Dressage-News

By KENNETH J. BRADDICK

WELLINGTON, Florida, Oct. 11, 2023–The sale of Windsome Farm that is the Helgstrand horse sales center in the USA is near completion almost four years after the showcase estate was acquired for US$17.450/€15.84 million at the time.

The sale with provision for a multi-year lease-back provision comes almost four years after purchase by Helgstrand of the 80-acre/32.2ha property that initially had 52 horse stalls. Since then, about half the farm was sold to a New Jersey family. The same family is now reported by multiple sources to have agreed to buy the entire property.

However, both Helgstrand Dressage and Ludger Beerbaum jumping will continue to operate their U.S. sales businesses from the farm under a lease-back arrangement.

The dressage operation is managed by Lars Petersen, an Olympic and world championship rider for Denmark but who now rides for America, and his wife, Melissa Taylor.

Lars would not comment on reports of the sale. In addition to management of the Helgstrand operation in Wellington he is also coach of three riders–one from the United States and two other countries–that will take him to Santiago for the Pan American Games later this month.

Sale of the sales center comes at the same time as turmoil over plans to construct hundreds of high end houses on what is currently the Equestrian Village and the base of the Global Dressage Festival for the past 13 years.

Preparations for the 2024 Global circuit are almost complete with 800 seats in the VIP lounge already sold.

Refreshing the centerpiece arena and national and warmup rings throughout is scheduled to be undertaken before the start of the Global circuit at the beginning of 2024.

The Global grounds are within the Equestrian Preserve, a designation aimed at maintaining several thousand acres dedicated to horse farms and equestrian activities that is a distinguishing feature of Wellington.

Wellington’s main show grounds that hosted the Winter Equestrian Festival primarily of jumpers and hunters and occasional dressage competitions were sold to a group named Wellington Equestrian Partners and headed up by Mark Bellissimo in 2007.

The WEF show grounds were rebuilt and expanded and in 2011 work began on permanent dressage facilities on land owned by the Wellington partnership nearby. Along with a covered arena funded by Kimberly van Kampen the grounds that were named Global Dressage Festival.

As part of  Palm Beach international Equestrian Center, Global became the major center of dressage competition in the United States over the next decade.

In July 2021, the WEF part of Palm Beach Equestrian Center was sold to a European group of investors named Waterland Private Equity along with Helgstrand Dressage. The new name was Wellington International.

The Global grounds on what became known as Equestrian Village was not included in the sale but continued to be owned by Wellington Equestrian Partners. In addition to the Global dressage circuit, hunters and jumpers use the property extensively including a grass derby field.

Prior to main show grounds sale, the late billionaire Neil Hirsch received approval to build a 50-unit luxury condominium building on 5.5 acres he owned where he operated a night club-restaurant named the Players Club and alongside the Global show grounds.. It was not within the Equestrian Preserve

At the same time as the main show grounds transaction in 2021, Mark Bellissimo bought the condominium project–work had not begun–for $18 million.

Then, in April this year, a partnership was formed between Mark Bellissimo and a luxury development group named Wellington Lifestyle Partners that includes golfers Tiger Woods and Ernie Els and pop star Justin Timberlake to develop a luxury residential community on both Equestrian Village (Global) and other property near the WEF show grounds.

At the same time, plans were submitted for a new dressage facility adjoining the WEF show grounds.

However, the land on which it is proposed is owned by Mark Bellissimo’s Wellington Equestrian Partners. The group wants approval to allow construction on the Global property before selling the land.

No one has said who will pay for the property or its development for dressage.

The proposal has run into strong opposition from many in the equestrian community as it is seen as creating a precedent to cut into the Equestrian Preserve.

The Village of Wellington council of five members that gets to decide the issue put off a ruling this week for at least a month. Even if the council eventually agreed to change the zoning, some opponents have discussed raising funds to prepare for legal challenges.

Six of Global’s seven CDI dates among them a CDI5* and a Nations Cup are owned by Mark Bellissimo. The seventh, the long standing Palm Beach Dressage Derby, is owned by Mary Anne McPhail who operated a major show venue in Loxahatchee that neighbors Wellington.