By Sarah Eakin
Half of the world’s top 20 show jumping athletes will be in action at this year’s Winter Equestrian Festival at the Wellington International showgrounds — and there will be more prize money on the table than ever before.
Murray Kessler, recently appointed CEO of Wellington International, was among those to speak at the opening press conference for WEF and the neighboring Adequan Global Dressage Festival.
“It’s not just a horse show; it’s a destination,” Kessler said. “And our vision is to keep Wellington the premier horse sports destination in the world.
Not only that, but WEF’s impact on the local economy is substantial and exceeds those of other sporting events.
“I take a lot of pride in the fact that Wellington International is the anchor of this community,” Kessler said. “[In 2024,] there was $403.6 million of economic impact to Palm Beach County. We are the number one sport in Palm Beach County by far, and a lot of people count on us. We want this to be the very best experience it can be. That starts with horse sport.”
The US Equestrian Open Jumping Final will feature the $750,000 Rolex US Equestrian Open Grand Prix, a Rolex Series event, as the inaugural edition of the final, featuring increased prize money ($750,000, up from $500,000), a custom commissioned trophy and major broadcast coverage. The final is part of the US Equestrian Open Series competed for in the three Olympic disciplines of equestrian sport, concluding with three major finals in three unique locations across the United States.
As part of the US Equestrian Open, both dressage and show jumping athletes will have the opportunity to compete on one of the biggest stages worldwide.
“Having a championship like the US Equestrian Open is perfect,” Kessler said. “We want this to feel like [golf’s] U.S. Open or Wimbledon. Major championships are an important part of the sport because it gives a much broader group of people the ability to work their way into a championship.”
In addition, prize money for both the Lugano CSI5* Grand Prix on Feb. 22 and Bainbridge Companies CSI5* Grand Prix on March 8 have both been increased to $500,000.
“I think you’ll see us raising our game here this year,” Kessler continued. “We have a lot in store, but it all starts with the horses, and I’m happy to say we anticipate that eight of the top 10 ranked riders in the world will come this season, and 35 Olympic riders between the two venues.”
The dressage festival is also lining up an unprecedented depth of competition, featuring seven US Dressage Open Qualifiers, four CDI World Cup Qualifiers, the CDIO3* Nations Cup, a CDI5* event and 10 national shows. The schedule will also feature two CPEDI events — international shows for para dressage athletes — which began at Wellington International in 2016, right before the Rio Olympics.
“The sport of para in this country has grown so much,” said Thomas Baur, director of sport at the dressage festival. “They [the U.S. para dressage team] won, in total, eight medals in Paris, and five were gold. I think that is also a tribute to Wellington. We were a part of that journey. That was quite a success story over the years.”
Learn more about WEF at www.wellingtoninternational.com.
Read more by equestrian writer Sarah Eakin at www.paperhorsemedia.com.
