To celebrate the 35th anniversary of Rolex as the main sponsor of the CSIO5* Spruce Meadows ‘Masters’, Rolex Testimonee Martin Fuchs – three-time Rolex Grand Slam of Show Jumping Major winner, including last year's CPKC International Grand Prix, presented by Rolex at Spruce Meadows – and Linda Southern-Heathcott – the CEO and President of Spruce Meadows, as well as an Olympian and a former Canadian showjumper – met the media at a Rolex Round Table to share their experiences.

“Spruce Meadows is a very special venue,” Fuchs said as he shared his feelings about his win last year. “My father competed here for many years and always said it was the best show in the world. Although he never managed to win, he often said how incredible it would be if I could one day win the Grand Prix. It felt spectacular to win here last year. As the last rider to go, I felt the pressure to be fast and clear, but I was confident in our chances. I even reminded myself not to celebrate too soon and told myself to finish the course first! In the end, I couldn’t help myself and I couldn’t contain my excitement. Securing the biggest win of my career at the CSIO Spruce Meadows ‘Masters’ by winning the CPKC ‘International’ Grand Prix presented by Rolex stands as one of my greatest accomplishments.”

“I feel less pressure than in previous years because it was such a big goal of mine to win here,” Fuchs went on to explain about his feelings ahead of this Sunday’s Rolex Grand Prix. “I feel like now that we have won it, there is less pressure and we can try to enjoy just giving our best shot. My horse Leone Jei feels great. Yesterday, he jumped his tenth round here at the CSIO Spruce Meadows ‘Masters’ and it was the first time in a while he had a pole down. We had one two years ago in the Grand Prix when I misjudged a fence. Honestly, I was slightly pleased he had a pole down yesterday. When a horse has such a long streak of clear rounds, you start to wonder when the poles will eventually fall – so hopefully, we’ve gotten that out of the way before Sunday!”

“You have to have a great partnership with your horse that you build up over the years,” Fuchs said when asked what it takes to win a Rolex Major. “It takes a lot of trust, because in the jump-offs of the Majors you have to ride incredibly fast and there are very small margins for error. I always try to go into the Majors feeling very confident with my horse, who should be in the right shape at the right time. I always try to plan my top horses' schedules around the four Rolex Majors, and I have been lucky in the last few years that it has worked out very well. With Leone Jei, I have a horse that is fantastic in every way, and with him, in the jump-off, I just try to go as fast as I can, trying not to finish in second!”

“It is different, some horses are better at jumping in the big grass arenas than in the small arenas,” Fuchs said about the differences between the four Majors; the two indoor Majors – The Dutch Masters and the CHI Geneva – and the two outdoor Majors CHIO Aachen and CSIO Spruce Meadows ‘Masters’. “I am very fortunate that Leonie Jei is good across all types of arenas. He always feels his best at the Majors. I think it is the impressive jumps, the atmosphere from the crowd, and my own performance elevating at the Majors that makes us such a great team.”

“It is very different here compared to other shows,” Fuchs told about cantering past the renowned Clock Tower in the International Ring at Sprue Meadows. “For me, this is the most challenging ring with the toughest jumps – but in the best way possible. I really enjoy being here. The Sunday of the CPKC ‘International’ Grand Prix is my favorite day of the year because I love waking up and walking the course since it’s always spectacular. The jumps are stunning, and the course is difficult to ride, which means you need to be at your absolute best – and I thrive on that. Every year at the Spruce Meadows ‘Masters’, you notice the changes – the jumps are always harder, bigger, and different to ride. I now have two very experienced Spruce Meadows horses, which makes things easier, but I remember my first year here with Leone Jei. I was nervous, even in the smaller classes, not knowing how he would respond. Luckily, we have always had great experiences here together. I really enjoy competing in a ring like this, where the horse grows alongside you, making you feel prepared for the challenge.”

“They are both very impressive,” Fuchs said when asked about his two most famous horses, Clooney 51 and Leone Jei. “However, they are definitely individuals, they are different to ride. What they both have in common is that they are both great athletes, they always perform well in the ring. When Clooney was retired, and Leone Jei started to do well, everyone started asking me if he was the new Clooney. My response was always the same – there will never be another Clooney. However, a few years later and Leone has already won more prize money than Clooney, which is quite impressive, and he has overtaken him to become the Swiss horse with the greatest number of wins in showjumping. I didn’t think it would be possible to have another superstar like that.”

“We are always trying to improve,” Fuchs said about the partnership between him and Leone Jei. “Leone Jei and I have had a really great year, we have been placed in all of the Grands Prix that we have jumped together. Unfortunately we did have a pole down at the Olympic Games but I was very happy with his performance there. I feel like this year we have stepped up in levels, we have become more consistent and he is more quiet than he used to be, which makes him easier to ride and better focused on the fences. I have been working on the flat with him, thanks to my girlfriend Simone, who is an Olympic dressage rider, and is helping me to improve our flatwork. I used to ride him more cautiously without much leg, but now I am slightly more daring and use my leg, which makes him feel more calm, most of the time. This has really helped us this season, to have him more relaxed and focused on jumping.”

“The partnership with Rolex has been incredibly special,” Linda Southern-Heathcott said about the 35th anniversary Spruce Meadows is celebrating with Rolex. “Rolex stands for perpetual excellence, constantly striving for improvement and being the best – values that align perfectly with Spruce Meadows. I believe this partnership has pushed Spruce Meadows to reach new heights, and over the past few years, we’ve made significant improvements to our facilities which I’m sure the riders would agree. We focus on enhancing the experience for our athletes, both horses and riders, as well as our sponsors, media, and of course, our fans. In recent years, we have heavily invested in both the equine and human experience, from improving the ground to upgrading the warm-up areas, always prioritizing horse welfare. Our goal is to live up to Rolex’s high standards. Additionally, we have worked to enhance fan engagement, adding entertainment elements like stages. When visitors come, we want them to not only witness the sport but also enjoy an entertaining show experience too, so that when they leave, they want to come back.”

“Spruce Meadows employs 97 people year-round, and during our tournaments, that number increases to about 150,” Southern-Heathcott explained about the effort behind the wonderful event at Spruce Meadows. “This doesn’t include our course designers and jump crew who manage the jumping rings. We organize Spruce Meadows into five main categories. Our operations team handles the venue, while the media team manages the connection between our sponsors and fans, whether through print or online, promoting Spruce Meadows and our corporate sponsors year-round. I lead the sponsorship department, and we also have a team dedicated to exhibit and business development, as well as a military liaison who oversees parades. Beyond the events, we have a horse department because we also breed and compete with horses, and our tournament secretary takes care of logistics like horse shipping. We are fortunate that athletes want to come to Spruce Meadows, but we’re also deeply grateful because it’s a significant commitment. There’s a lot of paperwork involved in flying the horses. For example, on the Saturday before the ‘Masters’ Tournament, 66 horses are flown in from Europe to compete in the CPKC ‘International’ Grand Prix, and then they fly back the Monday after. It is a huge effort from the entire team. We work hard to have everything ready when people arrive, but we are also immensely thankful to our athletes for continuing to support us. That is why it is so important that we keep investing in and improving the venue. With so many choices in showjumping, athletes can choose to compete anywhere, so we must continue to try and excel and improve. This not only keeps our athletes coming back, but it strengthens our relationships with sponsors and media as well.”

“I think I can understand the riders point of view, and I believe that the entire team here tries to make decisions based on what is best for the sport,” Southern-Heathcott – who represented Canada at the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games – said. “It is difficult to only have a riders point of view because every rider is different and every horse is different, so the needs are slightly unique. For example, some horses will jump better on sand, whereas some will jump better on grass. Therefore the team here really try to make decisions based on what is going to be best for the sport as a whole.”

“We have to modernize,” she said about the changes made for this year’s event. “The seven rings at Spruce Meadows will always remain grass, as it is the traditional surface for the sport, but we need to adapt to the evolving demands of the sport. For instance, we removed the bank from the ring because we are building a new restaurant! Since we only host one Derby a year now, keeping the table-top didn’t make much sense when instead we can add something fun that doesn’t restrict the ring. I also wanted to make the ring larger, and with the restaurant addition, the east side of the ring will open up. When people return for the show’s 50th anniversary, the ring will be even bigger. We have leveled both the Canada Ring and the North America Ring, because modernization is necessary, and I believe this will benefit all our athletes. We haven’t put natural fences in those rings yet because we want to use the spaces first and then decide where those fences should go, but they will be added eventually. I find it interesting how each tournament takes on a life of its own. Even with everything perfectly planned, no two competitions are ever the same. Different factors come into play, so you really need to understand the rings before installing permanent jumps.”

At the 2024-edition, Spruce Meadows features part of the fences that were seen at the Olympic Games in Paris last month. “In 1975 when we opened Spruce Meadows, my father built two sets of jumps because in 1976 the Olympic Games were in Montreal,” Southern-Heathcott tells about the Olympic connections Spruce Meadows has.

“He organized with Canadian Pacific, who is still our sponsor today, to ship one set of jumps to the Montreal Olympics. Montreal wouldn’t accept them because they weren’t built in Quebec, so we landed up with two sets of jumps. Then over the years my family would travel to different tournaments to learn about how to improve the experience for the public and for the athletes. Then at the Stockholm Olympic Games, my mother and father bought jumps – the butterflies and the Stockholm house jumps. Now, with seven rings, it is one of the experiences that is unique – that even those jumping 1.10m can jump an Olympic jump and aspire to be an Olympian. Here at Spruce Meadows we want to create a unique experience, so we always buy jumps from each Olympic Games, they are an important part of us.”

“The family is still very involved,” Southern-Heathcott continued. “My sister Nancy runs the other businesses and both her and my mother are fantastic supporters. The children are very involved, one of mine is a blacksmith and the other helps with managing sponsors, and Nancy’s children have a deep love for Spruce Meadows. I think we will evolve but I do still see it as a family affair going into the future.”

“We have just recently done an area structure plan, which gets approved by the city and the county and sets the roadmap for what we might want to do in the future,” Southern-Heathcott said about the future as Spruce Meadows prepares to celebrate its 50th anniversary in 2025. “In the area structure plan we have many things, such as a hotel. It essentially envisions anything that we might want to do in the future. I believe this plan sets us up well for the future, we have strong relationships with sponsors – from 35 to 50 years – so those are important for us to continue to build upon by setting the stage for Spruce Meadows to be a venue for all to enjoy. The sky is the limit and here and we try to focus on maintaining that and being excellent.”