Wellington residents and equestrians are well-known and respected for giving back to the community. One of their favorite causes is the Vinceremos Therapeutic Riding Center in Loxahatchee Groves — and once again this season, the Floridian Community Bank Buck Off is back to benefit Vinceremos.
The annual Buck Off event got underway Thursday, Jan. 12, and the second preliminary round is set for Thursday, Jan. 19 at 6:30 p.m. at the White Horse Fashion Cuisine in Wellington.
“The Buck Off has become a weekly event for Wellington and our equestrian community,” said dressage rider Devon Kane, chair of the Vinceremos Young Professionals committee. “It is a really fun and entertaining event, and a great way for anyone to connect to Vinceremos and support the center by attending, contributing and riding. It’s fantastic to see all the different people riding on teams and the crowd cheering them all along. I’m really looking forward to Thursday night’s Buck Off!”
Floridian Community Bank has been involved with the Buck Off since its inception, helping raise thousands of dollars for Vinceremos every year. Vinceremos is a world-class nonprofit therapeutic riding center, which has helped hundreds of riders with varying physical, cognitive and emotional disabilities.
Four-person teams compete in the Buck Off, a crowd-pleasing, mechanical bull-riding competition where individual scores are totaled to determine the winning team of each round.
Spots are still available for the second round. The event is open to everyone, and pre-registration is encouraged but not required. Individual riders are welcome.
The entry fee is $100 per team per round. The third and final preliminary round is set for Thursday, Jan. 26.
The winning teams from each of the three preliminary competitions will advance to the championship round, which will take place at the 30th annual Vinceremos Dinner and Benefit Auction on Friday, Feb. 3 at the International Polo Club Palm Beach.
Additional sponsors include the Palm Beach Equine Clinic, Tito’s Vodka, Nadine Allen and Sanjiv Sharma, Discount Dirtworks, Marshall & Sterling Insurance-Equisport Division, Envisian LLC, Laas Equestrian Real Estate and Carl Schachter with Northwestern Mutual.
Vinceremos CEO Bill Carter is pleased with the success of the event.
“The Buck Off inspires young people and builds legacy supporters for the organization,” Carter said. “We also believe it stimulates additional community participation with helping those who ride at Vinceremos.”
To register, contact Bobbi Rottman at bobbi@equessolutions.com or just show up ready to ride.
Vinceremos Therapeutic Riding Center is a nonprofit organization that provides equine-assisted therapies for persons with varying physical, cognitive and emotional disabilities.
Founded in 1982, the facility is located in Loxahatchee Groves, directly behind Palms West Hospital.
For more info., visit www.vinceremos.org.
