{"id":2758,"date":"2024-07-01T17:47:52","date_gmt":"2024-07-02T00:47:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/theaposition.com\/traveltattler\/?p=2758"},"modified":"2024-07-01T17:47:52","modified_gmt":"2024-07-02T00:47:52","slug":"olympic-stars-train-at-world-equestrian-center-ocalas-new-horse-capital-tourist-destination","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/traveltattler\/golf\/courses-and-travel\/2758\/olympic-stars-train-at-world-equestrian-center-ocalas-new-horse-capital-tourist-destination","title":{"rendered":"Olympic Stars Train at World Equestrian Center: Ocala\u2019s New \u201cHorse Capital\u201d Tourist Destination"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"WEC\u2019s<\/a>

WEC\u2019s Equestrian Hotel offers views of horses in action. Photo by: Ethan Tweedie<\/p><\/div>\n

The Sunshine State has a hot new attraction: the World Equestrian Center in Ocala, Florida\u2019s \u201cHorse Capital of the World.\u201d It is pageantry and ponies\u2026stallions and stagecraft\u2026mares and magic.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019ve done Disney \u2013 now come to the Disney of \u2018horse land.\u2019 It is a different Florida experience than most people are used to,\u201d said Leah Tong, director of marketing and brand for the 378-acre destination starring majestic, inspiring horses which compete in dressage, jumping, eventing, and a variety of other breed and discipline shows.<\/p>\n

\u201cWorld Equestrian Center is so welcoming. You do not need an in-depth knowledge of the sport,\u201d said Tong. \u201cSaturday nights we have Grand Prix events in the Grand Arena through 40 weeks of competitions and it doesn\u2019t take you long to cheer for the exciting sport of jumping. You quickly understand what\u2019s going on and it is family fun.<\/p>\n

Where else can one immerse themselves, up close and personal, with horses \u2013 and stay on-property with them. The fanciful, themed destination also offers seven restaurants, dozens of retailers, and vacation amenities. I suggested sipping a mint julep, in the Kentucky Derby tradition, by the pool at the WEC\u2019s signature Equestrian Hotel or its\u2019 new, pet-friendly Riding Academy Hotel, Tong said was suitable.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe horses you see in the Derby and the other Triple Crown races likely have a connection to Ocala. We breed a huge number of the U.S.\u2019s thoroughbred horses. Ocala and Marion counties, in Central Florida between Orlando and Gainesville, have a horse population of 75,000.\u201d<\/p>\n

The horses that train and show at World Equestrian Center have plenty of natural acres to live and relax \u2013 so why shouldn\u2019t visitors? That is a sure bet with spa treatments, meandering, shaded walking trails and a creative annual schedule which includes a food and wine festival; Oktoberfest; and Winter Wonderland festivities.<\/p>\n

But it is the Summer Games that have Tong\u2019s attention: the Florida native was press officer for the U.S. Equestrian Teams at the 2016 Olympics in Rio. \u201cSo many of the equine athletes and riders you\u2019re going to see at the\u00a02024 Paris\u00a0Olympic Games and Paralympics trained and competed here this spring,\u201d she revealed.<\/p>\n

Tong grew up riding and competing hunter\/jumpers and has an affection for the powerful, playful animals.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I was young, my trainer had a horse who loved to escape like Houdini. He used his lips to open the stall door. We found him at the feed stall eating hay. He needed a snack,\u201d she smiled.<\/p>\n

Tong also described her respect for speed and soul of horses. \u201cIt is almost indescribable to feel the connection with a horse – to trust the animal and have the animal trust you – whether you\u2019re jumping over fences or dressage, which is essentially dancing with the horse. If you have ever climbed on the back of a horse, you will have such an appreciation for how special that is.\u201d<\/p>\n

World Equestrian Center is a special experience. The getaway is a colorful, glamorous, Royal Ascot-style \u201cTaj Mahal to horses\u201d blended with the authenticity of rural barns, stately stables and split-rail fences bordering rolling pastures.<\/p>\n

Contact Michael Patrick Shiels at\u00a0<\/em>MShiels@aol.com<\/em><\/a>\u00a0\u00a0His new book: Travel Tattler \u2013 Not So Torrid Tales, may be purchased via\u00a0Amazon.com<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Sunshine State has a hot new attraction: the World Equestrian Center in Ocala, Florida\u2019s \u201cHorse Capital of the World.\u201d… Read more »<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":43,"featured_media":2760,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[606,1044563],"class_list":["post-2758","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-courses-and-travel","tag-florida","tag-michael-patrick"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/traveltattler\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/34\/2024\/07\/Florida-Equestrian.jpeg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/traveltattler\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2758","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/traveltattler\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/traveltattler\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/traveltattler\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/43"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/traveltattler\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2758"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/traveltattler\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2758\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2761,"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/traveltattler\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2758\/revisions\/2761"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/traveltattler\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2760"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/traveltattler\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2758"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/traveltattler\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2758"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/traveltattler\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2758"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}