Last Year John Anderson hosted hos first edition of the Royal West Horse Show. Now the Longines Word Cup Series will include this city in its North American league qualifying venues, with the Royal West Jumping Tournament slated for the week of Oct. 22-31 at the Agrium Western Events Centre on Stampede Grounds. “Calgary is without a doubt, in my opinion, the most educated fan base in all of North America in the sport of show jumping,” acknowledged Anderson, whose farm is near Spruce Meadows. “I wouldn’t be an international rider if it wasn’t for Spruce Meadows. Eric Lamaze wouldn’t have made a name for himself if it wasn’t for Spruce Meadows. Kudos to our neighbours who have educated this city about the sport of show jumping. “I think Longines, in launching a North American League, probably thought what better place to have a qualifier than Calgary because of the educated fan base. Secondly, the World Cup final in April is always an indoor event and hosting a World Cup qualifier in an indoor event makes sense. ” Longines, like rival watchmaker Rolex, is huge in show jumping, plastering its name on various championships throughout the world. The 2016 final will be held in Gothenburg, Sweden, a place to which Anderson coincidentally has sentimental ties. He competed in the World Cup final there in 1986. “Thirty years later,” he mused, “I’m responsible for hosting an event that’s going to qualify riders to get to the final.” Calgary becomes the fourth Canadian venue part of the North American league tour. The others are Bromont, Que. (host of the 2018 World Equestrian Games), Langley, B.C., and the Royal Winter Fair in Toronto. Interested parties had to submit applications and Anderson threw in a pair of bids: one for the summer at his Rocky Mountain Show Jumping facility and the other at Royal West. “I got a reject letter from my Rocky Mountain venue and I got an acceptance letter to be a part of the league for Royal West,” Anderson pointed out. “I’m not a 50 percent guy, but anyway …” Among the competitors expected at Royal West are Americans Quentin Judge and Kyle King, as well as Canadians Jill Henselwood, Lisa Carlsen, Elizabeth Gingras and, of course, Anderson himself, whose ultimate goal is a far-reaching one. “Why I’m very, very excited about this is it is my goal and aspiration to bring the World Cup final to Calgary,” he revealed. “The more I think about it, the more I get excited about it. We could sell out the Saddledome with a World Cup final.” Apart from the $130,000 Longines World Cup North American qualifier, the feature event of the tournament, the Royal West includes championships for lower divisions, given Anderson’s consistent quest to develop the sport.
