Like many elite equestrians, the German Olympic gold medalist show jumper Christian Kukuk is nomadic. He lives “50-50,” he said: “all over Europe,” with a home base of Münster, Germany, from June through December, and for the other part of the year, in the Palm Beach County village of Wellington, Fla. To each location, he brings an entourage of around 10 horses, including his champion, Checker, and a handful of grooms and trainers.
To date, Mr. Kukuk, 36, has enjoyed the travel. But the birth of his daughter just over a year ago shifted his perspective. “It is not so easy to travel with a one-year-old every weekend,” Mr. Kukuk said. “It can be disruptive and exhausting. We are going to have to figure it out.”
Life for Mr. Kukuk might soon get more settled. Wellington, home to the 50-year-old Winter Equestrian Festival where stars of the sport compete for $16 million in prize money, is hoping to become a year-round destination for equestrians. Over the next 18 months, a $750 million-plus investment will bring infrastructure upgrades such as road improvements, luxury apartments and an 86,100-square-foot covered arena, all of it with an eye toward shoring up Wellington’s position as a hub of elite equestrian activity.
From December to March, some 25,000 people connected to the equestrian industry and as many as 9,000 horses migrate to Wellington for dressage and hunter jumper competitions, substantially swelling its population of 62,000 for the 13-week season. Many of these equestrians have purchased homes in the area. Long-term residents include Bruce Springsteen’s daughter, Jessica, and Michael Bloomberg’s daughter Georgina.
