Dressage-News

WELLINGTON, Florida, April 30, 2016–Wellington Equestrian Partners that owns the Global Dressage Festival and the Winter Equestrian Festival announced Saturday that it completed the purchase of the International Polo Club, the third premier equestrian sport venue in Wellington.

Mark Bellissimo, managing partner, said the group will invest “significant resources to ensure that the facilities and the polo fields are second to none and are committed to maintaining the same high goal polo calendar for 2017 and beyond.”

IPC is the home of high goal polo in winter with competition beginning in January and continuing through April as host of the annual U.S. Open polo tournament.

“We are working on an expanded vision of the property which will include adding new equestrian events and disciplines that we believe will greatly enhance the Membership experience,” Mark wrote tin a letter to members. “We should be announcing those plans in early Summer.”

The Global circuit, like WEF, has become so successful that a new dressage facility is reported to be on the drawing board for the newly acquired IPC that will also enable jumpers and hunters to expand into the current Global grounds.

“WEP’s primary goal is to ensure that IPC remains one of the world’s premier Polo Clubs and a key economic driver of Wellington’s equestrian economy,” said Mark who put together WEP a decade ago to take over the declining jumper and hunter winter circuit show grounds The group invested tens of millions of dollars to renovate the facility and expand competitions through most of the year.

The group also created the Global Dressage Festival five years ago in its own facility called The Stadium that was the original Field 1 of polo with the Sunday game of the week and that led to jumpers, hunters and dressage joining in the move to Wellington initially for winter that has since become a year round destination.

IPC’s main stadium venue and polo activity are complemented by a private club with spa, fitness center, tennis courts and pool, as well as The Mallet Grille restaurant and The 7th Chukker lounge.

“We are honored to become the stewards of this important venue and are inspired to take Wellington to a new height of world-class equestrian sport, equestrian lifestyle, and community engagement,” Mark said.

The acquisition creates a network of three world-class facilities dedicated to equestrian sport and allows, for the first time in Wellington the integration and coordination of equestrian activities around the dressage, hunter/jumper and polo worlds.

We believe this will become one of the world’s top platforms to grow interest in equestrian sport for riders, spectators, and sponsors,” he said.

“We look forward to working with the Village of Wellington, the governing bodies of each equestrian discipline, and the key stakeholders within the disciplines to create an experience unique in the world. We will be announcing a series of strategic initiatives and partnerships as well as a vision for the facility in early summer.”