Wellington Equestrian Partners that owns and organizes the Global Dressage and Winter Equestrian Festival filed suit Friday against Stadium Jumping and members of the Jacobs family alleging violations of a non-compete clause from a 2007 settlement between the two groups. Jeremy Jacobs, his son Lou, directors of Stadium Jumping, Inc., along with Michael and Matt Morrissey and Solar Sportsystems were named in the suit filed in Circuit Court over a show jumping event held at the Jacobs Deeridge Farm in Wellington last month. The farm is across the street from the Global facility that the Jacobs family is seeking to have torn down. Multiple lawsuits filed in February, 2007 regarding the property now known as the Palm Beach International Equestrian Center came to a close later that year, when both sides settled their differences. Stadium Jumping, which held the licenses for the Winter Equestrian Festival show dates, agreed to transfer the dates to Bellissimo’s Wellington Equestrian Partners, as outlined in this 2007 USEF news release. The non-compete and non-interference clauses were “among the most critical aspects of the settlement agreement,” according to the complaint. Stadium Jumping, Inc. had still been running events in Tampa, which was allowed under the agreement. The filing asked the court to prevent any future events and provide Wellington Equestrian Partners with attorney’s fees and other costs. The Jacobs family suit filed in February 2012 seeks to have the Global facility torn down. The suit by Wellington Equestrian Partners comes a day after announcing agreement to buy the International Polo Club and 245 acres surrounding it that gives the group control over the Global Dressage and Winter Equestrian Festival of jumpers and hunters in addition to the most prominent and largest polo club in North America.
