Spruce Meadows Recap: Czech Mate - Stanek Breaks the Irish Stranglehold

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If you thought the Irish were going to own everything at Spruce Meadows 'National,' you thought wrong. Vaclav Stanek had other plans.

The Irish had been absolutely demolishing the competition all week. Jordan Coyle, Conor Swail, Darragh Kenny, Daniel Coyle—they were winning everything in sight. The RBC Capital Markets Cup on Friday? All-Irish podium. The ATCO Cup? Conor Swail went 1-3 with two different horses. It was getting ridiculous.

Then Saturday's $500,000 RBC Grand Prix rolled around. Olaf Petersen Jr. built a proper 1.60m test—590 meters, 14 obstacles, 17 jumping efforts, 89 seconds time allowed. This wasn't messing around territory.

Only 10 made it clean to the jump-off. Sameh El Dahan set the early pace on Oscar-A with 47.10 seconds. Then Mario Deslauriers, the local hero on his Olympic mount Emerson, took the lead with 44.36 seconds and had the home crowd going wild.

But Vaclav Stanek was just sitting there, waiting. The 29-year-old Czech rider on Quintin—and here's the kicker, Quintin used to be Daniel Coyle's horse when they were both at Ariel Grange's Lothlorien Stables. Talk about adding layers to the story.

Stanek went in there and just rode lights out. Inside turns that others wouldn't touch, galloping to the last line like his life depended on it. 42.72 seconds. Nearly two seconds faster than Deslauriers. Done.

"I really like this place," an emotional Stanek said afterward. "I was watching videos from this place since I was a little kid and hoping that one day I can even kind of see it. I wouldn't even dream about riding here. So it's really a dream come true to come here and win the Grand Prix."

This was his second year in a row winning a Grand Prix at Spruce Meadows. The first Czech rider to win a 5* there. And he did it on a horse his main rival used to ride. You can't write this stuff.

Final Podium:

1. Vaclav Stanek (CZE) - Quintin - 0/42.72s

2. Mario Deslauriers (CAN) - Emerson - 0/44.36s

3. Sameh El Dahan (GBR) - Oscar-A - 0/47.10s

Spruce Meadows Irish Sweep: 

Before Stanek's stunning upset, the Irish were absolutely unstoppable. Jordan Coyle took the RBC Capital Markets Cup with For Gold, while Conor Swail and Darragh Kenny completed an all-Irish podium. In the ATCO Cup, Swail did something extraordinary—placing two horses in the top three with One Edition winning and Clonterm Obolensky tying for third. Daniel Coyle capped it off by winning the ATB Cup with the comeback king Farrel, a 15-year-old who'd been out injured for over two years.

• RBC Capital Markets Cup:

  1. Jordan Coyle (IRL) - For Gold

  2. Conor Swail (IRL) - My Lady Lavista

  3. Darragh Kenny (IRL) - Diaroubet

• ATCO Cup:

  1. Conor Swail (IRL) - One Edition

  2. Eugenio Garza Perez (MEX) - Chalouries PS

  3. Conor Swail (IRL) - Clonterm Obolensky & Darragh Kenny (IRL) - Zero K (tied)

• ATB Cup:

  1. Daniel Coyle (IRL) - Farrel

  2. Kara Chad (CAN) - Igor GPH

  3. Eugenio Garza Perez (MEX) - Chalouries PS

GCT Grand Prix Review: Brash and Hello Chadora Lady Destroy the Field in St. Tropez

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What a weekend on the French Riviera. The €308,600 Longines Global Champions Tour Grand Prix of St. Tropez was an absolute clinic in how to win when it matters most, and Scott Brash reminded everyone why he's a two-time series champion.

Grégory Bodo—the guy building the tracks for Paris 2024—designed a 1.60m course that was downright nasty. The compact St. Tropez arena doesn't give you much room to work with, and Bodo used every inch to create something that was described as "punishing." Two elements in particular caught out the big names: the PremiuMares plank and a final line that had riders second-guessing themselves all day.

The casualty list was pretty impressive. Henrik von Eckermann, Max Kühner, Daniel Deusser, Christian Kukuk, Simon Delestre—all gone with a single rail. That's some serious firepower eliminated in the first round, which tells you everything you need to know about this track.

Only eight made it to the jump-off, and that's where things got spicy. Jérôme Guery and Killer Queen went first and set a solid benchmark at 45.23 seconds. Nothing flashy, but clean and tidy. Then Scott Brash entered on Hello Chadora Lady and just... took off. They "rocketed out of the gate," hitting every inside turn and galloping like they owned the place. 41.55 seconds. Done. Game over.

"She gives you so much confidence," Brash said about his 12-year-old mare. That confidence showed—this was riding like someone who knew they had the horse to beat everyone else.

Kent Farrington gave it everything on Toulayna, posting 42.74 seconds but still over a second behind.

Fair play to Kent for going for it, and he earned his Golden Ticket to the Super Grand Prix for his troubles.

Julien Épaillard rounded out the podium with Donatello d'Auge in 42.87 seconds, giving the home crowd something to cheer about.

Final Podium:

1. Scott Brash (GBR) - Hello Chadora Lady - 0/41.55s

2. Kent Farrington (USA) - Toulayna - 0/42.74s

3. Julien Épaillard (FRA) - Donatello d'Auge - 0/42.87s

This win catapulted Brash to third in the overall standings with 101 points, just behind Gilles Thomas (120) and Simon Delestre (103.2). The championship race is heating up properly now.

GCL Team Review: Valkenswaard United Win on Speed

The Global Champions League was all about consistency and tactics this weekend. Two rounds—1.55m on Thursday, 1.60m on Friday—and Valkenswaard United proved that sometimes being the fastest four-fault team is better than chasing that elusive zero.

Hans-Dieter Dreher was the anchor for United, producing double clears across both rounds with Elysium and Vestmalle des Cotis. His teammate Gilles Thomas was quick to give credit:

Thomas himself contributed a clear and a four-fault round with Qalista DN.

The real story was the comeback from Cannes Stars powered by Iron Dames. They were sitting in 9th after round one—basically written off—and stormed back to second place overall. That's championship-level mental toughness right there.

Riesenbeck International powered by Horse Gym took third, and Christian Kukuk's comments were telling:

Sometimes you have to take what you can get and build from there.

Final Podium:

1. Valkenswaard United - Hans-Dieter Dreher & Gilles Thomas - 4 faults

2. Cannes Stars powered by Iron Dames - Katrin Eckermann, Natalie Dean & Anastasia Nielsen - 4 faults

3. Riesenbeck International powered by Horse Gym - Christian Kukuk & Philipp Weishaupt - 8 faults

The GCL standings got completely shuffled. Cannes Stars jumped from second to first with 133 points, while Valkenswaard United and Shanghai Swans are tied at 124. The Swans went from leaders to third place just like that. This series is wide open.

Quick Hits

European Circuit Roundup: 

Belgium dominated at CSIO4* Sopot with a Nations Cup win and Giacomo Bassi going back-to-back, winning both the qualifier and the €105,500 Grand Prix with Cape Cod. The timing was razor-thin in that Grand Prix—Rik Hemeryck (BEL) finished just 0.17 seconds behind on Inoui du Seigneur, with Denmark's Renee Ulvsbjerg third by four-hundredths. At Sentower Park, Nicola Philippaerts gave the home crowd something to cheer about, winning the CSI4* Grand Prix with Derby de Riverland in a massive 18-horse jump-off.

Sopot Podiums:

• Nations Cup:

  1. Belgium

  2. Italy

  3. Ireland

• Grand Prix:

  1. Giacomo Bassi (ITA) - Cape Cod

  2. Rik Hemeryck (BEL) - Inoui du Seigneur

  3. Renee Ulvsbjerg (DEN) - Celeste Balslev

Sentower Park Grand Prix: 

1. Nicola Philippaerts (BEL) - Derby de Riverland

2. Lorenzo de Luca (ITA) - Mangoon

3. Petronella Andersson (SWE) - Olympke Van 'T Merelsnest

EEF Series: 

Switzerland were perfect in the final Central Region qualifier in Šamorín. Zero faults through two rounds, then 20-year-old Gaetan Joliat sealed it in the jump-off against Hungary. Six teams advancing to the Budapest semi-final: Switzerland, Hungary, Germany, Netherlands, Austria, and Slovakia.

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Industry News

Major Shake-up in Team USA: 

The big news this week is that McLain Ward's partnership with Ilex has been dissolved. This comes on the heels of Contagious—his Olympic team silver medal horse from Paris—retiring recently. That's two championship-caliber horses gone from the World No. 5's stable in short order. This completely changes the landscape for U.S. team selection and puts serious pressure on Ward to rebuild his string for upcoming championships.

FEI Tribunal: 

Portuguese rider Ricardo Reis accepted an 18-month suspension and CHF 5,000 fine after his horse Lord das Faias tested positive for nandrolone at a CDI3* in September. Standard anti-doping case, but these things matter for keeping the sport clean.

World Rankings Update: 

Kent Farrington still holding strong at No. 1, followed by Ben Maher, Henrik von Eckermann, Christian Kukuk, and McLain Ward moving up to No. 5 despite his horse troubles.

Looking Ahead

This week features Two five-star events and an EEF semi-final? Yes please.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ CSIO5 Rotterdam* hosts the third leg of the Longines League of Nations. This is crucial for nations trying to make the final. The Dutch have announced a strong home team, and Belgium and Ireland are bringing serious firepower.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ CSI5 LGCT Paris* moves to the Champ-de-Mars with the Eiffel Tower as the backdrop. Kent Farrington, Henrik von Eckermann, McLain Ward, plus home heroes Julien Épaillard and Simon Delestre. This should be spectacular.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ CSI4 Hickstead Derby Meeting* in Great Britain features the legendary Al Shira'aa Derby on Sunday. If you've never seen this class, it's unlike anything else in show jumping. Proper old-school test of horsemanship.

⭐️⭐️⭐️ CSIO3 Deauville EEF Semi-Final* has 12 nations fighting for just five spots in the final. Great Britain, Belgium, France, and nine others plus guest teams from Brazil and Mexico. This is going to be brutal.

Rating: 8.6/10

Well, what a week of sport we had. Scott Brash's blistering 41.55-second jump-off in St. Tropez was pure speed demon territory, while the Irish looked completely unstoppable at Spruce Meadows until Vaclav Stanek and Quintin delivered one of the season's best underdog stories. Grégory Bodo's technical masterpiece eliminated half the world's top 10, and the GCL standings got completely reshuffled after Cannes Stars' incredible comeback from 9th to the series lead.

I'm giving this week an 8.6 out of 10. Top-quality sport across the board, genuine drama in both individual and team competitions, and that perfect mix of expected dominance and shocking upsets that makes show jumping so addictive to watch.

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