Competition gets underway in Canada

The focus of the international show jumping world is on Calgary, Canada, from 7–11 September for the CSIO Spruce Meadows ‘Masters’ Tournament. Regarded as the leading equestrian event in North America, it culminates on Sunday week when the world’s leading horse and rider combinations contest the five-star Grand Prix, the CP ‘International’, presented by Rolex, one of the four Majors that comprise the Rolex Grand Slam of Show Jumping.

Rolex has been the Presenting Sponsor of the Spruce Meadows ‘Masters’ since 1989 as part of its 65-year association with equestrianism. The alliance is based on the mutual quest for precision, elegance and all-round excellence, and encompasses the sport’s finest athletes and events.

ROLEX TESTIMONEES CHALLENGING FOR VICTORY

World No. 2 Martin Fuchs leads a strong roster of Rolex Testimonees heading to Calgary. The Swiss rider, who won the FEI Jumping World Cup Final earlier this year, is in contention to claim a bonus prize for winning two of the past four Rolex Grand Slam events following his victory at the CHI Geneva at the end of 2021.

Fellow Testimonee and compatriot Steve Guerdat arrives at Spruce Meadows as reigning champion. He says:

“The CP ‘International’, presented by Rolex at Spruce Meadows is one of the classics of the sport and a competition I always dreamed of winning. It has such history and is one of the toughest tests in our sport, so to win was a huge achievement. I return this year with the same desire to win and my full focus will be on doing well on Sunday.”

Another Rolex Testimonee travelling to Canada with the proven credentials to claim a show jumping Major is Germany’s Daniel Deusser, who won the Rolex Grand Prix at CHIO Aachen last year and The Dutch Masters in March.

Scotland’s Scott Brash will be eager to go one better than his second-place finish in the Rolex Grand Prix at CHIO Aachen in July. He returns to the venue where in 2015 he completed his historic Rolex Grand Slam of Show Jumping triumph aboard Hello Sanctos, having also won the preceding Rolex Grand Prix at the CHI Geneva and CHIO Aachen. Brash remains the only rider to have conquered the sport’s greatest challenge, namely, to win three consecutive show jumping Majors, and claim its most coveted prize. More recently, Brash claimed a team bronze medal at the FEI World Championships earlier this month, alongside his British teammate and fellow Testimonee Harry Charles. 

The USA’s Kent Farrington will be another seeking to master the course set by world-renowned designer Leopoldo Palacios. The former World No. 1 has already triumphed this year in the famed International Arena at the foothills of the Alberta Rocky Mountains, having won during the Spruce Meadows ‘North American’ Tournament in July. 

The USA’s Kent Farrington will be another seeking to master the course set by world-renowned designer Leopoldo Palacios. The former World No. 1 has already triumphed this year in the famed International Arena at the foothills of the Alberta Rocky Mountains, having won during the Spruce Meadows ‘North American’ Tournament in July. Completing the line-up in 2022 is in-form Kevin Staut, the current World No. 13.

For information on how to watch the Spruce Masters, visit https://www.sprucemeadows.com/ondemand/