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About TerraNova Equestrian Center
From world-class competition and development to clinics, events, and a life connected to the land, TerraNova offers an equestrian experience designed to bring horses, people, and community together.
Welcome to TerraNova
TerraNova Equestrian Center is Florida’s premier destination for equestrian sport, connection, and community. Set among the picturesque countryside of Myakka City, in Manatee County, TerraNova offers a welcoming setting for riders and horses at every level, from developing young horses to international competition.
Today, TerraNova hosts a diverse calendar of hunter/jumper, eventing, dressage, para-dressage, combined driving, and para-driving competitions, along with young horse shows, clinics, and educational programs. Beyond competition, TerraNova provides a versatile setting for dog shows, retreats, private gatherings, and event rentals—creating opportunities for families, organizations, and communities to come together around a shared appreciation for sport, animals, and the outdoors.
Thoughtfully designed with horses and people at the center, the facility delivers an exceptional experience for competitors and their families, with safety, hospitality, and the development of horse and rider at its core. Just a short drive from Sarasota’s beaches, downtown, shopping, Sarasota-Bradenton International Airport, and the region’s diverse cultural offerings, TerraNova offers a place to compete, learn, gather, and grow.
The team at TerraNova built a family-friendly facility designed to deliver an unparalleled experience for competitors and horses while keeping safety a priority. No detail was overlooked with six state-of-the-art arenas and a sprawling cross-country course designed by Olympic gold medalist Capt. Mark Phillips and built by master craftsman Eric Bull.
The history of TerraNova
The Myakka countryside has been working land for generations. Cattle ranchers settled the region in the mid-1800s, and the ground that is now TerraNova spent more than a century as open Florida pasture beneath its wild oaks.
The Herrig family saw something more in it. On 200+ acres a half hour east of Sarasota, they set out to build a world-class competition venue guided by three tenets: purity of sport, harmony with nature, and commitment to excellence. The land led the design. Not a single tree was cut in the construction of the equestrian center; the show barns were rotated to spare the existing wild oaks, and a four-acre lake was carved to capture rainwater for the property’s drainage and irrigation systems.
The sport arrived quickly. TerraNova opened its gates in October 2021 with an inaugural event headlined by an international CCI4*-S division, a debut almost unheard of for a brand-new venue, and welcomed show jumping that winter. US Equestrian has since approved the venue for four-star long-format eventing, and the calendar has grown to span eventing, international dressage, and hunter/jumper competition year-round.
The road to TerraNova
Mid-1800s
Working land
Cattle ranchers settle the Myakka region. The property is worked as open pasture for over a century.
2019
A new vision
The Herrig family assembles the land: 200+ acres for the equestrian center, with over a thousand adjacent acres for The Estates.
2020
Built around the oaks
Design and construction begin. No trees are cut; barns are rotated around the existing wild oaks, and a four-acre lake anchors drainage and irrigation. Capt. Mark Phillips lays out the cross-country course, built by Eric Bull.
October 2021
The inaugural event
TerraNova hosts its first-ever competition, The Event at TerraNova, headlined by an international CCI4*-S division.
January 2022
Show jumping arrives
The first show jumping competition week is held at the new venue.
2023
Four-star approval
US Equestrian grants approval for four-star long-format eventing, and TerraNova runs its first spring FEI event.
Today
A full season
Competition, clinics, young horse shows, retreats, and private events take place year-round, with The Estates, The Stables, and Equilibrium growing around the showgrounds.
Myakka Initiative
The Myakka Initiative is the shared stewardship commitment behind TerraNova Equestrian Center, The Estates at TerraNova, and Miakka Golf Club. Together these properties span across the Myakka region, and every decision on them begins with the land itself: its hydrology, wildlife corridors, soil types, and native habitats. More than half of that acreage will remain natural green space, including forests, wetlands, prairies, and connected wildlife corridors.
The mission is straightforward. Protect the land. Preserve the river. Respect the community. In practice that means stormwater captured and filtered on-site, wetlands and oak hammocks left intact, over 3,000 trees planted alongside one million native plants, and clear, accurate information for neighbors, local officials, and future residents about what is planned here and what is not.
The grounds, by the numbers
The TerraNova family of brands
One family of brands rooted in the same land. Live here, keep your horse here, and compete out your back gate.
Build the farm you’ve planned in your head: estate homesites of five to twenty acres beside the showgrounds.
Year-round boarding and training in the B&D-built barn: gym, lounge, and turnout under the oaks.
Balance for horse and rider: recovery, conditioning, and wellness on the quiet side of the property.
