding the 'brick' barricade, flinging the horseman off the saddle. As the rider dangled on the side of his mount, audible gasps from the stands expressed fright that he might lose grip, fall and be trampled. 

To our great relief (no doubt to his, too) the horseman recovered with no injury to his body. I can't say the same for his psyche from the dramatic and disappointing defeat. But, hey, he came in second,  and lived to tell it.

It was another Saturday night at the horse show with a surprising moment of drama we will never forget! Besides keeping an eye out for unusual turns like that story, here are a few riders to watch this 2018 season:

Here’s what horseman Todd Minikus said of the season’s opening show:

Photo credit toddminikusshowjumping.com

“Despite being the first week of circuit, Minikus said that the class ‘looked big.’ However, he stated, “The fact of the matter is, I think this is some of the hardest jumping in the world really. We start right off here. You’ve got to have quality horses. They’ve got to be on the top of their game, and you’ve got to be on the top of your game no matter what class it is here. That’s just life in South Florida.” (Palm Beach International Equestrian Center Staff writer, http://pbiec.coth.com, Jan 13, 2018)

Visit the Polo Museum.

Here is some recommended reading for the season as well:

Tommy Hitchcock

HWS hound contest

Tally ho and all that. See you at the show or polo grounds!