"Stand Up, Stand Up"

On Sunday, I attended the "Masters" at Spruce Meadows. For all you non-horse people, Spruce Meadows is a world class show jumping stable in Calgary, AB. www.sprucemeadows.com

The Masters is an international competition where professional riders come from North, Central and South America, and Europe.

This competition is two rounds with a series of jumps that the rider must complete. The first round must be completed within 76 seconds (about) and the second round, 65 seconds. If the rider goes over the time allowed, he/she receives time faults. Also, each fence that falls, the rider also receives 4 faults.

The goal...complete the first round with as little to no faults as possible to make it into the top 12. Then complete the second round with no faults and the fastest time...your faults carry over from the previous round.

The prize...a chunk of money and a car!

So, the whole "Stand Up, Stand Up" thing. Even though I used to ride, and I understand that it's a wealthy sport...nicknamed "The Sport of Kings", I always get caught off guard with the wealth. To honor previous winners, we all stand up and clap and sing this cheesy song, "Stand Up, Stand Up" over and over again, for what seemed like 5 min! (It was probably only 2 min!) And, the ones that had money, seemed to be on a specialized tour of the course before the show began. Imagine walking around a field in high heels...who knows what you'll step in when it comes to horses!! Yet, a cool experience to have a detailed layed out course explained...maybe just for me!!

Here's some pictures...sorry, I don't remember who the riders are!!