Sealing what has been an astonishingly successful week for British showjumpers in Spruce Meadows, Canada, Scott Brash hit the jackpot, winning the sport’s richest ever $5m (£2.7m) competition with his brilliant partner Hello Jefferson on Sunday (7 September).
“This is an amazing day. Jefferson deserved a big win, so to do it here at the biggest grand prix in the world… I’m just delighted for him, for my owners and my team because they work really hard to support me,” said Scott.
Scott Brash versus Kyle King: the ultimate jump-off
The CPKC International presented by Rolex came down to a two-way jump-off between double Olympic gold medallist Scott and USA rider Kyle King (Kayenne Z).
As first to go in the highly tactical third and final round, ice-cool Scott and 16-year-old Jefferson, owned by Lady Harris and Lady Kirkham and looked after by groom David Honnet, looked better than ever. Clearing every towering obstacle set by course-designer Leopoldo Palacios and pivoting neatly round every turn, they set a superb target, finishing clear in 46.97sec.
Kyle set off with great gusto on the big-striding mare, who he’s only ridden for seven months, and the pair were up on the clock at the half-way point. However an ambitious turn over the wavy Canada planks proved their undoing and they toppled, meaning Scott and Jefferson were crowned champions on a truly remarkable day for the sport of showjumping.
“Yes, we won the Olympic gold medal in Paris last year, but up until now we’d never won that big, historic grand prix that we thought Jefferson was capable of, so to finally get one under his belt is a great, great feeling,” said Scott, who was presented with a cheque totalling $1.65m (£884,000) which was awarded as a one-off prize as part of Spruce Meadoes’ 50th anniversary celebrations.
Scott, who turns 40 this year, was lifting the CPKC International trophy at Spruce Meadows for the third time; Jefferson had his name etched on the silverware alongside stable mates Ursula and Hello Sanctos. It also marked the 10-year anniversary of Scott’s success in the Rolex Grand Slam of Showjumping and the Scotsman now heads to CHI Geneva, Switzerland, in December as the live contender to continue his Rolex Grand Slam journey once again.
World’s richest showjumping class: no double clears
There were no double clears in this world-famous competition; Kyle and Scott both jumping off after picking up four faults apiece in round two. Scott’s penalties came at the renowned double of ditches under the clock tower.
“Jefferson was absolutely fantastic today. I felt he was a bit unlucky to have the ditches down in the second round, he’d been jumping really well and just misjudged the B element a bit,” he said. “But other than that he was amazing. The jump-off is always tricky – how fast do you go? You want to stay clear, but thankfully it was enough, he jumped phenomenal all day.”
Paying tribute to groom of 10 years, David Honnet, Scott added: “He knows Jefferson inside out and he’s worked with him for so many years. Jefferson has a lot of trust in him, and that’s really important. David was emotional today!”
Read the full report from the CPKC International and the rest of Great Britain’s achievements in Canada this week in Thursday’s issue of Horse & Hound, in the shops Thursday, 11 September.
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