I'm sitting in my hotel room in Calgary watching it pour rain! I dread that it will continue into the afternoon and make the course for the Nations Cup this afternoon a mucky mess. But, I guess that's outdoor competition is about. You gets what you gets weather-wise and that's the footing you have to deal with.
The $205,000 Encana Cup was contested in the rain, and was won by hometown hero Ben Asselin, who happens to be married to a Southern family granddaughter. The Southerns own and operate Spruce Meadows. There is no more robust a crowd than at Spruce Meadows when a Canadian wins an event. In fact, they are devoted fans of jumping and even the average Joe, knows quite a good deal about showjumping. They follow international jumping the way racing buffs follow Thoroughbred racing. Encana Cup results  
Spruce Meadows is truly an event not to be missed if you love horses, jumping and beautiful surroundings, not to mention great shopping. There are several rings running simultaneously, brass bands playing, royal guards, mountain men brigades and horse artillery companies. The pomp and pageantry are part of the fun.
This year, they changed from presenting a Landgestuet Celle dressage quadrille to a contingent made up of one stallion from each of Germany's ten state studs, or landgestuets. Here is a link to the information on the stallions.  Stallions of the German State Studs  A link to more information is included along with photos of the stallions.
For their exhibition, some of the stallions are ridden, some driven, and some shown in hand. The stallions driven in front of a mounted rider reminded me of when I used to drive my young racehorses in front of my faithful racetrack pony-horse. I drove them around the farm fields and up the mountain logging roads too. It worked quite well for getting them fit and teaching them how to carry and respond to a bit. The trouble was, by the time they had been driven a while they were quite fit, so when I started getting on them, they could be quite a handful.
It's still pouring rain, but I'm off. A perfect day for shopping at the trade fair. Thank goodness I sprang for seats in the covered grandstand.