caspersen_beach_venice_florida

Caspersen Beach, Venice

Venice is a small coastal town on the southern Gulf coast of Florida.  It is known for its beautiful golf courses, white sandy beaches, and the shark’s teeth that are abundant along the shoreline.  It is also home to Fox Lea Farm, one of my all time favorite horse show destinations!  Back in the 90’s, Fox Lea would host two Appaloosa events each year; the Sweet 16 in March and the Fuzzy Navel in December.  At the time I lived in PA, and it was a treat that many of us Northerners looked forward to each year and the trip often doubled as a week long vacation in the Florida sun.  The farm hosts many different types of shows, including hunter jumper, dressage, breed shows, and open shows.  If you are heading down to Venice for an upcoming show, check out these pros and cons for the facility:
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The Upside
  • Plenty of riding areas, including 2 large sand rings, 1 covered sand ring, 2 grass jump fields, 1 dressage ring, and lots of open grassy areas. 
  • Footing in arenas is well maintained, frequently dragged and watered. 
  • Indoor arena

    Indoor arena

    Automatic sprinklers along fences in rings.

  • Lots of trailer parking and plenty of room for turning around large rigs.
  • Permanent bathrooms with showers.
  • Many electric hookups for campers.
  • Onsite food vendors with a screened in patio for dining.
  • Covered pavilion for viewing both main sand ring and one jumping ring.
  • Lots of bleachers for spectators.
  • Dog friendly atmosphere.
  • Shed row style barns with large stalls, plus one indoor barn with some stalls available. 
  • Multiple wash racks (4 per barn).
    Main arena and Indoor barn 
    Main arena and Indoor Barn
  • Turnout paddocks for horses (not sure if these are “officially” OK to use, but I have often seen show horses turned out in them).
  • Onsite management staff and maintenance crew.
  • Easily accessible – just off I75.
  • Just minutes away from the beautiful beaches!

The Downside

  • Barns and arenas are well spaced – makes for lots of walking through the deep sand all day.
  • Indoor barn mostly used for boarding facility – there are folks that are riding and wandering around that are not affiliated with the show.  Not necessarily a bad thing, but there is competition for parking and some of the riding arenas are often reserved for boarders’ use only. 
  • Our shows here are usually quite pricey…may reflect higher charges by facility than other showgrounds.

    Sand practice arena

    Sand practice arena

  • They are building up more around the area, but there is not a huge variety of hotels and restaurants.  Lots of fast food places, though.  You do have to drive about 15 minutes toward the beaches to reach the majority of the hotels/food.
  • May be hard to find dog friendly lodging.
  • Lodging is expensive in this area.fox-lea-farm-41

All in all, Fox Lea Farm is a wonderful place for a horse show!  It’s a perfect location to compete and then enjoy the fresh air and beauty of your surroundings.  Make a vacation of it and explore Florida’s Gulf Coast or just enjoy the show.  Either way, Fox Lea is a real treat.