Tag Archives: International Polo Club

A Night in Provence at World Dressage Masters Palm Beach

No stranger to dressage, IPC has hosted the highly popular Challenge of the Americas for a number of years. Photo by: Susan J. Stickle, Phelps Media Group.

Wellington, FL – February 28, 2011 – As they watch top class competition at the World Dressage Masters Palm Beach CDI5*, spectators will be treated to a complete Provençal experience. A five course meal inspired by the food and wine of Southern France will be served at tables around the edge of the competition arena where 18 of the globe’s most highly trained horses perform the Dressage Grand Prix Freestyle to Music on the evening of March 11th, the grand finale of the 2011 World Dressage Masters presented by International Polo Club Palm Beach. Among the riders to appear at the WDM Palm Beach are a number of Olympic and World Equestrian Games veterans, including the 2010 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games Freestyle bronze medalist, Steffen Peters of the USA.

Preparations are under way to transform the Jim Brandon Equestrian Center in West Palm Beach into a scene straight out of Provence, while the chefs at International Polo Club Catering finalize the dishes and wine pairings for this extravagant gala evening. “This is more than a dressage competition,” says WDM Palm Beach producer Wellington Classic Dressage’s Noreen O’Sullivan. “It is an experience. The venue is going to look outrageous. For those who know the Jim Brandon Center, they won’t recognize it.”

When the WDM Palm Beach was in danger of being cancelled for 2011, the Goodman Family, International Polo Club Palm Beach and its members stepped in to save the American leg of the world’s most prestigious dressage competition. In the kind of style that has become expected of any IPC event, no expense has been spared in making the WDM Palm Beach a unique and memorable experience for both participants and spectators.

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World Dressage Masters Palm Beach Attracts Top International Riders

Shannon Dueck on Ayscha. Photo Credit: Susan J. Stickle, Phelps Media Group.

Wellington, FL – February 25, 2011 – With less than two weeks until the World Dressage Masters Palm Beach presented by International Polo Club Palm Beach gets under way on March 9-11 2011, a number of the world’s top riders and their horses are preparing to travel to South Florida.  The World Dressage Masters presented by Axel Johnson Group will award more than 400,000 Euros over four competitions in 2011, making it the world’s richest dressage series. The first of those competitions is the WDM Palm Beach, where 18 competitors, including several Olympic and World Championship medalists, will vie for 100,000 Euros in prize money.

The WDM Palm Beach, which will be held at the Jim Brandon Equestrian Center in West Palm Beach, is produced by Wellington Classic Dressage. Noreen O’Sullivan, a Managing Partner with Wellington Classic Dressage, is excited to welcome such an impressive international line up to South Florida. “We’re thrilled to host this competition and to have riders and horses of this caliber coming to the World Dressage Masters Palm Beach. We want people to feel treated to a truly international experience.”

On February 21st, Canadian Dressage Team Technical Advisor Robert Dover named Shannon Dueck of Loxahatchee, FL as the Canadian Wild Card recipient for the WDM Palm Beach. Originally from British Columbia, Dueck made South Florida her permanent home in 2003. “I love being able to ride all year round without having to relocate my entire barn in the winter months,” she says. “The weather here in the winter is second to none, and I have the opportunity to compete with the best from all over North America.”

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2011 World Dressage Masters Palm Beach Thanks International Polo Club Palm Beach for Continued Support

Margaret Duprey's Otto, ridden at the 2010 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games by Todd Flettrich. Photo Credit: Susan J. Stickle

Wellington, FL – February 21, 2011 – The World Dressage Masters Palm Beach, which forms part of the world’s most prestigious dressage series, will take place on March 9-11, 2011 at the Jim Brandon Equestrian Center in West Palm Beach, FL. The preservation of WDM Palm Beach is due to the generous and enthusiastic support of its presenting sponsor, International Polo Club Palm Beach.

When it was announced that the 2011 World Dressage Masters Palm Beach was to be cancelled, it appeared that the world’s richest dressage competition would disappear from North America. However, the Goodman family, International Polo Club Palm Beach and its members stepped in quickly to ensure that the show would go on. “In my talks with Mr. Goodman, he showed a profound interest in not only saving the Masters for 2011, but to extend IPC’s commitment for the long-term,” says WDM Managing Director John van de Laar. “WDM, IPC and Wellington Classic Dressage created a three year agreement, so from now on it can only get better.”

A dressage competition sponsored by a polo club isn’t as odd as it sounds. Events featuring dressage, such as the breast cancer fundraiser Challenge of the Americas, have been held at the International Polo Club for the past number of years. Approximately 20 percent of IPC members are involved with dressage in South Florida, including International Dressage Rider Arlene ‘Tuny’ Page.

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