L ook, but don’t touch! It was THE photo of the Spruce Meadows “Masters” 2013: an overjoyed Pieter Devos, his hands hovering just a few centimetres away from the Rolex Grand Slam trophy. To win the cup, a rider must win all three Majors – Spruce Meadows, Geneva and Aachen – within a year. A few minutes before the photo, the Belgian show jumper had carried off an incredible feat. In one fell swoop, distancing himself from almost the entire world elite, he closed ranks with the international show jumping circuit’s top names and stars. Here, with his victory in the CN International presented by Rolex, on the outskirts of the Calgary metropolis at the foot of the Canadian Rocky Mountains, Pieter Devos wrote the second chapter in the history of the Rolex Grand Slam. Things certainly hadn’t looked as if they were going very well for Devos beforehand. Both he and “Candy” had taken a fall four days before his impressive performance, with the horse landing on his leg, which at first seemed to be broken. The signs pointed to it being an unlucky first appearance for Devos at the legendary Spruce Meadows “Masters”. Fortunately, neither of them were seriously injured, and subsequently there came a fairy-tale ending for the 27-year-old Belgian rider, who managed to outpace all the big names in the impressive International Ring arena: Steve Guerdat from Switzerland came second on “Nasa”; France’s star rider, Pénélope Leprevost, claimed third place with “Nayana”, ahead of the previous number one in the world rankings, Christian Ahlmann, who finished fourth on “Taloubet Z”. Pieter Devos outclassed his fellowcompetitors on his courageous mare “Candy”, a horse that never gives up. “The Rolex Grand Slam and me – unbelievable,” exclaimed Devos. Twelve of the 39 competitors from the first round reached the jump-off, and, of them, Pieter Devos was the only rider to jump clear – just 1/1000th of a second within the time allowed. What an achievement, what a fantastic story! In the days leading up to this culminating point, 234,785 spectators had once again experienced everything that the Spruce Meadows “Masters” with its traditional history stands for: magnificent sport, an exceptional and fascinating showground and an enthusiastic crowd. The Majors: Spruce Meadows “Masters” 2013 27
Rolex Grand Slam magazine - Number 2
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