One of the biggest evenings of the year at the Winter Equestrian Festival is the Great Charity Challenge, sponsored by Fidelity Investments, held this year on Saturday, Feb. 4 at Wellington International.
Teams of three riders competed, with the best time winning $100,000 for a local charity. A total of 34 different charities were selected to compete this year, with the final place team still guaranteed $15,000 for their charity partner. This year’s theme was particularly sweet, with candy-inspired costumes for both horses and riders.
The Caridad Center team of Campbell Brown, Emma Hechtman and Abby Funk, sponsored by Frog Pond Stables and Little Creek Equestrian, took the $100,000 top spot with a combined time of 91.622 seconds.
The Hab Center team of Vivian Golden, Gabriella Curry and Grace Debney, sponsored by Lunar Dressage and Campo Bahia, won second place and a $90,000 award. Third place and $80,000 went to Alex Breyer, Stephanie Garrett and David O’Brien on behalf of 211 of the Palm Beaches and Treasure Coast, sponsored by the Postage Stamp Farm Foundation and La Victoria Farm.
Charities without a horse in the race had other opportunities to receive grants through Postage Stamp Farm’s pet parade and costume contest, the Doyle Family Foundation’s Volunteer Initiative, Social Media Spirit Awards and other randomly awarded grants.
To learn more about the competition and the charities supported over the last 14 years, visit www.greatcharitychallenge.com.
