Well-Heeled in Wellington

Palm Beach Polo

Locals call the village of Wellington “WELLY World.” Just sixteen miles west of hoity-toity Palm Beach, it’s one of the few places you have to brake for horses at every intersection. Where once were the pastures of Florida farmer Charles Wellington now are well-manicured horse trails and polo fields just about everywhere you look. And whatever you do, watch where you step.Welcome to the world’s winter capital for polo and horse shows. For horse owners, equestrians, and polo players, the Palm Beach Polo Equestrian Club and the International Polo Club Palm Beach are just plain heaven. And for the twelve thousand to fifteen thousand horses that compete in the National Horse Show, the ten-week-long Winter Equestrian Festival, and the various polo tournaments, including the Stanford U.S. Open, this is the place to be.

About fifty thousand residents live year-round in the fifty-three square miles of Wellington — for its exceptional schools, businesses, and charming restaurants. But it’s the “horsey set,” in breeches and high black riding boots, that each year pumps $350 million into the economy and keeps busy just about everyone in Wellington, from grooms and farriers to the local cigar shop.

Everything shifts into high gear when the first semitrailer carrying show horses rolls into town in November. Then, when the season ends in April, it returns to normalcy. But even in the off-season there is no such thing as snail-paced traffic in this burgeoning community. Nestled alongside most of the multimillion-dollar equestrian homes and carriage houses near the Palm Beach Polo Equestrian Club are barns and stables — not Mister Ed barns with dirt floors and dark stalls, but rather “horse mansions” with marble floors, mahogany stalls, ceiling fans, sound systems, and automatic bug spray systems.

Palm Beach Polo Equestrian Club’s sprawling one hundred and sixty-five acres of show grounds have riding rings for hunters, grand prix show jumpers, and dressage riders. Facing the grand prix show ring is the large tented Jockey Club, where the food is catered and tables for six with the best view of the ring go for $15,000 each for the season.

Any weekend, New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg, actors Glenn Close and Harvey Keitel, and rock ’n’ roller Bruce Springsteen mingle and watch their “kids” show. Also taking in the show is Hall of Fame polo pioneer William T. Ylvisaker, who thirty years ago envisioned a South Florida community built around polo fields and country clubs. He purchased 10,400 acres from Charles Wellington, 2,250 of which he used to build the Palm Beach Polo and Country Club, now a gated community, with residential homes and townhouses, a golf course, a tennis center, and a polo stadium.

Just down the road, the world’s best polo players compete on seven well-manicured Bermuda grass polo fields at the International Polo Club Palm Beach, built in 2004 by billionaire polo player John Goodman. It replaced Ylvisaker’s old polo stadium, which is now used for weekend auto shows and other events. Many locals call the new polo stadium the Billionaires Club because of what it costs patrons. Wealthy businessmen and avid horsemen with a low polo rating, including actor Tommy Lee Jones, pay big bucks to field a high-goal polo team made up mostly of players from Argentina, the cradle of modern polo.

Sundays make for a nice doubleheader for villagers. In picture-postcard weather, they attend the grand prix finale at the Internationale Arena ring and then hightail it over to the polo grounds for the featured afternoon game at Stanford Field. Nearly ten thousand spectators packed the sidelines, grandstands, and bleachers for the finale of the 2007 Stanford U.S. Open, the most prestigious polo tournament in North America.  They stomped divots at halftime, sipped free champagne, and of course, watched where they stepped.