In honor of the Cheltenham Festival (March 12-15), horse racing’s famous rite of spring, we spotlight homes with world-class amenities for the sport of kings and all manner of equestrian pursuits
In Britain and Ireland, jumpers and jockeys—men and women alike—compete in the sport of National Hunt Racing (“chasing” over fences and “hurdling” over, and often through, “flights”), and its season’s pinnacle, its “March Madness,” takes place over four days in the Cotswold countryside.
The Cheltenham Festival is unique among sporting events. From March 12-15, some 65,000 suited and booted, currycombed, and best in show of the horsey set (both two-legged and four-legged) will descend on Cheltenham Racecourse for the “Olympics of Jump Racing.”
There’s even a war cry! Each day, before the first race, the crowd emits “the Cheltenham Roar,” an ear-splitting bellow that has been measured at 119 decibels—up there with chainsaws and ambulance sirens.
The marquee event is this year’s 100th running of the Cheltenham Gold Cup, a grueling, undulating, 3-mile, 2.5-furlong course with 22, count them, 22 jumps. The race’s £625,000 purse is second only to the Grand National and its lustrous prize is a solid gold, two-handled cup.
In honor of the festival, Luxury Defined spotlights six estates for horses and riders of all stripes. Our line-up includes Frogditch Farmhouse, just an hour south of Cheltenham, in Wiltshire, England; Gestüt Peterhof stud farm in Perl-Borg, Germany; The Bella Vista Estate in Santa Barbara County, California; Spruce Lodge Equestrian Training Facility in County Wicklow, Ireland; Whitehall Ranch in Navasota, Texas; and Norwood on Hamilton Harbour, Bermuda.
And, with a great, thunderous roar, … they’re off!
Frogditch Farmhouse is surrounded by lovely gardens and paddocks framed against the Wiltshire countryside, just outside the National Trust village of Lacock and two miles from the medieval town of Melksham.
The original period farmhouse was rebuilt as a luxurious three-story, five-bedroom home by the present owners. A fireside sitting room, an office/snug, an open plan living/dining space, and a stunning Bulthaup kitchen are among the elegant appointments. There’s also planning permission for a reception room, an office with upstairs bedroom, and a triple garage.
The property is approached via a grand gated entrance and formal driveway to a parking court and turning circle, with a lovely water feature and lavender bed. A second drive leads to a one-bedroom annex, designed to the same luxury standards as the main house.
The grounds are composed of level, lawned gardens, a paved patio with a southerly aspect, mature trees, and a large, post-and-rail fenced paddock with field shelter for the horses.
Gestüt Peterhof lies in the picturesque village of Perl-Borg on Germany’s Upper Moselle River.
This magnificent 74-acre estate has staged four FEI (International Equestrian Federation) tournaments over the years, including the qualifiers for the 2016 Summer Olympics. There are several Grand Prix dressage horses in residence, in training and at stud.
Gestüt Peterhof pampers its equine inhabitants with 38 spacious, windowed loose boxes arranged in stable wings linked by central grooming spaces and wash bays, and an immaculate two-story tack room. From there, horse and rider access the 20- by 60-meter indoor and outdoor arenas, lunging ring, and all-weather gallops track.
The on-site equine wellness facility (with veterinary clinic, rehabilitation and fitness complex) includes an aqua trainer, spa, and an infrared heat cabin. The stud farm is a fully certified EU Insemination Station. The clubhouse has an 80-seat restaurant, two kitchens, VIP lounges, event spaces, and terraces.
An ensemble of dwellings includes the grand two-story main house, stud manager’s house, and five elegant guest houses.
Surrounding the complex are eight year-round paddocks and 32 pastures, all with secure, safety-conscious plastic fencing.
Gloriously inset between the Pacific Ocean and the Santa Ynez Mountains, this world-class polo estate spans 20 resplendent acres in the hillside beach town of Summerland, between Carpinteria and the celebrity enclave of Montecito.
The Bella Vista Estate pays homage to the 18th-century villas of Italy and France. The 27,000-square-foot, 12-bedroom, 25-bathroom Neoclassical manor house is grandly appointed and offers lavish vistas of the Pacific Ocean and the Santa Ynez Mountains—perhaps best observed from the 34-foot-high marble entrance hall.
The grounds are exquisitely landscaped gardens with streams, ponds, a waterfall, and two terraces, all designated as habitat for Monarch butterflies. Complementing the regulation polo field (approximately 10 acres) are the clubhouse and lounge, a 330-yard driving range, putting green, and sand trap kitted with swing analytics equipment.
Further highlights include a 20-seat movie theater, sports bar, disco/ballroom for up to 200 guests, a 5,000-bottle wine cellar with an adjoining tasting room, a beauty salon, a gym and spa, an Olympic-length infinity pool, a helicopter hangar, and a 32-vehicle automobile gallery.
A fine, 19th-century Georgian country manor in the heart of Wicklow horse country, Spruce Lodge is also an internationally famous training center for horses and riders from beginner to international competitor.
The vine-clad main house is offered turnkey, its period features intact and updated with contemporary creature comforts. There are also five separate accommodations, including a manager’s house, a garden cottage, and three apartments.
At the heart of it all is the equestrian center, offering 32 loose boxes, indoor and outdoor arenas, an all-weather cross-country course, a conference center, extensive post-and-rail fenced paddocks and grazing, all linked by internal roadways.
The estate’s grounds include formal gardens, a Georgian-style kitchen garden, herb and fruit gardens, and lovely woodland walks extending to the banks of the River Redcross. The private lake has a viewing jetty and lakeside chalet. There are 17.3 acres of commercial forestry, made up of oak, alder, ash, birch, Scots pine, hazel, and cherry.
Spruce Lodge is within an hour of Dublin Airport and the city center, and Ireland’s premier dual-purpose racetrack, Leopardstown Racecourse, is just 45 minutes’ drive.
Whitehall Ranch rambles elegantly across its 650 wooded acres, dedicated to breeding and training polo horses, cattle ranching, and sustaining wildlife—with environmental sensitivity.
The main house, built in 2015, is a brilliant contemporary design for ranch living, with all manner of luxuries, executed in a cool white color scheme. Its vast open-plan living space, accented by a stunning, conical, steel-hooded hearth, has soaring ceilings, expansive windows, and indoor-outdoor living spaces all served by a stainless steel island kitchen. Office space, a games room and media lounge adjoin.
All told, the five separate living quarters—including the pool house, guest houses, and bunkhouses—provide 15 comfortable bedrooms, 12 full bathrooms and two partial baths.
Equine (and bovine) creature comforts include large, open horse stalls, barns, a turnout paddock, and big pastures sustained by a dedicated hay-production operation. There is a private lake and a wildlife pond on the property.
Outdoor amenities include a regulation polo field, a heated saltwater pool, a skeet range, and a “personal” helipad. All this is just an hour from Houston, two hours from Austin, and 2.5 hours from San Antonio.
One of Bermuda’s historically significant homes, Norwood on Hamilton Harbour is a 3.7-acre waterfront estate built on land deeded to the English mathematician and surveyor Richard Norwood: “Bermuda’s outstanding genius of the seventeenth century.”
The main house was built in the early 1700s by sea captain Samuel Saltus. Typical of Bermudian architecture of the period, it has retained its cruciform shape, thick limestone walls, pointed gables, stepped chimneys, eyebrow windows, and elegant interiors, including the staircase and original wig-powdering rooms. The wide wraparound veranda overlooking Hamilton Harbour is a 19th-century addition.
Renovations over the last 20 years have brought Norwood up to date while respecting its period character. Flanking the main house is Norwood Mews, a one-bedroom guest apartment. Nearby are the Carriage House studio apartment and garage; and The Stable, with its tack room and multiple stalls.
The grounds provide a paddock (formerly a tennis court), a swimming pool, old stone walls, gardens, orchards, a deepwater dock, and a registered, protected mooring.
Searching for a racehorse training facility, stud farm, polo estate, equestrian center, or working ranch? Explore our international stable of horse properties here.
