On Sunday 13 September, at 1 pm Calgary time (9 pm BST), forty riders enter the International Ring at Spruce Meadows for the CPKC International, a Grand Prix show jumping competition with a purse of five million Canadian dollars. One of them is playing for far more than victory alone. Richard Vogel, 29 and world number one, has won the last two Rolex Grand Slam Majors. Should he win again, he claims a one million euro bonus on top of the prize, becoming only the second rider in history to complete the series. The first was Scott Brash. That was in 2015, at this very arena, and Brash will be at the start on Sunday to prevent it happening again.
Two Majors from two attempts, and a horse saved for this Sunday
The sequence began on 15 March 2026 at ‘s-Hertogenbosch in the Netherlands. In the Rolex Grand Prix of the Dutch Masters, with 37 starters and eleven in the jump-off, Vogel and the stallion United Touch S set a time of 39.42 seconds that nobody could touch. Two months later, on 24 May, same horse, same result at Aachen: only three riders reached the jump-off of the Rolex Grand Prix, and Vogel completed it in 45.57 seconds, more than six seconds clear of Argentine José María Larocca (47.36 sec) and German Sophie Hinners (51.62 sec). The Aachen first prize was worth 450,000 euros. The second consecutive Major victory added a 500,000 euro bonus.
“I don’t cry often. But today is a fine reason to have tears in my eyes,” Vogel said that day. He is now world number one, and secured team gold at the World Championships in Aachen in August, alongside Daniel Deusser and Sophie Hinners. Our coverage of those championships, and what was at stake for the French team, can be found in our dossier on the World Championships in Aachen.
United Touch S is a 14-year-old Westphalian stallion by Untouched, bred and owned by Julius-Peter Sinnack. Vogel told the New York Times, cited by Horse Network, that he had always planned to keep the horse for this fixture. The stallion arrived in Calgary on 5 September aboard a Boeing 747 chartered by Spruce Meadows, accompanied by groom Felicia Wallin. He passed the veterinary inspection on 8 September, and the pair are listed among the pre-qualified starters for the Grand Prix.
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Winner of the last two Majors, he would pocket a one million euro bonus if he wins. Since 2013, only one rider has achieved the series: Scott Brash, in 2015. What you need to know before Sunday.
What the Rolex Grand Slam is really worth
The Rolex Grand Slam of Show Jumping was unveiled in April 2013. It links four competitions that the circuit calls the Majors: the Dutch Masters at ‘s-Hertogenbosch in March, the CHIO Aachen in spring, the Masters at Spruce Meadows in September, and the CHI Geneva in December. The rules are straightforward. A rider who wins three Grand Prix in succession receives a one million euro bonus. Should they string four together, another million. Two consecutive victories earn 500,000 euros.
Two details change everything. It is the rider who counts, not the horse: the bonus can be won on different mounts. And the sequence ignores the calendar year: each victory opens a new series. Vogel therefore did not need to win Geneva in December last year, won by American Kent Farrington on Greya, to be today’s contender in the running.
In thirteen years, only one man has achieved the triple. Scott Brash won Geneva in December 2014, Aachen in May 2015, and Spruce Meadows on 13 September 2015, always aboard Hello Sanctos. Since then, reviewing the results of the four Majors, only one other rider has arrived at a Major with two consecutive victories in hand: McLain Ward, after Geneva 2022 and the Dutch Masters 2023 on HH Azur. He failed at Aachen. Vogel is the third. The trophy he is aiming for, a solid silver cup of 17.7 in (45 cm) and 4.4 lbs (2 kg) designed by London jeweller Garrard, made the journey in the same aircraft as the horses.
Five million Canadian dollars for a single class
The CPKC International has existed since 1976, the year of the first Masters. In 2025, for Spruce Meadows’ fiftieth anniversary, its purse was increased to five million Canadian dollars, the largest amount ever offered on a single show jumping class according to the organiser, and it continues in 2026. Last year, the winner, Scott Brash, pocketed 1.6 million Canadian dollars, according to the Calgary Herald. By comparison, the Rolex Grand Prix at La Baule last May had a total purse of 500,000 euros.
One million euros in bonus is the price of a very good Grand Prix horse. For the tier above, we have traced what the world’s most expensive horse costs.
What Sunday’s class will look like
Forty qualified riders. A class at 5 ft 3 in (1.60 m), over the grass of the International Ring, set by Venezuelan course designer Leopoldo Palacios, as with all classes that week. In 2025, the format was as follows: a first round of 17 jumps, then the top twelve return for a second round of 15 jumps, penalties from both rounds combine, and a jump-off decides those tied on the lead. Last year, of 36 starters, eleven were clear in the first round and none in the second: Brash and American Kyle King found themselves in the jump-off with four penalties each, and King knocked down the Canadian rails. The bars in this arena often exceed 14 ft 9 in (4.50 m) in length. Details of the penalty system can be found in our guide to show jumping rules and penalties.
Two Boeing 747s, 99 horses and a trophy in the hold
The first aircraft, named “Challenge Accepted”, landed in Calgary on 5 September with 50 horses from Europe, their grooms and veterinarians. The second followed the next day with 49 horses. In the holds, alongside United Touch S and Hello Jefferson, travelled more than 4,400 lbs (two tonnes) of fresh flowers from the Netherlands to decorate the venue. We have described what such a flight represents for a horse in our guide to transporting horses by air.
The Grand Prix pre-qualifiers are not exempt from everything. The Masters rules require them to finish the first round of at least one FEI class during the week on the horse they will ride Sunday. Seven pairs arrived with this status, including Vogel and United Touch S, Brash and Hello Jefferson, Kukuk and Checker 47. The remaining places are earned on results during the week: points in the Cardel Homes Cup and the CANA Cup, top three in Friday’s Tourmaline Oil Cup, or first round with four penalties or fewer in Saturday’s Nations Cup.
Wednesday: he has already won, in 62.83 seconds on Chember 3
The week opened on 9 September with the TELUS Cup, a speed class at 4 ft 11 in (1.50 m): 62 starters, 1,600 ft (490 m), 11 jumps for 13 efforts, 74 seconds allowed. Vogel, on Chember 3, completed it clear in 62.83 seconds, nearly two seconds ahead of Swiss Martin Fuchs. The same day, Irishman Daniel Coyle won the Cardel Homes Cup at 5 ft 1 in (1.55 m) on Calippo 57, and Frenchman Nicolas Sers placed fourth on Eleven de Riverland.
Thursday, in drizzle, the CANA Cup at 5 ft 1 in (1.55 m) left only three pairs clear from 54 starters. American Lillie Keenan won it on Kick On in 41.03 seconds, securing her Sunday berth. Friday, the Tourmaline Oil Cup at 5 ft 3 in (1.60 m) closes qualifying, before the evening Six Bar, where two pairs cleared 7 ft (2.13 m) last year. Saturday, the BMO Nations Cup pits nine teams against each other, including France, with Kevin Staut in the travelling party. To navigate the levels, heights and formats of these classes, our complete show jumping guide lays out the basics.
Those who want to stop him
Scott Brash first. The British rider, number three in the world, has won this Grand Prix three times: 2015 on Hello Sanctos, 2016 on Ursula XII and 2025 on Hello Jefferson. Martin Fuchs won it in 2023 and 2024 with Leone Jei. Steve Guerdat, individual world champion in August at Aachen on Dynamix de Belheme, won it in 2021, Daniel Deusser in 2022. To them add Christian Kukuk, Olympic champion, McLain Ward, Belgian Thibeau Spits, world vice champion at 25, and Italian Piergiorgio Bucci, fourth at the Worlds. Twenty-two nations are represented.
Only one French woman appears in the CPKC International roll of honour: Eugénie Angot, in 2006, on Cigale du Tallis. Calgary’s public, however, remembers a 26-year-old Canadian crowned world champion at Aachen in 1986 on her rivals’ horses, including Jappeloup. We have told the story of Gail Greenough.
Why nobody manages it
The difficulty is not merely the height. It lies in the calendar: four Majors spread across the year, interspersed with championships, World Cups and private circuits, on surfaces that are nothing alike, indoor sand at ‘s-Hertogenbosch and Geneva, outdoor grass at Aachen and Calgary. You must be at your peak three times, in three different seasons. In 2025, a Horse Network columnist judged that you would “never see another Grand Slam winner”, so fragmented has the sport become.
Vogel has arguments in his favour. With United Touch S, by the date of the Aachen Grand Prix, he has won every five-star jump-off he has completed clear. He already won a Major at Geneva in 2023, then a European title in 2025, weeks after a disappointing Aachen CHIO: the horse, Vogel himself recalled, was almost at his best after Aachen. But Spruce Meadows resists him: in two previous runs at the CPKC International, United Touch S has never posted double clear, though he has never knocked more than one rail. And the format of the class left no double clear in 2025. The physical risk, for that matter, is real at this level. We have examined what really is the most dangerous equestrian discipline.
There remains what the rules cannot measure: pressure. Vogel called it a “privilege” at Aachen, before asking an official whether an oxer still standing was part of the jump-off. This sort of detail is settled in course walking and strategy. Grooms and veterinarians, meanwhile, watch over the horses day and night throughout the week. At club rider level, this daily care is tracked in the horse’s health record.
What we don’t yet know
The horse Vogel will ride Sunday has not been officially announced: United Touch S is pre-qualified with him and passed the veterinary inspection, but the start order is only published the evening before. The exact format of the 2026 running (number of jumps, number of riders advancing to the second round) is not yet published as we write. The figures given above are from 2025. The distribution of the 2026 purse and the exact amount of the first prize are not yet published either: the 1.6 million figure is from 2025. Results from Friday’s Tourmaline Oil Cup and Saturday’s Nations Cup were not known at press time. Vogel’s individual ranking from August’s World Championships is not included here, for lack of a verified source.
Sources
Spruce Meadows (announcement of the 2026 Masters, qualifying page of 8 September, reports from 9 and 10 September, CBC Gem programming); Rolex Grand Slam of Show Jumping (“Rules” page, 2026 Dutch Masters report); CHIO Aachen, 24 May 2026; Horse and Hound, 26 May 2026; Horse Sport, 6 and 8 September 2026; Horse Network, July 2026; Calgary Herald, 7 September 2025; roll of honour for the four Majors and the CPKC International. Consulted 12 September 2026.
