In Conversation with Ian Allison at the Spruce Meadows Masters

You must be delighted that this year’s edition of the CSIO Spruce Meadows ‘Masters’ is going ahead, after last year’s cancellation due to COVID-19?

It’s been a long haul, and it’s great to be getting the band back together, as they say. September 2019 was the last time we celebrated a championship here with Beezie Madden aboard Darry Lou winning the Rolex Grand Slam and starting her cycle, and then the world changed a short time later. It’s been a very, very interesting time, and at times Spruce Meadows became a pretty lonely place for those of us who were here watching all of the goings-on around the world.

Can you tell us a little bit about the challenges that you’ve had to overcome to ensure that this year’s edition of the CSIO Spruce Meadows ‘Masters’ has been able to go ahead?

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The challenges have been extraordinary, as each nation has approached and managed the global pandemic in a different way. Canada is a very large country which covers six time zones and has a large border with the United States, which has been one of the big hurdles, plus the restriction of flights into Canada.

We started this process about nine months ago, starting at regional level, then working with the provincial authorities to get our documents in place and our plan approved to host a national event. Following that, it goes from a regulatory to a political side to get what’s called a National Interest Exemption. Fortunately, the CSIO Spruce Meadows ‘Masters’ and the Rolex Grand Slam of Show Jumping were deemed by the federal government, as something that merited a National Interest Exemption, both for international sport and commerce, which didn’t actually come through until 25 August, so you have to align all of the variables that may or may not effect that, and consider a lot of other planning around the international sporting calendar. We took what would be our CSI5* national tournaments and moved them to September to be part of our ‘Masters’ Tournament, which created a three-week reason for athletes, media, etc. to be at Spruce Meadows. The process was somewhat exhaustive and always everchanging, but we’re here now, the sun is shining, and we have a wonderful entry.

What positives will you take from the last 18 months?

We have an adage here: adapt and overcome. There’s been some amazing innovation over the last 18 months, and I think about the Spruce Meadows Television group, who were at the forefront of creating a Virtual Summer Series last year. They reached into 44 years of history and created content, which was able to keep our fans engaged and our own brand relevant. I think of the tremendous efforts put forward by people in areas which aren’t necessarily part of their job remit here at Spruce Meadows, so it’s really been an example of life on the farm. We normally operate the ‘Masters’ Tournament with about 175 full-time staff, 400 volunteers and hundreds of sub-contractors, which just wasn’t able to happen this year. To witness the teamwork, the innovation and the inspiration that everyone has provided at every different level has been nothing short of remarkable and memorable.

Finally, it’s great news that Spruce Meadows has been allowed to invite 2,000 spectators to enjoy the sport on Friday, Saturday and Sunday…

We’ve been approved to welcome a fraction of our fanbase. They will see the very best in international show jumping, including Max Kühner enjoying his Rolex Grand Slam of Show Jumping journey, whether Beezie Madden can defend her title from 2019, and the great Eric Lamaze, who’s gone to great lengths and considerable inconvenience to be here, and in doing some demonstrated a huge amount of grit, determination and quality. There are many great storylines unfolding, which is very exciting.