‘It was a week I'll never forget’

Adam Cromarty reflects on this year's Spruce Meadows Masters

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IT'S not often you leave a show and wonder if the whole thing had been scripted. Surely the Spruce Meadows Masters couldn't have had so many perfect endings by chance? The best came together in a venue like no other to celebrate its 50th anniversary and the results echoed around the world.

Friday is the Evening of the Horse. While it features a 1.60m jump-off competition, it also feels like a night of choreographed entertainment as the stadium transitions to being under lights for a fan favourite, the Atco Electric six bar.

Britain's Joe Stockdale and Czechia rider Vaclav Stenek set a new Spruce Meadows record of 2.13m and if that wasn't enough in the jubilee year, the last time Joe visited Calgary it was to watch his father, Tim, win this very competition. The fireworks that followed may just have been upstaged! Luckily, they had the band of the Household Cavalry to help.