Wellington, Florida, is home to Wellington International, “The Winter Equestrian Capital of the World.” Established in 1974, the iconic equestrian venue covers over 111 acres and boasts 14 state-of-the-art competition arenas, along with more than 500 permanent equine stalls. Wellington International is recognized for hosting the Winter Equestrian Festival, the world’s largest and longest-running hunter/jumper horse show, from January through March. In combination with the ESP Annual Series Circuit, Wellington International hosts 42 weeks of equestrian competitions annually, regularly hosting some of the top riders in the world and over 350,000 attendees.
Wellington International’s management team is very tech-forward and acknowledges the value and benefits that superior AV solutions bring to outdoor venues. The venue has recently undertaken a holistic overhaul of its AV systems to provide a more consistent and expandable solution. Overseeing the retrofit is Patrick McKenney, Director of Technology at Wellington International, who immediately turned to LEA Professional amplifiers to help improve sound quality around the property.
“As large as our property is, we began with a pilot program at our dressage ring to see how the new system components performed regarding dust and humidity,” said McKenney. “Dressage involves a custom music soundtrack for each rider, so it’s essential that the rider and horse hear the music. Once we switched over to LEA amplifiers, there was a night and day difference in the audio clarity and power of the amplifiers. It’s really impressive.”
McKenney deployed Connect Series 704 amplifiers to power the ring’s speakers. The IoT-enabled 4-channel 704 provides 700 watts per channel, supports Hi-Z (70V or 100V) and Lo-Z selectable by channel, and features Smart Power Bridge technology. Venue staff can connect to the built-in Wi-Fi access point, the center’s Wi-Fi, or the local area network via Cat5 or Cat6 cable. The CS704s also provide the DSP for the dressage arena’s audio system.
Given the pilot program’s success, McKenney moved forward with upgrading the main stadium’s AV system, deploying Dante Connect 704D and Dante Connect 352D amplifiers. The 352D is a 2-channel amplifier with 350 watts per channel. Dante Connect models include the same features as Network Connect models, plus 96kHz-capable Dante and AES67 connectivity options.
The Connect Series delivers an industry-first professional amplifier family to feature cloud connectivity, a revolutionary advancement and a significant benefit for anyone maintaining the systems. With LEA Cloud, AV teams can remotely control and monitor the amplifiers regardless of their location or time of day.
Upgrading the main ring’s AV system amid Wellington’s busy equestrian schedule is a testament to the improvements that LEA amplifiers provide.
“LEA’s form factor, weight, networkability, and basically everything makes the gear so much more convenient,” said McKenney. “The built-in DSP in the amplifier is massive. Being able to control the amps remotely and make changes on the fly is really cool. I’ve been super happy with LEA’s’ products and look forward to using them as much as possible.”
