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Less than an hour west, the Canadian Rocky Mountains rise up out of rolling prairie, sending a cooling breeze to snap the bright national flags that welcome visitors to the world's leading outdoor show jumping venue. Additional Article Information: =============================== 944 Words; formatted to 65 Characters per Line Distribution Date and Time: 2007-03-09 10:00:00 Written By: Travel Alberta Copyright: 2007, All Rights Reserved Contact Email: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] For more free-reprint articles by Travel Alberta, please visit: http://thePhantomWriters.com/free_content/d/index.shtml#Travel_Alberta ============================================= Special Notice For Publishers and Webmasters: ============================================= If you use this article on your website or in your ezine, We Want To Know About It. Use the following URL to let us know where you have used this article, and we will include a link to your website on thePhantomWriters.com: http://thephantomwriters.com/notify.php?id=4452&p=load HTML Copy-and-Paste and TEXT Copy-and-Paste Versions Of Article Are Available at: http://thePhantomWriters.com/free_content/db/t/world's-best-show-jumping.shtml#get_code --------------------------------------------------------------------- Visit Spruce Meadows: World's Best Show Jumping Copyright (c) 2007 Travel Alberta, All Rights Reserved Written by: Travel Alberta http://www.travelalberta.com The day is just beginning in the International Ring at Spruce Meadows. A perfect Alberta sky stretches overhead, so high that I swear I can see the curve of the horizon. Less than an hour west, the Canadian Rocky Mountains rise up out of rolling prairie, sending a cooling breeze to snap the bright national flags that welcome visitors to the world's leading outdoor show jumping venue. In the ring, the riders are walking the course, the only chance they get to judge the jumps, or fences, before they mount up and ride out into a hushed arena. It never fails to amaze me how thousands of spectators can fall entirely silent, but that's exactly what happens as the scores roll in and the tension builds through the day. As the world's top riders - Canada's Ian Millar, the U.S.A.'s Beezie Madden and Germany's Ludger Beerbaum, to name just a few - negotiate the course and the seconds tick by, all eyes focus on the athletes, horse and rider in a team so fluid they seem to move as a single being. Then it's all about the sound of hoofs on turf, and I find myself moving with the crowd, leaning forward and low over the horse's neck, as if it's me out there, flowing with the horses over the fences. It doesn't matter that, in reality, I can barely hang on through a decent canter on a trusty dude ranch trail horse. At Spruce Meadows, you become a horse person just by virtue of wandering onto the grounds. Open 365 days of the year, tournaments or no tournaments, the 330 acres of pastures, paddocks and barns earn high praise from the world's top riders - yet the facility prides itself on welcoming everyone who drops by. More than $6 million in prize money will be given away this year, but tournament tickets start at just $5 (there's no charge for seniors and children 12 and under), and non-tournament days are free. Beyond Rocky Mountain Dude Ranches This is traditional western hospitality - the kind I always associate with Rocky Mountain dude ranches. It's just as warm and welcoming here at Spruce Meadows, which Calgary's Southern family dreamed into existence some 30 years ago, out of a cattle feedlot. Today, with its signature red barn roofs and the glass expanses of its visitors facilities, Spruce Meadows would suit a traditional English countryside estate, yet it's completely at home in Calgary, too, where western vacations are so often assumed to be horse ranch vacations. Great Location For Visitors In fact, the location is especially handy for visitors. A quick and easy jaunt from the arts, culture and nightlife of downtown Calgary, or from the city's International Airport, Spruce Meadows is poised on the prairie's edge, where the landscape starts to rock and roll its way to the Canadian Rocky Mountains foothills. "I think for anyone who's traveling to any destination, it's always interesting to visit places of some renown, and Spruce Meadows is one of those places," says spokesperson Ian Allison. "From very modest beginnings 30 years, ago it's earned a reputation as number one in the world for horse sports - the Olympic sport of show jumping. It's become an all-year destination." Indeed, with more than 300 events held here annually, the grounds have become home to art and antique shows drawing hundreds of dealers, to elegant weddings held against the backdrop of horses and foals gambolling in the paddocks, and to the international festivals and country fairs sheltered in the tents that spring up between the show jumping rings and the horse barns. A Western Horse Vacation with a Difference Spruce Meadows Alberta vacation"It's more than just horses - it's the whole international experience. Some 43 countries have competed at Spruce Meadows, and it's become a home away from home for many American athletes," Allison notes. "It's also a venue where juniors and amateurs get to compete in the same place as the champions. And it's all centered around the horse, which has been such an important part of Alberta's history through the last century." Traditions For Summer The equine traditions continue this summer, as the Royal Canadian Mounted Police perform the intricate steps of their famed Musical Ride at the North American Tournament in early July. At the same event, the Lord Strathcona's Horse (Royal Canadians) unit, of the Canadian military, will offer their stirring Feu de Joie demonstration. "The two regiments found their beginnings on the back of a horse," notes Allison - making them fitting partners for the tournament. Shows Offer Cuisine and Contests So, don't just visit Spruce Meadows for the show jumping - try the international cuisine available during the summer tournaments, or check out the annual contest to name new foals (last year, a chestnut colt became regal Leopoldo, a gentle filly was named Extrãna, or "mysterious," and a chestnut filly earned the moniker Leilani, or "flower of heaven"). I guarantee, though, that whether you come to Spruce Meadows for the 12 major show-jumping tournaments held each year, or to visit the barns (they're open to the public), you'll find yourself drawn, like me, to the International Ring, where a gleaming Rolex clock in a brand new tower now watches over the action. That's where the nick of a hoof on a rail will have you catching your breath, waiting to see if the wobbling rail will fall, costing horse and rider a fault. It's where a clear, no-fault round can earn a collective sigh of relief and a standing ovation. And it's where the athletes, both four-legged and two, share in the crowd's delight at their sport. --------------------------------------------------------------------- Copyright (c) 2006 Travel Alberta, All Rights Reserved Travel Alberta (http://www.travelalberta.com) is the destination marketing organization for the Province of Alberta. 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