Fans were treated to great international sport in Saturday's CSI5* RBC Grand Prix, presented by Rolex, at Spruce Meadows. Thirty-four top international horse-and-rider combinations stepped forward into the International Ring to take on FEI course designer Peter Grant's (CAN) 590m track - something he had been preparing since early this year.

Twelve nations were represented in the International Ring, but it was Canada's Lisa Carlsen who would post the first clear round of the competition. Over ten rounds would pass before another clear was posted and it would be 26-year-old Karen Polle of Japan aboard With Wings (Larino L x L Ronald) that would guarantee a jump-off. With only five horses to go there were still only two clears, but some of the best were about to step into the International Ring including last years' winning pair, Patricio Pasquel (MEX) and Babel (Billy du Lys x Quimera). A couple rails in the later half of the course would knock both Pasquel and Eric Lamaze (CAN) out of the running, but former world number one Kent Farrington (USA), who won this event back in 2015, posted the third clear round of the day.

Carlsen would be first to take on the jump-off track and laid down a clean ride to put the pressure on Polle and Farrington who followed. Polle was next and put down a time of 48.52s but a rail in the combination. Farrington and Gazelle (Kashmir van Schuttershof x Indoctro) were the last to go and knowing just how fast he had to be, the American rider put in a clear round with a time of 49.94s taking the win in the 2018 RBC Grand Prix, presented by Rolex.

"It's never dumbed down here, if it's a five-star Grand Prix, it's built to a five-star Grand Prix," Kent Farrington commented after the win.