Spruce Meadows is an equestrian

Equestrianism

Equestrianism more often known as riding, horseback riding or horse riding refers to the skill of riding, driving, or vaulting with horses...

 facility in Calgary, Alberta built by the Southern Family and opened in 1976. The show jumping

Show jumping

Show jumping, also known as "stadium jumping," "open jumping," or "jumpers," is a member of a family of English riding equestrian events that also includes dressage, eventing, hunters, and equitation. Jumping classes commonly are seen at horse shows throughout the world, including the Olympics...

 complex is in the foothills of the Alberta

Alberta

Alberta is a province of Canada. It had an estimated population of 3.7 million in 2010 making it the most populous of Canada's three prairie provinces...

 Rocky Mountains

Rocky Mountains

The Rocky Mountains are a major mountain range in western North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch more than from the northernmost part of British Columbia, in western Canada, to New Mexico, in the southwestern United States...

 just south of the city and comprises 360 acres (1.5 km²). 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

CSIO Spruce Meadows 'Masters' Tournament

The CSIO Spruce Meadows' 'Masters' Tournament is an annual fall equestrian show jumping event held in Calgary, Alberta. It is highlighted by the BMO Financial Group Nations’ Cup which offers a C$350,000 purse and is notable as "richest team show jumping event in the world" and also by the...

 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

Hanoverian (horse)

A Hanoverian is a warmblood horse originating in Germany, which is often seen in the Olympic Games and other competitive English riding styles, and have won gold medals in all three equestrian Olympic competitions. It is one of the oldest, most numerous, and most successful of the warmbloods...

 horses, and holds an annual "Name the Foal" contest, in which three foal

Foal

A foal is an equine, particularly a horse, that is one year old or younger. More specific terms are colt for a male foal and filly for a female foal, but these terms are used until the horse is age three or four. When the foal is nursing from its dam , it may also be called a suckling...

s are selected to be named by the public. The contest is very popular, and when the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation

Canadian Broadcasting Corporation

The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, commonly known as CBC and officially as CBC/Radio-Canada, is a Canadian crown corporation that serves as the national public radio and television broadcaster...

 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

Dressage

Dressage is a competitive equestrian sport, defined by the International Equestrian Federation as "the highest expression of horse training." Competitions are held at all levels from amateur to the World Equestrian Games...

 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

Residential area

A residential area is a land use in which housing predominates, as opposed to industrial and commercial areas.Housing may vary significantly between, and through, residential areas. These include single family housing, multi-family residential, or mobile homes. Zoning for residential use may permit...

 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.

Gallery

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