Spruce Meadows is an equestrian facility in Calgary, Alberta built by the Southern Family and opened in 1976. The show jumping complex is in the foothills of the Alberta Rocky Mountains just south of the city and comprises . The current president of Spruce Meadows is Linda Southern-Heathcott, a former Olympian who competed in the 1996 Atlanta Summer Games for the Canadian Olympic Team.

Tournaments

There are six major outdoor tournaments and eight indoor tournaments at Spruce Meadows annually. The indoor tournaments are known as the 'Nakoda Series' and are tailored for developing junior/amateur competitors. The outdoor tournaments start with the 'Summer Series' a five-week long tour that comprises the following tournaments: beginning in June with the CSI 'National' tournament, directly followed by the CSI 'Continental', the 'Skyliner' (a strictly junior/amateur event that debuted in 2006), the CSI 'Canada One', and then the CSI 'North American' in July. The outdoor season culminates in the CSIO Spruce Meadows 'Masters' Tournament in September. Each tournament is well-recognized and attracts a wide array of athletes and their horses from around the world. Spruce Meadows was named number one show jumping facility in the world in 2001/2002 and 2003/2004.

Spruce Meadows breeds, trains, and sells Hanoverian horses, and holds an annual "Name the Foal" contest, in which three foals are selected to be named by the public. The contest is very popular, and when the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation televises the tournaments, each foal from "Name the Foal" is individually profiled.

History

Construction of Spruce Meadows began in 1973, with the opening in 1975 and first equestrian tournament in 1976. It hosts 500,000 visitors annually and has the stable capacity for 1,000 horses. Spruce Meadows is open for visitors 365 days of the year. It is an all-season facility that hosts conventions and trade shows as well as show-jumping and dressage events. Spruce Meadows has a television production facility that produces Spruce Meadows Chronicles, a show-jumping related TV series that is broadcast to over 100 countries, in addition to other specials and programs.

Recent concerns

Recently, the Southern family, who have owned the facility since its inception, have become vocal regarding the encroaching city development—once several kilometres outside of town, Spruce Meadows is now located adjacent to the residential neighbourhoods of Bridlewood and Somerset, with a third, Silverado, now in the construction stages. In the late 1990s, the Southerns successfully lobbied the City of Calgary to rename the stretch of Highway 22X that runs north of the facility from Marquis of Lorne Trail to Spruce Meadows Trail.

See also

CSIO Spruce Meadows 'Masters' Tournament

External links

Official Website of Spruce Meadows

Gallery

Image:SpruceMeadows_by_VictorLLee.JPG|Ready to Start at Spruce Meadows! Image:Equestrian_by_VictorLLee.JPG|Equestrian

Category:Sport in Calgary Category:Show jumping venues Category:Equestrian sports in Canada Category:Visitor attractions in Calgary

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McLain Ward (born October 17, 1975 in Brewster, New York) is an American show jumping competitor and olympic champion.

At the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, Ward won the gold medal as part of the United States team in Team jumping, together with Peter Wylde, Beezie Madden and Chris Kappler. He also continued to compete as an Olympian, winning the team gold for show jumping at the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics with Laura Kraut (Cedric), Beezie Madden (Authentic), and Will Simpson (Carlson vom Dach) and Mclain's horse, Sapphire.

Mclain is married to Lauren Ward.

Ward found himself at the center of controversy at the 2010 World Cup Final in Geneva, Switzerland. His mount, Sapphire, was eliminated after the second round of jumping due to hypersensitivity in her left forelimb. She had placed second in both rounds prior to elimination, and was at the top of the overall standings at the time of the disqualification. The FEI appointed veterinarian stressed that there was no indication or evidence of any malpractice by McLain Ward or any member of the team. In July 2010 the FEI and McLain Ward agreed to avoid extensive litigations, that Sapphire was incorrectly eliminated. However, Sapphire’s disqualification from the final round of the World Cup remains in place. The FEI has also decided to develop mandatory guidelines for hypersensitivity tests.

In 2010 Ward was featured in the television series A Rider's Story along with fellow Olympian Laura Kraut.

References

sports-reference

Category:1975 births Category:Living people Category:American equestrians Category:Olympic equestrians of the United States Category:Equestrians at the 2004 Summer Olympics Category:Equestrians at the 2008 Summer Olympics Category:Olympic gold medalists for the United States