This photo of Boyd Martin and Bruce Springsteen alone is enough to believe in eventing in Wellington. But let's talk about a few more reasons ...
True confessions: I had no intention of going to the Wellington Eventing Showcase. With it being an exhibition event sporting a quickie cross country course — and with EN having a travel budget I have to carefully maximize so we can cover all the key events around the world — I didn’t see a compelling reason to go.
Not to mention I already had flights and hotels booked for a winter getaway with my husband, Josh, on the other side of the country in my hometown of San Diego. I would have to fly from San Diego to Palm Beach and cancel the last part of my trip to make it work. Hell no.
Then my phone started blowing up. With a star-studded entry list and the promise of Equestrian Sport Production rolling out the red carpet in the winter equestrian capital of the world, everyone expected EN to be there. So I did exactly what I didn’t want to do — cut my trip to San Diego in half and begrudgingly dragged my feet to Wellington.
It took me less than 24 hours on the grounds at the Palm Beach International Equestrian Center to realize I had been wrong.
A venue with perfect weather for spectators, owners, riders and horses alike in January, a time when the U.S. eventing community is usually in a deep slumber? Check.
A very horsey crowd already established here that thinks cross country is awesome and terrifying at the same time and is intrigued to know more? Check.
A group of extremely experienced organizers who have a vision to bring new owners, new sponsors and new fans into the sport? Check.
But let’s back up for a minute. I fully understand the skepticism that’s been swirling around this showcase. Remember, I was the skeptic who had no plans to attend for the same reasons.
In a sport that has already made so many sacrifices to survive, it’s understandable that we all want to clench an iron-clad fist around whatever shreds of dignity we think eventing has left.
But I think it’s important to realize this is not an either-or scenario; this is both-and. Hosting a showcase event in which riders have the ability to compete for more prize money than they’re going to see all season while treating their owners to a good time is a win-win.
It absolutely does not mean we lose the “gladiator” aspect of the sport at the highest levels, as Boyd Martin put it. Instead, it allows us to create a platform to introduce eventing to the people who could become the next group of owners for Team USA.
Indeed, where would we be without people like Carl and Cassie Segal, Sherrie Martin, Katie Walker, Gloria Callen, Annie Jones, Tom Tierney, Steve Blauner, Jacqueline Mars, Nina Gardner, Jennifer Mosing, the late Bruce Duchossois and countless other people who so generously fund our top riders?
And if you think about all the things American riders have achieved with the financial support of those owners, think about how much more we could do with a whole new bunch of dedicated people who are excited about eventing because of Mark Bellissimo’s vision in Wellington.
And speaking of Mark, I had never met him before until this weekend. But anyone who can bring a Grand Prix to Central Park and eventing to Wellington — and opens his wallet to invest in a brand new facility in Tryon and improving the already wonderful Colorado Horse Park — demands our attention.
I’m not sure that anyone has ever told Mark “no” before, and I certainly wouldn’t want to be the first one to attempt that. When he says he wants to bring a second CCI4* to North America and build a world class eventing facility in North Carolina, I believe him.
It took him three years to pull off the Wellington Eventing Showcase. The changes and improvements that can take eventing in America to the next level certainly won’t happen overnight. Or maybe even in the next decade.
But the groundwork has been laid for something truly spectacular to happen. I have to agree with Marilyn Little — we saw magic happen this weekend in Wellington. And I think that’s something we can all applaud.
Wellington Eventing Showcase: Live Scores, EN’s Coverage, EN’s Twitter, EN’s Instagram, #WellyEventing
