The story going into Sunday afternoon was Richard Vogel's, and by the time the last horse had left the International Ring it belonged to Ben Maher, the whole thing having turned on a single rail in a double combination.
Vogel had arrived in Calgary as world number one and Rolex Grand Slam live contender, having won the Rolex Grand Prix at The Dutch Masters in March and again at CHIO Aachen in May, both with United Touch S [LINK anchor: "again at CHIO Aachen in May" → CHIO Aachen Rolex Grand Prix report]. Victory in the $5 million CPKC 'International', presented by Rolex, the richest Grand Prix in show jumping, would have made him only the second rider in the sport's history to complete the Grand Slam, after Scott Brash at this very venue in 2015. The double combination put an end to it, and Maher and Enjeu de Grisien took the title, with Lillie Keenan going last and crossing the line 0.45 seconds adrift, and Steve Guerdat, three weeks on from winning the individual world title at Aachen, finishing third.
The Horse Who Was Second in March
Ben Maher and Enjou de Grisien winners of the CSIO Spruce Meadows 'Masters', CPKC 'International' Presented by Rolex, 2026. Image: © M. Froment for EQuerry Co
Ben Maher winner of the CSIO Spruce Meadows 'Masters', CPKC 'International' Presented by Rolex, 2026. Image: © M. Froment for EQuerry Co
Enjeu de Grisien deserves rather more than a passing mention. The 12-year-old Selle Français gelding, owned by Charlotte Rossetter and Pamela Wright, carried Maher into second place in the $1 million Rolex US Equestrian Open Grand Prix at Wellington back in March, beaten by three-quarters of a second by Kent Farrington, and six months later the same combination won the biggest Grand Prix in the world.
Maher's reaction was characteristically measured, describing the win as incredible and noting that beginning his own Grand Slam journey in what most riders consider the largest Grand Prix anywhere was hard to take in, before adding the observation that actually matters, which is that the Majors are exceptionally difficult competitions to win. He now travels to CHI Geneva in December as the live contender, with precisely the same bonus structure in play that Vogel has just walked away from, and here is how that structure actually works [LINK anchor: "here is how that structure actually works" → Rolex Grand Slam explainer].
Reading Vogel's Season Properly
Fairness to the man who lost demands a look at the record, and it is considerable.
Vogel's 2026 included two Rolex Grand Slam Majors, the Rolex Grand Prix presented by Audi at Brussels in August, team gold at the World Championships in Aachen, the jump-off round that won Germany the Longines League of Nations Final in Barcelona in October, and a spell at world number one. He also became one of a very small group of riders to reach a third consecutive Major with the title genuinely live, which is an achievement in itself given that the Grand Slam has been completed once in eleven years and is designed to be close to impossible. A rail at a double in Calgary takes nothing away from the season that delivered him there, and he was back in the mix later the same afternoon aboard Chember 3.
Clear Rounds for Heart Health
CPKC continued its Clear Rounds for Heart Health initiative through the Grand Prix, donating to the Libin Cardiovascular Institute for every clear round jumped, including those that picked up time faults, with fourteen clear rounds generating $100,680 across the afternoon.
It is a neatly designed piece of sponsorship, because the mechanism rewards exactly what the crowd is already willing the riders to do, and it gives a grandstand something to cheer twice over on every clear round rather than only when the leaderboard changes.
The Canadian Question
Kyle Timm and Casino Calvin flew the maple leaf in the CPKC 'International', in a class where home representation is harder to come by than the Calgary crowd would like, and Canada had finished ninth of nine in Saturday's BMO Nations' Cup.
The gap between the quality of the venue and the current depth of the national programme is the uncomfortable subject that sits beneath a week like this one. Spruce Meadows is arguably the finest outdoor jumping facility anywhere in the world, built and sustained by a Canadian family across five decades, and the country that owns it has not had a team on a championship podium for some time. It is a question the sport in Canada will have to answer eventually, and preferably before 2027.
Elsewhere on the Final Day
The International Ring had opened on Sunday morning with the Suncor Cup Winning Round 1.50m, with the grounds busy several hours before the Grand Prix, and Troy Wood of the United States won the 2026 Blacksmith World Championships, presented by Craig Trinke, with Spruce Meadows president and chief executive Linda Southern-Heathcott on the presentation.
Where the Grand Slam Goes Next
Geneva follows from 9 to 13 December with Maher live, Scott Brash is out of the sequence having won the 2025 CPKC 'International' with Hello Jefferson, and Vogel resets and begins again.
The 2027 Masters runs from 7 to 12 September at a venue that supports close to 2,000 jobs and CAD $222 million of Canadian GDP, which is a reminder that the week is a very long way from being only about the horses.