HELGSTRAND DRESSAGE INVESTS IN THE U.S.

This purchase demonstrates that Wellington has become the preeminent international winter hub of equestrian sports.

One of Europe’s most prestigious and influential sport-horse performance and breeding centers purchased 80-acre Windsome Farm, one of Wellington, Florida’s, largest equestrian estates early this year. Helgstrand Dressage, based in Aalborg, Denmark, was founded in 2008 and has operated its U.S. business for the past three winter seasons from a nearby farm under the management of Dr. Ulf Möller. Windsome will become the Danish firm’s permanent USA sales center.

The facility, built in 1995, includes Mediterranean-style barns with 52 stalls and a grass grand-prix field with natural jumps and hills, in addition to owner’s and rider’s lounges, each equipped with bathrooms and kitchenettes. It includes three training rings, 16 grooming stalls, six wash stalls, a tack room, a bridle path that surrounds the property, and four man-made lakes, and is located within hacking distance of world-famous Palm Beach International Equestrian Center’s competition venues.

Helgstrand Dressage is the namesake of international grand prix dressage rider Andreas Helgstrand, whose now-famous ride with the mare Blue Hors Matiné at the 2006 FEI World Equestrian Games in Aachen, Germany, made him an instant international dressage celebrity. After earning the individual and team bronze, he founded Helgstrand Dressage in 2008. The farm and training center has become one of the largest sellers of dressage horses in the world, with up to 600 horses and sales of over $55 million.

The realtor for the transaction, Matt Johnson, himself an avid dressage competitor, was a natural choice for Helgstrand’s purchase in Wellington. They met in 2013 when Johnson was looking at horses in Denmark. Johnson represented the U.S. at the 2014 FEI World Young Horse Championships in Verden, Germany, on his stallion purchased from Helgstrand as a 4-year-old.

“At first, the search was focused on smaller farms, but the more time Andreas spent in Wellington the more his initial plans evolved and grew,” said Johnson. “Once the European dressage powerhouse realized the enormous potential and possibilities for his business in Wellington, Windsome Farm became the obvious choice.

“It’s amazing when I think back to my first season in Wellington before I got into real estate,” Johnson continued. “I used to drive by the construction site of Windsome Farm every morning on my way to the barn. I literally watched its transformation from dirt into one of Wellington’s iconic farms. So now, after 22 years in the real estate business, to be blessed with the opportunity to represent my clients in the acquisition of this cornerstone property, well, it feels like it’s all come full circle.”