Wellington’s Winter Horse Shows May be Bigger Than Ever With Dressage Launching This Week
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By KENNETH J. BRADDICK
WELLINGTON, Florida, Jan. 10, 2023–The winter-long Global Dressage Festival under management for the first time by the European group that took over the major Wellington horse shows launches this week with indications of more competitors than previous years.
The main hunter-jumper show grounds that host the long-established Winter Equestrian Festival that has expanded competitions from 12 weeks at least three-fold has undergone $9 million in improvements and will host the premier dressage CDI5* for the second year.
Seven weeks of international dressage at the Global grounds includes three World Cup qualifiers ahead of the Final in Omaha, two CDI4*s and a Nations Cup that could include at least six teams as well as the CDI5* at neighboring WEF and national competitions.
Tim Dutta of the Dutta Corp., the official air transport agent for Wellington International as the Palm Beach facility has been renamed, reported that from November through mid-January at least 1,000 horses are being flown from Europe into Miami.
Like many riders from around the world, Adrienne Lyle of Wellington is focused on qualifying her Olympic and World Equestrian Games silver medal mount Salvino for Omaha. Steffen Peters of San Diego has already qualified Suppenkasper and plans to compete in Wellington as does fellow Californian Anna Buffini and FRH Davinia la Douce.
Alice Tarjan, of Oldwick, New Jersey a long-time Florida competitor, is second in the World Cup North American League standings on Serenade MF and has several other horses she is developing for top sport and will show throughout Global.
Morgan Barbançon of France, a two-time Olympian who appears likely to qualify in Europe for Omaha for her seventh World Cup Final, is expected to compete at Global for the first time.
Germany’s Hof Kasselmann that has grown its presence in Wellington since 2019 with the first appearance of world championship rider Frederic Wandres this year will also include Anna-Christina Abbelen who has been on six German gold medal teams at European Championships from ponies, through junior and young riders. She competed at Under-25 through 2021.
With the Pan American Games in Santiago, Chile and Asian Games in Hangzhou, China scheduled for later this year, more riders from those regions have indicated plans to prepare in Wellington.
