Terra Nova Equestrian Center Ready for World Cup Dressage Next Week, Hurricane Ian Spared Newly Built Facility–Entries Still Open
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By KENNETH J. BRADDICK
MYAKKA CITY, Florida. Oct. 13, 2022–TerraNova is the newest horse show grounds in Florida that will host its first international dressage event in a week in just completed permanent stables and other facilies that were not impacted by Hurricane Ian’s winds and torrential rains that devastated many neighboring communities along the state’s west coast.
Entries for the dressage World Cup qualifier, CDI4* and the lineup of other international and national competitions have been have been extended to the end of this week, just days ahead of the dressage and eventing competitions Oct. 21-23.
The 300 acres/120ha of the show grounds has been created on 3,000 acres/1,200ha owned by the family of Hannah Herrig, who with her husband heads up the organization staging the event. An eventing CCI4* was the first international competition, held a year ago when stabling was in tents. A jumping CSI2* followed at the beginning of this year.
TerraNova in southwest Florida near Sarasota on the Gulf of Mexico coast is almost equidistant from the two big centers–Wellington in the southeast and Ocala in central Florida just north of Orlando.
The competitions next week of the Olympic disciplines of dressage and eventing–the third is jumping–implements what Hanna calls providing “pinnacle” events similar to the European model of a handful of events providing a quality experience.
This contrasts with the two behemoths of show grounds that have made Florida a destination over the winter that has expanded into year-round schedules and a migration of competitors and trainers mostly from northern states but also from Europe to settle in Florida.
The key event was the creation in Wellington of polo fields in place of strawberry fields 45 years ago as a lure to sell homes. Jumping shows followed in the parking lot that led to a community centered on horse sports and has since grown into a major industry attracting competitors from around the world. Wellington International, as the main hunter/jumper facility is named after being bought by a European group, is the heart of horse sports in southeast Florida. The long-established family-owned White Fences dressage center in neighboring Loxahatchee operates several events that are popular. A taxpayer-funded Jim Brandon center is in West Palm Beach a few minutes from Wellington.
The World Equestrian Center in Ocala four hours north of Wellington opened two years ago is the largest show grounds in the United States with 16 outdoor arenas and five climate-controlled indoor arenas for year-round hunter/jumper and dressage events. Permanent, climate-controlled stabling for 2,100 horses and other facilities including a premium hotel and another under construction in a self-contained city of horses and humans and still expanding. A long-established hunter/jumper show grounds as part of the nationwide HITS circuit still operates in Ocala. Live Oak owned by U.S. driving champion Chester Weber stages a handful of international events.
Monica Fitzgerald, one of the most experienced and respected show managers, is the show secretary for next week’s event and shares the duty of event director with Thomas Baur. Both share duties at Wellington’s Global Dressage Festival among other events.
Completion of the two permanent barns provides a total of 276 stalls.
Rubber floors and each stall with a fan.
LED lighting throughout the barns.
An impressive feature is the height of 40 feet/12m of the barns for air flow and comfort for horses.
The longer term goal is for 600 stalls.
The show facility is the centerpiece of a plan to create a community of farms and homes on five-acre/2ha lots.
(The drive to TerraNova from Wellington this week was the same as a pre-Hurricane Ian trip of three hours. Recovery efforts have been amazing as seen along the route that skirts the hard-hit coastal islands and cities such as Fort Myers. Thousands of uprooted trees have been cleared from roadways. Although some gas stations were severely damaged, the price of gasoline was lower than in Wellington. The focus for utility crews from across the country that were in place ahead of that were has been to repair damaged infrastructure such as bridges, electricity and water services. Families along the way were seen repairing homes and other structures.)
