On Sunday (7 September), the world’s leading showjumping athletes will compete for the sport’s biggest ever prize, the $5m CPKC International, presented by Rolex.
Held as part of the CSIO5* Spruce Meadows Masters tournament in Calgary, Canada, Sunday’s grand prix has had its already substantial prize fund boosted by $2m this year, taking it to a record level to celebrate the venue’s 50th anniversary.
World’s biggest showjumping prize: 98 horses arrive from Europe alone
A record 98 horses landed at Calgary airport from Europe this week ahead of the start of the showjumping action today (3 September). Sunday’s grand prix is also part of the Rolex Grand Slam of Showjumping, for which Swiss rider Martin Fuchs and his extraordinary horse Leone Jei are the live contenders, as well as the defending champions in the CPKC International. They won it in 2023 and again in 2024.
“This impressive passenger list of horses is testament to the level of excitement there is globally, and within the equine sport world, for the 50th anniversary Spruce Meadows Masters,” said Ian Allison, senior vice president of sport and media services at Spruce Meadows. “The prize money is significant, and record-breaking, creating enormous buzz.”
“Adding to that, the BMO Nations Cup is the sport’s most coveted annual team competition,” he said. “These are just a few of the many ways Spruce Meadows is pulling out all the stops – from the sport to the stunning grounds, incredible entertainment and military offerings.”
“This is going to raise the level of the whole industry”: Tim Gredley
The one-time $5m (£2.7m) prize pot far exceeds anything else offered in the showjumping world and is the largest prize offered by any single-day sporting event in Canada.
British rider Tim Gredley hailed the bumper prize pot a monumental move for the sport.
“It is only going to raise the level of the whole industry,” he told H&H.
Riders representing Great Britain, Ireland, Germany, Brazil, Belgium, Netherlands, the USA and Canada will be among those competing in front of the Duchess of Edinburgh, who is the royal patron of Spruce Meadows.
British hopes rest with Scott Brash, competing on the 10th anniversary of his Rolex Grand Slam success with Hello Sanctos in 2015, Sameh El Dahan, Ben Maher, Matt Sampson, Joe Stockdale and Donald Whitaker. Other leading names in action this week include Steve Guerdat, Laura Kraut, Daniel Coyle, Harrie Smolders and the newly crowned European champion Richard Vogel.
Eyes on the prize: Matt Sampson relishes the pressure of a grand prix. Credit: Alamy
“We have introduced a number of exciting new elements at Spruce Meadows this year to celebrate our 50th anniversary,” said Spruce Meadows president and CEO Linda Southern-Heathcott.
“It was important to me, as a former rider and a lifelong advocate for showjumping, to make sure we were doing something extra special for the sport that has always been the lifeblood of Spruce Meadows.
“We have an incredible roster of corporate partners that have enabled us to award more than $200m in prize money since our inception in 1975,” she continued. “That support has extended to this special year, making it possible for us to offer an award that brings us into the realm of many of the biggest sporting prize pots on the globe, with more than $11m [CAD] being awarded across the 2025 tournament season.”
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