The Gold Coast Fall Fling
by Beverly Zimmer

All Alive and Well in South Florida

The last time horses were stabled at the Stadium Jumping show grounds was in September. Horses were tucked in for the night and owners prayed that the permanent barn, built post hurricane Andrew, would protect everyone who sought refuge from hurricane Francis. The next morning, most owners couldn’t reach their horses. Most of them were blocked in their own driveways from debris. The people who could finally reach the road were sent home in early evening by mandatory curfews. Although the need to care for and protect the horses was present, a threatening sleepover in the jail was enough for many to forego night check. Horses were covered in twigs and leaves, even in the center aisles. Yet, there they stood, mostly concerned about the lone person who might show up with a bucket of grain.

The barns and other structures were perfectly intact, as hurricane Frances proved only to be the ground maintenance crew’s nightmare. The horses, who were standing in soaking stalls (from the rain that came in horizontally), were none worse for the wear, to the hundreds of people left without homes and inadequate shelter supplies. Little did residents know that this event would ravage them again only three weeks later. Still, the structures stood unscathed, just like most of the barns and properties in the hardest hit region of West Palm Beach, Florida. The worst damage would be to trees, landscaping, and pool enclosures, proving that the building codes worked, as did the fortress-like construction of the newer properties in the heavily populated equestrian community.

Hurricane photos by Ken Krauss