A Visit to the Equestrian Competitions at Spruce Meadows, Calgary (Sep 2023)

What follows is an account of a visit to Spruce Meadows in Calgary, to watch the World Equestrian Championships. That’s the sport where people ride horses that jump over walls and fences. I visited it with my wife and a friend, Lynn, who lives in Calgary.

Lynn had suggested earlier that we should go to Spruce Meadows Equestrian Center, to watch the big international competition that they hold in September. As a long-timer horse-racing aficionado, I thought it would be interesting to watch one of these events live. Plus, I thought if might be the only opportunity I would ever have to do this, so it seemed like an excellent suggestion. So off we went.

As many readers may know, these events involve the close cooperation of rider and horse, as they navigate a course that contains as series of challenging jumps. While doing this, the partnership, as it is called, is also timed, with the winner being decided on the basis of a combination of lowest time and fewest faults (i.e. knocking down one or more rails on the jumping obstacle). The horse’s form doesn’t seem to matter, though you could usually tell a confident and capable horse by its behaviour and comportment. At any rate, that’s how it looked to me.

This particular venue holds a variety of events throughout the year, mostly horse related, but recently it has also hosted a local soccer club. It is a large campus-type environment of many hundreds of acres, with several different outdoor arenas for competitions, as well as some indoor facilities for shows and competitions. There are, of course, facilities for stabling horses. Well-tended green spaces abound, to walk about in and relax. In addition, numerous buildings are located on the grounds, that are used as sales pavilions, art galleries and food service areas. On occasions such as this one, many tents have been erected to provide food services, generally with an international flavor, to complement the international competition.

Basically, it is quite a beautiful place, built for an upper-class activity, which is what show-jumping really is. After all, historically, the concept of “the equestrian class” meant much more than owning horses. It is quite different from the Damon Runyon-esque looks and atmosphere of the typical thoroughbred race-track, of which I am more familiar.

The place was actually the brainchild of the Southern family, a very successful local dynasty. They started off in the business of building, selling and/or leasing job office trailers and the like. Around Alberta, these are commonly known as ATCO trailers, though I don’t know if that terminology is widespread across the country. They could be seen anywhere now; construction sites, mine-sites, or anywhere that temporary housing and work-spaces are needed. This activity turned out to be very lucrative, so they branched out into many other businesses, often ones with connections to the oil industry. The family eventually became rich enough to build and develop Spruce Meadows, a commendable legacy.

As it turned out, today was Seniors Day, so we got in free. There were a number of people employed to shepherd the cars into parking lots, some of which were grass “overflow” lots. It was all very efficient and orderly, an indication of how the equestrian class lives, I suppose.

The normal entry fee is quite nominal anyway, at only $5 per person, at least this early in the four-day meet. The people at the “gate” (it was just some people sitting on chairs) near the entrance waved us through without showing I.D.. Technically, this was a bit fraudulent on my part, as I was still a few weeks from qualifying, by conventional standards. The “girls” that I was with were legit, though.

After a bit of wandering about, we ended up in the ATCO arena, where a competition was underway. We watched about 10 or 15 horse-rider partnerships go through their competitive paces. It was interesting to observe, more-so than I had expected. The jumping was very impressive, as was the ridership. And, needless to say, these were very high-class and expensive horses. I suspect that most of the human participants were also upper-class, as this would be a very expensive activity to become involved with.

As noted previously, scoring consists of a combination of faults and timing. If a horse knocks down a rail or puts a hoof on a white border at a water jump, it is given 4 faults. Similarly for a horse’s first disobedience (e.g. refusing a jump). A second disobedience results in elimination. If a rider falls, that is 8 points. If both rider and horse fall, they are out of the competition. If they exceed the time limit for the competition, they are eliminated. Every second above the fastest time results in 1 fault. The partnership with the lowest score wins the competition. There may be other subtleties, of which I am not aware.

The human competitors (and presumably the horses as well) were from various nations, particularly from within Europe and North America. But there were also competitors from Australia and Egypt. There may have been others.

The competitions that we watched (we saw two different events during the day) consisted of about 10 or 12 fences, gates, or walls for the horse and rider to clear. The rails are loosely attached to the obstacles, so the horse isn’t hurt if it knocks a rail down. That said, I am sure that a human who knocked down a similar rail with his shin while jumping over it would disagree about it not hurting. I’m pretty sure I’d say “ouch!”.

The jumps were of varying construction or appearance, some having gaps between rails and some being more wall-like in appearance. The latter are not actually made of brick but rather foam blocks that are meant to resemble a solid surface. The obstacles are sometimes single and sometimes placed in tandem, as many as three closely spaced. The overall impression both gives variety to the spectators and presents different challenges to the horse and rider.

Presumably the solid-looking walls must test the horse’s nerve, while the combination jumps must test its strength and endurance. I did notice that in one competition, a series of 3 jumps were closely spaced right at the end of the course. Horses seemed to have a fair bit of trouble with this, as many that had cleared all the previous jumps knocked down rails at the end. I suspect that the horse was pretty tired after doing the initial jumps and many just didn’t have enough energy left to clear these final obstacles.

When I compare show-jumping to horse racing, there are some similarities and many differences:

• In the former times are important, in the latter times are everything. The former is a somewhat genteel one-horse-at-a-time competition, with results compared later to determine the winner. The latter is a head-to-head match, with lots of strategy, bumping, jostling and flat-out speed. Show-jumping horses are rather elegant looking and acting; race horses are very attractive as well, but perhaps have a sharper and meaner look.

• I noticed quite a few grey and white horses in the show-jumping, seemingly at a much greater proportion than one would see at the racetrack. However, that may have just been an effect of seeing a small sample of horses on one day at Spruce Meadows, compared to a much larger sample at the races, over a period of years.

• As for the riders, show-jumping seems more like a hobby (though a very serious hobby), while horse-racing is a very serious business for the jockey. Equestrian riders (the human half of the partnership) generally appear to be rather statuesque and ride quite upright, when not while they are in the midst of a jump. Horse-race jockeys are almost always short, don’t weight much and ride hunched up, usually well up on the horse, sometimes off the saddle, seeming to almost to be riding on the horse’s neck (though obviously they aren’t really doing that).

• As for the crowd, the show-jumping crowd seemed to be very middle or upper-middle class. Lynn is a teacher, Helena a writer and I am a data scientist, so we fit in reasonably well. That’s not a grouping that you would usually find at a racetrack (though you might, as there is a lot of diversity at the track, from princes to pikers).

• There can be a fair bit of money at stake for both – the top prize at Spruce Meadows was 150 thousand, while a top horse race is usually good for much more (the winner of the Kentucky Derby is good for nearly 2 million).

• Last, but certainly not least, is the matter of betting. To the best of my knowledge there is no betting allowed betting on show-jumping (well, maybe some bookies take action in London). Spectators are mostly there to watch, because they love horses. At the races, spectators are mostly there to bet, though they often appreciate the beauty and mystique of horses, especially those horses that have paid off at long odds.

Besides, the horse jumping, we explored some of the other attractions on the site. There were a lot of food vendors, though we didn’t eat much, as we had eaten a rather substantial breakfast before leaving the house. As with any fair, food and drink were expensive (e.g. $4.50 for a half-litre of water).

There were also some buildings with artwork, primarily of a western, natural landscape and/or horse-related theme. Those were also quite pricey; Lynn was drawn to a work that was going for $1500, before negotiations. It was a very nice picture of horses in a mountain meadow. She said it reminded her of a place that she had rode horses in. The artist said that it was based on a real scene, though it sounded like the location was not the same as the one that Lynn had in mind.

We also caught a show of something called “horse vaulting”. The show wasn’t a competition, but rather a demonstration, to introduce the crowd to the sport.

This is an activity where young girls (as young as 5) and young women (usually teens) do gymnastics types of moves on a horse’s back while it is moving, either walking or cantering in a circle. The horse is on a lead, with an adult woman controlling it. So, in that sense, it isn’t “trick riding”, where the horse is not on a lead. (Note that the photo is from google images, as I didn’t actually get a photo during the presentation myself, but it is quite similar to the actual show).

In this case, the girls put a couple of horses through their paces, doing a number of acrobatic/gymnastic moves while on the horse’s back. They had a sort of upside-down stirrup on the horses saddle, which they could use as hand-holds while performing these moves. In a way, it reminded one of the pommel-horse routines one might see in the Olympics, but with a real horse instead of a pommel horse. Though in this case, the moves were more about grace and elegance than about strength, as would be the case for the pommel horse (mostly men do this sport).

One had to be impressed by the young girls and teenagers. The performances obviously required a great deal of balance as well as agility and confidence. Clearly, they trained very diligently to learn these routines. There were three very young girls (elementary school age) and three teenagers (junior high or early senior high). The older girls often helped the young ones to get on the horses, boosting them so they could get up on the horse’s back as it moved in the circular path. They also did some team-type routines, where more than one person was on the horse at the same time. Obviously they all had a lot of trust in each other, and in the adult woman who was the coach and horse controller. She also kept up a running spiel as they performed, explaining what was going on.

Full marks to the horses, as well, who never missed a step or seemed to be anything other than well under control. There were two horses, one rather large and one somewhat smaller. They both provided stable platforms for the girls, with nobody falling or hurt in any way. I did notice one young woman rider seem to slip for a fraction of a second, but recovered very quickly.

Watching this reminded Helena of when she was young, in Finland where she was born. They had a horse on the family farm (work-horse), though she didn’t ride herself. Her older brothers did, whenever they got a chance. She said the horse didn’t seem to mind, in fact seemed to enjoy it. They had picked up the horse from a relative, who hadn’t treated it well. She said it seemed to revel in the new family, who treated it well.

At one point, when she was a toddler she and her brothers were on a wagon that the horse was pulling, her father driving the wagon. The wagon stopped for a moment, and she fell off, managing to get her head directly in the path of a wheel, that could do a great of damage, were the wagon to start off again. The horse was usually skittish, and not one to remain stationary. But on this one occasion, her father told the horse to stay still, and it did, giving him time to retrieve his daughter.

Lynn mentioned that she had been riding since she was about 11 years of age. She didn’t have any harrowing stories from childhood, but had fallen more recently and been injured, so she hadn’t been riding for a while. She was still thinking it over, whether to get back on the horse or give it up.

As for me, I have only ridden a few times, most recently in my late teens or early 20s, which was a long time ago. I like horses, but from a distance, especially at at racetrack.

On the way to the parking lot, a volunteer in an open-top shuttle stopped and offered us a lift. I started to say “no thanks”, but Lynn countermanded that and said “sure”. I suppose my female companions looked a bit tired by then (certainly not me!).

We took the ride, as the parking lot was quite a ways away. Again, I felt like a fraud, as I had at the entrance, as I wasn’t very tired myself. I mentioned that to the shuttle driver, as we exited. She just laughed, waved and drove away.

And here's an account of some riding in the country, but bikes instead of horses.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A Ride on the Kettle Valley Rail Trail

U.S.: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01GBG8JE0
U.K.:  https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B01GBG8JE0 
Germany: https://www.amazon.de/dp/B01GBG8JE0
Japan: https://www.amazon.co.jp/dp/B01GBG8JE0  
Canada: https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B01GBG8JE0
Australia: https://www.amazon.com.au/dp/B01GBG8JE0
India:  https://www.amazon.in/dp/B01GBG8JE0

The Kettle Valley Rail Trail is one of the longest and most scenic biking and hiking trails in Canada. It covers a good stretch of the south-central interior of British Columbia, about 600 kilometers of scenic countryside. British Columbia is one of the most beautiful areas of Canada, which is itself a beautiful country, ideal for those who appreciate natural splendour and achievable adventure in the great outdoors.

The trail passes through a great variety of geographical and geological regions, from mountains to valleys, along scenic lakes and rivers, to dry near-desert condition grasslands. It often features towering canyons, spanned by a combination of high trestle bridges and long tunnels, as it passes through wild, unpopulated country. At other times, it remains quite low, in populated valleys, alongside spectacular water features such as beautiful Lake Okanagan, an area that is home to hundreds of vineyards, as well as other civilized comforts.

The trail is a nice test of one’s physical fitness, as well as one’s wits and adaptability, as much of it does travel through true wilderness. The views are spectacular, the wildlife is plentiful and the people are friendly. What more could one ask for?
What follows is a journal of two summers of adventure, biking most of the trail in the late 1990s. It is about 33,000 words in length (2 to 3 hours reading), and contains numerous photographs of the trail. There are also sections containing a brief history of the trail, geology, flora and fauna, and associated information.

After reading this account, you should have a good sense of whether the trail is right for you. If you do decide to ride the trail, it will be an experience you will never forget.