THE MAJORS 2016
CSIO
SPRUCE MEADOWS
‘MASTERS’
2016
21
A discovery. An achievement.
A record. A single ground-breaking
triumph can make someone
famous forever. Yet, how many
heroes of the moment
achieve
legendary
status? How many of
their impressive feats actually go
down in the annals of history?
Becoming Major winners is an outstanding
accomplishment for horse
and rider. Winning three Majors
in succession, and thus the sport’s
most difficult contest, is simply
sensational. That only one pair
has succeeded thus far proves its
singularity.
For that same rider to succeed in
defending one of his Major titles
exactly one year later, in the same
location, under the same conditions
– but this time with a different
horse – confirms he has truly
achieved legendary status and become
the epitome of perfection by
generations of riders.
This is exactly what happened on
11 September 2016. At the Spruce
Meadows ‘Masters’ 2015, Scott
Brash rode his top horse “Hello
Sanctos” to victory to claim his
third Major in a row and become
the first rider ever to win the Rolex
Grand Slam of Show Jumping. A
year later, the Scotsman travelled
to Calgary with “Ursula XII” to
attempt
for the ultimate challenge
once again.
“Ursula XII” had only just started
competing again earlier that spring
after spending 15 months recovering
from an injury. Brash had
looked after her carefully to get her
back in top form for the Grand
Slam legs. His efforts had already
paid off at the CHIO Aachen 2016,
when the two of them took second
place in the “Rolex Grand Prix”. It
was now time for the next step: the
“CP ‘International’, presented by
Rolex”, the final of the Spruce
Meadows ‘Masters’ 2016.
Heavy rains and blustering winds
saw to it that only four of the
40 pairs finish the first round clear.
Two of those four also succeeded
in completing the second round
without picking up any faults:
Scott Brash with “Ursula XII” and
McLain Ward, from the United
States, with his Olympic horse