Behind the Spruce Meadows ‘Masters’ at Home with Ian Allison

Inside the Rolex Grand Slam chats with the senior VP of Sport & Media Services at Spruce Meadows about past tournaments and the 'at Home' programming.

Ian Allison and Eric Lamaze (Photo: Rolex Grand Slam/Ashley Neuhof)

September 9, 2020

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you're listening to an article from horse sport.com. behind the spruce meadows ‘masters’ at home with ian allison. what’s on the programme for the spruce meadows ‘masters’ at home this year? we have dug deep into the vault to find great historic ‘masters’ content, including full programmes, documentaries and interviews. while a lot of it is sport, we also looked at the traditions, such as the holland flowers, british day and special features that make the ‘masters’ unique. how did you come up with the ideas for content? advertisement scroll to continue with content the spruce meadows team collaborated and thought about all the great memories from the ‘masters’. we also listened to our fans, who expressed the types of content they wanted to see. after our success with the spruce meadows ‘national’ and ‘north american at home’ episodes, this seemed to make perfect sense to allow us to celebrate – in some way – our 45th anniversary season. what have you put in the programme to attract an international audience? the ‘masters’ has an international audience, and you get to see winners from all over the world. we will feature not just canadians in the programme, but great champions and teams from throughout our history. spruce meadows is global in its reach. athletes from over 60 nations have competed here, and the bmo nations’ cup has historically featured the best teams in the world from north and south america and europe. what makes the spruce meadows ‘masters’ at home different from other virtual events? we were fortunate to be able to execute a few 2020 initiatives like the xerox young rider award and name the foal, presented by telus – there will be recordings of the 2020 winners from both awards, and they will be revealed during the 2020 spruce meadows ‘masters’ at home. spruce meadows also has an extensive library of not just full competitions, but great documentaries, and athlete profiles that highlight the venue and the great riders that have competed. how has the team adapted to deal with the covid-19 pandemic? it certainly has been an unusual year. we have been fortunate to be able to celebrate our history and work with all of our partners to look to the future, and a return to normalcy. we have been able to celebrate our history, plan for the future and use technology to remain connected. do you think this experience has encouraged you to look at changing the format of events moving forward next year? spruce meadows always looks to evolve and innovate, and question how we can be better. we are sure this chapter in our history will inspire some change, not only for our organisation, but also for all sports. you also held the spruce meadows summer series, as a digital version – what was the public’s feedback? we had a lot of positive feedback from our fans that watched our ‘national’, ‘north american’ and canada day at home series. many had feedback on the competitions and types of features they’d like to see for the ‘masters’. we took that into consideration while planning the ‘masters’ at home, and even have a vote set-up for fans to choose a couple of the competitions they’d like to see. our archives are rich with options, memorable moments and memorable athletes and officials. which riders have you been working with? and which riders are set to compete? we really focused on the historic content to bring forward spruce meadows ‘masters’ at home. we’ve chosen some historic moments we hope everyone will enjoy and allowed the fans to have a say in what they’d like to see. fortunately, in advance of our 45th anniversary and the pandemic, we had taken the opportunity to speak with many current and former stars of the sport. what has been the biggest lesson you have learnt during this experience? we all must learn to adapt and overcome. health and safety are paramount for our fans, staff, athletes, officials and sponsors. we will come through this era with many lessons learned and with some amazing innovation. you also have a football team, do you mix the communication between the two sports? yes, the spruce meadows and cavalry fc brands are well received and respected for many of the same reasons. we are able to mix our communications and attract new fans to both sports. what have you most enjoyed about preparing for the spruce meadows ‘masters’ at home? it has been amazing digging into the archives (and our memories), with many younger colleagues and re-living such memorable moments, of which there have been so many. our next generations of leadership has a greater sense and appreciation of our history through this process. looking at the quest for the rolex grand slam of show jumping in 2021, which riders do you think will be in contention for it? that is so tough to forecast. any rider in the top 50 in the world certainly has to be considered ‘in play’. i think that steve guerdat always has his eye on the prize. scott brash can also never be discounted, as he develops a new string of horses. had the csio spruce meadows ‘masters’ taken place this year, who do you think would have won the cp ‘international’, presented by rolex? i think steve guerdat certainly would have been a favourite. the tokyo games would have been complete, with a reasonable break in between. he has the talent, focus and horse power. (watch spruce meadows at home on their youtube channel here.).

What’s on the programme for the Spruce Meadows ‘Masters’ at Home this year?

We have dug deep into the vault to find great historic ‘Masters’ content, including full programmes, documentaries and interviews. While a lot of it is sport, we also looked at the traditions, such as the Holland flowers, British Day and special features that make the ‘Masters’ unique.

How did you come up with the ideas for content?

Scroll to continue with content

The Spruce Meadows team collaborated and thought about all the great memories from the ‘Masters’. We also listened to our fans, who expressed the types of content they wanted to see. After our success with the Spruce Meadows ‘National’ and ‘North American at Home’ episodes, this seemed to make perfect sense to allow us to celebrate – in some way – our 45th Anniversary season.

What have you put in the programme to attract an international audience?

The ‘Masters’ has an international audience, and you get to see winners from all over the world. We will feature not just Canadians in the programme, but great champions and teams from throughout our history. Spruce Meadows is global in its reach. Athletes from over 60 nations have competed here, and the BMO Nations’ Cup has historically featured the best teams in the world from North and South America and Europe.

What makes the Spruce Meadows ‘Masters’ at Home different from other virtual events?

We were fortunate to be able to execute a few 2020 initiatives like the XEROX Young Rider Award and Name the Foal, presented by TELUS – there will be recordings of the 2020 winners from both awards, and they will be revealed during the 2020 Spruce Meadows ‘Masters’ at Home. Spruce Meadows also has an extensive library of not just full competitions, but great documentaries, and athlete profiles that highlight the venue and the great riders that have competed.

How has the team adapted to deal with the Covid-19 pandemic?

It certainly has been an unusual year. We have been fortunate to be able to celebrate our history and work with all of our partners to look to the future, and a return to normalcy. We have been able to celebrate our history, plan for the future and use technology to remain connected.

Do you think this experience has encouraged you to look at changing the format of events moving forward next year?

Spruce Meadows always looks to evolve and innovate, and question how we can be better. We are sure this chapter in our history will inspire some change, not only for our organisation, but also for all sports.

You also held the Spruce Meadows Summer Series, as a digital version – what was the public’s feedback?

We had a lot of positive feedback from our fans that watched our ‘National’, ‘North American’ and Canada Day at Home Series. Many had feedback on the competitions and types of features they’d like to see for the ‘Masters’. We took that into consideration while planning the ‘Masters’ at Home, and even have a vote set-up for fans to choose a couple of the competitions they’d like to see. Our archives are rich with options, memorable moments and memorable athletes and officials.

Which riders have you been working with? And which riders are set to compete?

We really focused on the historic content to bring forward Spruce Meadows ‘Masters’ at Home. We’ve chosen some historic moments we hope everyone will enjoy and allowed the fans to have a say in what they’d like to see. Fortunately, in advance of our 45th Anniversary and the pandemic, we had taken the opportunity to speak with many current and former stars of the sport.

What has been the biggest lesson you have learnt during this experience?

We all must learn to adapt and overcome. Health and safety are paramount for our fans, staff, athletes, officials and sponsors. We will come through this era with many lessons learned and with some amazing innovation.

You also have a football team, do you mix the communication between the two sports?

Yes, the Spruce Meadows and Cavalry FC brands are well received and respected for many of the same reasons. We are able to mix our communications and attract new fans to both sports.

What have you most enjoyed about preparing for the Spruce Meadows ‘Masters’ at Home?

It has been amazing digging into the archives (and our memories), with many younger colleagues and re-living such memorable moments, of which there have been so many. Our next generations of leadership has a greater sense and appreciation of our history through this process.

Looking at the quest for the Rolex Grand Slam of Show Jumping in 2021, which riders do you think will be in contention for it?

That is so tough to forecast. Any rider in the Top 50 in the world certainly has to be considered ‘in play’. I think that Steve Guerdat always has his eye on the prize. Scott Brash can also never be discounted, as he develops a new string of horses.

Had the CSIO Spruce Meadows ‘Masters’ taken place this year, who do you think would have won the CP ‘International’, presented by Rolex?

I think Steve Guerdat certainly would have been a favourite. The Tokyo Games would have been complete, with a reasonable break in between. He has the talent, focus and horse power.

(Watch Spruce Meadows at Home on their YouTube channel here.)