Crowd unanimous: Festival should remain in current Wellington location
Society Founders cite “progress”

Wellington, Fla. – March 15, 2007 – Against a backdrop of concern, a crowd of close to 500 equestrians and their supporters gathered late yesterday at a “listening reception” at the Palm Beach Jockey Club to voice their support for preserving and expanding the Wellington Winter Equestrian Festival at its present location.

Hosted by The Equestrians’ Preservation Society, the “listening reception” was held to provide a forum for input from Winter Equestrian Festival participants on the future of the Festival.

“We reflect the interests of all those who love, participate in and serve equestrian competition: riders, owners, parents, trainers, officials, vets, farriers, and other participants,” said Jean Goutal, one of the founders of The Society.

“The Winter Equestrian Festival is a premier sporting and equestrian cultural event that has built up a wellspring of support here in Wellington. Today, the reception’s attendees were virtually unanimous in their agreement that the Winter Equestrian Festival should remain where it is. The equestrian community that has grown around the Festival wants to stay right here,” Mr. Goutal said.

At the reception, The Society’s founders re-emphasized their intention to work with all relevant parties to preserve the Wellington show grounds and facilitate the dedication of surrounding lands to permanent equestrian use. The Society believes that the show grounds can be expanded, to ensure that the Festival can remain in its current location.

“This is all about coming together to form an organization that will bring our common voice to the bargaining table. We must band together and show our desire to be heard about the future of our community,” noted Timothy Hooker, also a founder of The Society.

Mr. Goutal added, “I and my follow founders have spent much of the last two weeks working with the parties involved in the negotiations affecting the future of the show grounds. Significant progress has been made toward our goal of keeping the equestrians’ show grounds at its current location permanently. There is still a long way to go toward our goal, but progress is being made.”

Mr. Hooker noted that The Society fills a role that has been missing in WEF discussions. “As an umbrella organization that represents the interests of all of the equestrian sport’s dynamic disciplines, from hunter/jumper and dressage to eventing and reining, we are an essential part of the mix and should be included in discussions about our competitions,” said Mr. Hooker.

“At stake is much more than just the location of a horse show. The equestrians and local businesses participating in the Festival have invested in the Wellington area and significantly contributed to the event’s growth and success,” added John Ingram, the third founder of The Society.

The Society plans to invite all parties involved in the Festival’s future to a “Wellington Future Summit” after the current Festival activities end. The summit will serve as a forum for discussing the future of America’s premier equestrian venue and will solicit the input of the Festival’s participants.

“While we formed this Society because of our devotion to the Wellington community, we intend to build the Society into a permanent, non-profit organization for the benefit of all equestrians,” stated Mr. Ingram. “Over time, The Equestrians’ Preservation Society will expand its activities to generate broader recognition and appreciation of equestrian sports nationally.”

The Equestrians’ Preservation Society is a not-for-profit charitable foundation dedicated to the advancement of equestrian sports and the preservation, enhancement, growth, and protection of equestrian centers nationally. For more information on The Equestrians’ Preservation Society and membership in the Society, please visit the Society’s Web site at www.equestrianspreservationsociety.org.