Calgary, Alberta, Canada—Sept. 10  

The Spruce Meadows Masters Tournament hosted its BMO Nations Cup on Saturday afternoon with a demanding competition that came down to a thrilling jump-off for the gold medal between Switzerland and Brazil.

In the end, the team from Switzerland took the win, with a second place finish for Brazil, and the host nation of Canada taking bronze.

The Swiss team of (from left) Werner Muff, Chef d’Equipe Stephane Montavon, Nadja Peter Steiner, Alain Jufer, and Steve Guerdat. Photo by Spruce Meadows Media Services

The U.S. team of Lillie Keenan on Super Sox, Quentin Judge on HH Whiskey Royale, Maggie McAlary on HH Ciske van Overis and Hardin Towell on Lucifer V took sixth place. Keenan led the way with rounds of 1 and 5 faults, while Judge collected 9 and 5 faults over the two rounds, McAlary had 5 and 10, and Towell picked up 4 in Round 1 and 16 in Round 2.

Lillie Keenan on Super Sox. Photo by Bob Langrish

Saturday’s highlight event saw record attendance of over 89,700 spectators—nearly 4,000 more than ever before—to watch ten teams from around the world compete for top honors. Ten teams representing the countries of Canada, Mexico, Brazil, Belgium, USA, Switzerland, Germany, Great Britain, France, and the Netherlands started in the first round of the BMO Nations’ Cup. The top six teams then returned for a second round over the same course, which was set by Venezuela’s Leopoldo Palacios.

The difficult course yielded only five clear rounds out of 38 total competitors in Round 1. In Round 2, only four individuals jumped clear out of 24 starters for the top six teams.

Team Switzerland was represented by Werner Muff aboard Pollendr (9/9), Alain Jufer riding Wiveau M (0/1), Nadja Peter Steiner with Capuera II (4/9), and anchor rider Steve Guerdat aboard Corbinian (4/0). They were led by Chef d’Equipe Stephane Montavon. 

Swiss Chef d’Equipe Stephane Montavon hoists the BMO Nations Cup trophy. Photo by Bob Langrish

Team Brazil consisted of Eduardo Menezes riding Quintol (8/1), Yuri Mansur Guerios aboard Quartz de la Lande (0/4), Felipe Amaral with Premiere Carthoes BZ (9/5), and Pedro Veniss riding Quabri de l’Isle (0/5), led by Chef d’Equipe Lucia Faria Alegria Simoes.

After Round 2, Switzerland and Brazil were tied on 18 faults each and each selected one combination to jump in a tie-breaking round.

Yuri Mansur Guerios and Quartz de la Lande were selected to jump off for Team Brazil, dropping one rail in a time of 45.95 seconds over the short course. Alain Jufer and Wiveau M jumped off for Team Switzerland, securing their team’s victory with a clear round in 48.76 seconds.

As the anchor rider for Switzerland, it all came down to Steve Guerdat in Round 2, as his clear round was last to go and solidified the need for a jump-off for the gold medal. Guerdat was aboard Corbinian, a 10-year-old Westphalian gelding (Cornet Obolensky x Pilot) that he owns with La Giraffa SA. Since he will also jump Corbinian in Sunday’s CP International Grand Prix, presented by Rolex, the decision was made to send Jufer in for the tiebreaker.

Steve Guerdat on Corbinian. Photo by Bob Langrish

“They were expecting me to go, which would have been the normal choice because my horse was still warm and he jumped really well today, but so did Alain’s horse,” Guerdat noted. “I said that I did not want to do the jump-off because there is tomorrow also. I feel that I did quite a lot for my team. I rode my best horse today, which not everybody would have done in my position with the Rolex Grand Slam coming tomorrow. I decided that I would really prefer not to go, so it was a quick change. Everybody was holding a leg, putting the studs and the boots on Alain’s horse, and he did three jumps and went on. That makes the win even better that he did such a great job.”

Guerdat and Jufer are childhood friends and have only jumped on two Nations Cup teams together before, both at Spruce Meadows. To win the BMO Nations Cup for the first time for Switzerland was a special event for Guerdat, made better by his friend’s added success.

“Every Nations Cup win is a great win. They are very tough classes to win and we do not win them often,” Guerdat stated. “I do not know how many Nations Cup classes I have won, but not so many. Spruce is always a special show to me and I love to come here. It is even more special to win with Alain because we grew up together and we started riding together. We are very good friends. To win in this condition just makes it even more special, so as you can imagine, it is a great day for us. We had great conditions today; we had a tough course, a nice course. The horses were jumping very well, and it was just a great afternoon of sport, and a great day for Switzerland.”

Jufer and Wiveau M were essential to the team victory, as the pair jumped clear in Round 1, earned just 1 time fault in Round 2, and clinched the victory with their clear jump-off round.

With the quick change before the tiebreaker, Jufer did not have much time to get nervous, and put his confidence in Wiveau M, a 13-year-old Dutch Warmblood stallion (Niveau x Concorde) owned by Lutta Gian-Battista.

“For me it was the first time to ride a jump-off this big,” Jufer detailed. “They told me I had to be clear and I tried to do my best. My horse jumped fantastic. This is the biggest stage I have won on. The feeling is amazing.”

Alain Jufer on Wiveau M. Photo by Spruce Meadows Media Services

Jufer got Wiveau M when the stallion was 9 years old and explained that the horse developed to the top level quickly.


“He has always done a good job,” the rider stated. “He gives everything to go clear and he jumped fantastic today. He does so much for me.”

Nadja Peter Steiner was aboard Capuera II, a 13-year-old Oldenburg gelding (Come On x Baloubet du Rouet) owned by Hans O. Peter. Saturday was Steiner’s first Nations Cup win with Team Switzerland and a momentous occasion for the rider. 

“For me it is an honor to be here because I do not have a lot of experience on the Nations Cup team at the moment,” Steiner remarked. “It was an honor to have such a great team and to win this Nations Cup. The feeling is just incredible. It was my first Nations Cup win, so there is a lot of emotion.

“My horse and I grew up a little bit together,” Steiner continued. “He never jumped big classes before, but we learned together as we moved up to this big level. He gives a lot for me; he always fights and does his best.”

The fourth member for Team Switzerland was Werner Muff aboard Pollendr, an 11-year-old Rheinlander gelding (Polytraum x Corrado) owned by Mühlebach Marlis. The pair was also a part of the winning Swiss team in Falsterbo, Sweden, over the summer and produced double clear rounds there.

 
Werner Muff on Pollendr. Photo by Bob Langrish

Commenting on his part in Saturday’s victory, Muff stated, “To win is always a great thing. I am in the lucky position that I could be on the team that won the Nations Cup already this year in Falsterbo, but to win at Spruce Meadows is something really special for all of us. To win the Nations Cup here is something in life that you will for sure never forget.”

Muff spoke to the difficulty of Saturday’s course, which was challenging for many competitors.

“I think it was a real tough course like always at Spruce Meadows,” he said. “They have a lot of special fences that a lot of horses don’t know because in the entire world if you are on tour, you never jump special fences like here. It was great building; everything was asked. You had to have control everywhere and you had to do everything possible with the horse. There are so many riders with such good horses here that they have to ask a bit more. That is normal.”

Saturday’s win was the first ever for Team Switzerland at Spruce Meadows and Chef d’Equipe Stephane Montavon was thrilled to get the first victory. He has led the Swiss team in the event at the Masters on 10 different occasions.

“It is a wonderful feeling to win here. We have never won here,” Montavon remarked. “It is fantastic. It is marvelous. For me as a team chef d’equipe it is the first time that I have won ever with the team. I am very happy.”

Canada’s Tiffany Foster and Victor were the only pair able to jump clear in both rounds of competition to help their team earn the bronze medal. Led by Chef d’Equipe Mark Laskin, Team Canada also saw rounds from Kara Chad and Bellinda (5/9), Amy Millar and Heros (9/0), and Eric Lamaze aboard Check Picobello Z (12/R).

Commenting on her success, Foster stated, “This is the first time I have ever been double clear at the Masters. That is a really big moment and something that I am very proud of. I know Victor so well, and that makes a big difference in a situation like today when you have to go in first. 

Team Germany finished fourth, Team Belgium placed fifth, and Team USA rounded out the top six in Round 2. France, Mexico, Great Britain, and The Netherlands finished out the order from seventh to 10th place to conclude Saturday’s BMO Nations’ Cup competition.

IMPORTANT LINKS: Orders of go and results / Spruce Meadows website / Live streaming

Maggie McAlary on Ciske van Overis for the U.S. team. Photo by Bob Langrish

Quentin Judge on HH Whiskey Royale. Photo by Bob Langrish

Robert Ridland (left) and McLain Ward (second right) advise Maggie McAlary (right) and Quentin Judge (second left) on the BMO Nations Cup course. Photo by Bob Langrish

Hardin Towell on Lucifer V. Photo by Bob Langrish