A family affair; Ludo Philippaerts walked the course for the second round with his twin sons Olivier and Nicola.

Jörne Sprehe and Sophie Hinners – two of Germany's three representatives in the second round – in high spirits ahead of round two.

He doesn't know it yet, but... Scott Brash in full focus.

"Spruce Meadows has been my way of riding against this calibre in my life; I never showed in Europe, but Europe comes to Calgary once a year," runner-up Kyle King said afterwards.

With a single time penalty in round one, Willem Greve was the last to qualify for round two.

Harrie Smolders helping Belgium's Roy Van Beek make a plan for his biggest test yet.

Business as usual; Richard Vogel running off.

Nerves, or none? Martin Fuchs takes a moment to relax ahead of round two.

Taking in the scenery... Olivier and Nicola Philippaerts.

Scott Brash and Steve Guerdat in deep thought ahead of their rides.

In the second round, Roy Van Beek and Cavoiro-H OLD – a young pair that had a great show at Spruce Meadows – ran out of fuel.

After a big rattle on 10b, Jörne Sprehe and Sprehe Hot Easy ran into trouble at the iconic bicycle-fence at no. 11, plus added time to their final score, to end their quest at Spruce Meadows on a total of nine faults.

Next in to tackle Leopoldo Palacios' course was Germany's Daniel Deusser and the 11-year-old stallion Otello de Guldenboom.

After great jumping, the two had the double of ditches at 10ab down.

Brazil's Yuri Mansur and the 18-year-old QH Alfons Santo Antonio delivered a great round, only to fault at the two final fences, the bicycle and the Rolex-oxer. Adding a time fault to their score, the two finished on a total of nine penalties.

Looking well on his way to another Major-title...

...Martin Fuchs unfortunately parted ways with Leone Jei at the first fence in the second round.

Steve Guerdat and Venard de Cerisy were pair number eight in the ring. “A few times this week, as I was walking the course, I stopped and went to my colleagues and said ‘I love it’,” Guerdat shared about his appreciation of the venue at Spruce Meadows and the work of Leopoldo Palacios.

“I think I could have ridden my line a little bit better in the second round. I am not so disappointed about the time fault, because I think to give him the chance to jump the fences, I knew I would be close to the time," Guerdat said after having faulted at the bicycle fence on the final line of the course, as well as adding a time penalty, to finish on a score of five.

Year after year, the bicycle appears at Spruce Meadows – and this time, it proved costly for many.

"As people and athletes, sometimes we don’t like to be challenged, we like comfort," Guerdat said after the Grand Prix. "And that is not what we are here for. I would say thanks to Leopoldo and his team and thanks to Spruce, I became a better rider and my horses became better horses. I really hope you are going to keep going and I hope other course designers learn from you.”

And then came Kyle King and Kayenne Z...

In their first year together, the two tackled the challenging course in a stylish manner.

However, also for them, it was the bicycle at fence no. 11 that caught them out, leaving them on a score of four – to eventually tie with Scott Brash and Hello Jefferson.

“I have been coming to Calgary my whole life, and it has always been one of my biggest dreams, probably bigger than anything, to win this Grand Prix,” King said afterwards.

Third last in the ring, Belgium's Nicola Philippaerts and the wonderful Katanga v/h Dingeshof picked up four penalties early on at fence no. 5a.

And with another fault at 10b, the two had to settle for fifth place in the end.

Second last through the Clock Tower in the second round; Austria's Max Kühner and Elektric Blue P, the winners of the 2021 Rolex Grand Prix at the Dutch Masters.

Also for Kühner, it was the final line that caused trouble with poles on the ground at no. 10b and the bicycle at fence no. 11 – leaving him fourth in the end.

The last pair out in the second round was Germany's Sophie Hinners, 28, and Iron Dames My Prins.

With a fault in the double at 8b, as well as the bicycle, and the final Rolex-oxer, plus added time penalties, Hinners ended her week at Spruce Meadows with a total of 13 penalties in round two.

...placing 10th in the end, while Roy Van Beek finished 11th.

After a jump-off of two, it was Scott Brash that took the title ahead of Kyle King in second.

The podium in the 2025 CPKC 'International', presented by Rolex: Steve Guerdat, Kyle King and Scott Brash.

Linda Southern-Heathcott, President of Spruce Meadows, congratulates Steve Guerdat.

"I just feel a special connection to Spruce Meadows, and to me, it was a win, and I’ll take it," second-placed Kyle King said.

Shanon Heathfield and Kayenne Z.

David Honnet and Hello Jefferson with Emma Uusi-Simola and Venard de Cerisy.

And with this, we send our warmest congratulations to Steve, Scott and Kyle, their wonderful horses and resilient support teams!