Here’s the biggest news of the past month that I’ll bet you never heard: Canada is out of the Furusiyya Nations Cup final in Barcelona, thanks to the sudden, eleventh hour cancellation of the qualifier at Spruce Meadows that was to have taken place in June. Why didn’t you hear it, you wonder? Because no one wants you to know. It’s not a very savoury tale, especially for Canada’s jumping team, who – through no fault of its own – got the very short end of a pointy stick.
I’ve just submitted my At Issue column on this topic for the July Horse Sport, so I won’t go into too many gory details here – you can read all about it in a few weeks when that issue comes out. Let’s just say researching this article didn’t exactly put me in a good mood this past week. Canada finished second at the final in Barcelona last fall, and certainly had every reason to look forward to another strong result this year. The Mexico qualifier was treated as an experience-gaining opportunity for some of our up-and-comers, with the expectation that our A team would rock out at Spruce Meadows and clinch one of two spots for Barcelona. I don’t doubt for a minute that Spruce tried very hard to find a way to honour its hosting commitments this year, but it was rather unfortunate timing that it wasn’t until April 10 that the FEI and EC learned that Spruce was withdrawing. EC made a game effort to try and get another venue lined up, but the FEI said it was too late. So the Mexican ‘training ground’ Nations Cup turned out to be of critical importance at a moment when it was impossible to change any team members.
Canada finished fourth in Mexico (technically third when it comes to the teams that counted for the Final), and the young and talented team came back in grand style two days later with three Canadian flags fluttering in the breeze in the prize giving of the Grand Prix competition. Canada and Mexico ended up tied in the ‘overall’ qualifications (can you use the word ‘overall’ when there were only two qualifiers?). The FEI has a typically Byzantine formula for breaking such ties. Canada ultimately lost second place to Mexico (the US was far out in the lead, having won both events) because Mexico had a total of four clear rounds and Canada only three.
I do wonder if this whole sorry story would have taken place if the two sponsors involved didn’t happen to both be Swiss watch makers, rivals in the same marketplace. Would the exclusivity be so closely guarded if the international ring at Spruce were emblazoned with the name of an oil company? The answer to that question isn’t likely to emerge any time soon. I had enough trouble getting anyone – at EC, the FEI and Spruce Meadows – to talk about this story in any but the vaguest of terms. I’d bet more money on getting struck by lightning while being eaten by a shark and holding a winning lottery ticket in my hand than on getting a frank explanation of the power brokering that goes on in the increasingly monogamous FEI/Longines marriage.
Is it just me, or does another four syllable ‘m’ word come to anyone else’s mind?
