It was a picture perfect day for the biggest event of the Spruce Meadows ‘Continental CSI 5* Tournament, and it was a storybook ending for Peter Lutz (USA) and Robin de Ponthual, who scored their biggest victory together in the $375,000 CP Grand Prix. Second place went to Charlie Jacobs (USA) with Cassinja S, while Andrew Ramsay (USA) and California 62 were third. This marked the final day of the Spruce Meadows ‘Continental’ Tournament, the second of four weeks in the 2016 Spruce Meadows Summer Series.
Thirty-three entries contested a course designed by Luc Musette of Belgium. There were only three who found the ticket to a clear round and would advance to the jump-off. While there were 10 competitors who had just four faults, the rails down were spread out around the course.
“That’s the measure of a good course designer, when there isn’t a bogey or a gotcha fence,” said Jacobs. “The oxers, specifically, I thought were quite wide, especially when you consider the last line was a very skinny vertical in a quite steady five (strides) to a 1.80m wide oxer. It was a challenge, and it asked a lot of us.”