
Nearly 10,000 people celebrated the start of the 38th Winter Equestrian Festival Saturday night at the Palm Beach International Equestrian Center in Wellington and, along with the champagne, started pouring an estimated $100 million into the local economy.
Over the festival’s 12 weeks, which culminate into the $500,000 Rolex Grand Prix in late March, nearly 6,000 horses will be used in competitions by about 4,000 riders, including a bunch of Olympic-caliber athletes and six honest-to-goodness medalists.
And, according to the latest survey by the Palm Beach County Sports Commission, many of these riders are expected to spend about $25,000 in horse-related expenses like food, medical and boarding expenses.
And it showed last night at the crowd-pleasing battle of the sexes, a team competition between the men and the women. (Chicks, with Mavis Spencer, former Desperate Housewives star Alfre Woodard‘s daughter, won again, and are undefeated since the $75,000 competition started nine years ago)
Best view in the joint? READ MORE
Check out Mike Jachles’ photos HERE.
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