By KENNETH J. BRADDICK
WELLINGTON, Florida, Oct. 5, 2026–Construction of the base for a new VIP club and a network of roads and parking is well underway three months ahead of the 2027 Global Dressage Festival scheduled at extended Wellington International.
Already completed is expansion of permanent stabling–more than 300 horse stalls considerably larger and airier than the 200 at Equestrian Village that has been home to Global dressage since 2012.
Competition and warmup arenas–including state-of-the-art floodlights–are ready as is a covered arena measuring 419 ft. in length and 200 ft. wide (127 x 61 meters)–60 ft./18m longer than the Van Kampen covered arena at Global’s current facility.
Completion of the new Global venue and appproval by the local government is vital for re-development of the existing Equestrian Village facility into high end housing and recreation. The re-development project, undertaken by Wellington Lifestyle Partners that is the current iteration of the entity that has been the owner of the Wellington’s Winter Equestrian Festival and creatior of Global, cannot begin until the new Global grounds are approved for competition.
“We look like we will make it” by the Jan. 13 start of Global’s seven international events as well as national and para dressage over three months, said Michael Stone, chief executive offficer of Wellington International who has also been longtime president of the group operating the Wellington shows.
Global’s VIP club is exclusive during dressage as a significantly larger facility as well as other hospitality areas surround the iconic International Arena that is the centerpiece of the Winter Equestrian Festival of jumpers and hunters that will mark its 50th year in 2027.
A Wellington highlight–in addition to top rated dressage CDI5* and three World Cup qualifiers–will be the Nations Cup CDIO3* in early March. It will be staged the same week as the jumping CSIO4* to make Wellington the first ever CHIO–two Olympic team competitions being staged at the same time–in the United States, possibly in all the Americas and similar to the world’s leading competitions such as at Aachen, Germany, Rotterdam, Netherlands and Falsterbo, Sweden.
The extended Wellington show grounds includes a newly created grass derby field, similar to the current Global venue which also has a grass derby field and hosts extensive hunter-jumper competitions in addition to both international and national dressage.
