Rolex Grand Slam: Brash and Hello Sanctos set historic record in Calgary.

Scott Brash has written his name in the show-jumping history books by becoming the first ever rider to win every stage of the Rolex Grand Slam.
In just a few years, this rider’s fairytale story has captured the hearts of fans and the man from a small town in Scotland has gone all the way to the top of his sport.
Yesterday, the world number one in the FEI rankings, cemented his reputation further by achieving what no rider has ever done before and that is to win every leg of the Rolex Grand Slam.
After claiming wins in the first two legs of the tour in Geneva and Aachen respectively, Brash made it a clean sweep with Hello Sanctos in Calgary and for that immense achievement takes home 1 million dollars in prize money.
While he may appear a bit shy and uneasy in front of the cameras and with all the press attention, the flying Scotsman has no such problems when it comes to doing what he does best, jumping his way around international arenas confidently and with determination as his lengthy list of titles and records demonstrates.
As for his top horse Hello Sanctos, the mount’s international reputation has sky rocketed further after the 13 year-old bay gelding played its part with Brash in the monumental achievement. Brash has in fact labeled the mount as the kind of horse you only come across once in a lifetime and as an honour to compete with.
Brash and his team had prepared meticulously for their date with history in Calgary and arrived in fine form and did not disappoint expectations, much to the crowd’s delight who exploded with joy at the pair’s crowning moment of glory.
When there is a winner however, there does have to be the rest of the competition and following behind in second we find rider Pieter Devos. The Belgian won this leg of the tour in 2013 with Candy and can be more than happy with his second place finish with a different mount, Dylano, in this year’s edition.
Brazil’s Pedro Veniss with Quabri de L’Isle took the final podium slot in what was his first ever appearance at this event and confirmed the excellent form of the Brazilian riders ahead of the Olympic Games on home soil in 2016. Here is how the rest of the riders finished:
1. $500,000 HELLO SANCTOS Warmblood / G / 13 Quasimodo x Nabe de Reve
SCOTT BRASH (GBR) GREAT BRITAIN Lord and Lady Harris & Lady P Kirkham: 0/0/70.75
2. $300,000 DYLANO Warmblood / G / 14 Cento Lano x Athlet Z
PIETER DEVOS (BEL) BEKKEVOORT Devos Stables: 0/1/73.31
3. $200,000 QUABRI DE LISLE Selle Francais / S / 11 Kannan x Socrate
PEDRO VENISS (BRA) LASNE Carmen Davrella de Aguilera: 0/1/72.94
4. $130,000 CRISTALLO Holstein / G / 17 Caretino x Cicero
RICHARD SPOONER (USA) AGUA DULCE, CA Show Jumping Syndication Intl: 0/4/71.27
5. $70,000 HH AZUR Belgian Warmblood / M / 9 Thunder Van de Zwohoeve x Sir Lui
MCLAIN WARD (USA) BREWSTER, NY Double H Farm & Francois Mathy: 0/5/73.48
6. $55,000 CONRAD DE HUS Holstein / S / 10 ConAir x Locato
GREGORY WATHELET (BEL) COUTHUIM Haras de Hus: 0/8/68.90
7. $40,000 CORTES C Belgian Warmblood / G / 13 Randel Z x Darco
BEEZIE MADDEN (USA) CAZENOVIA, NY Abigail Wexner: 0/8/69.92
8. $35,000 DIXSON Belgian Warmblood / G / 12 Vigo D Arsouilles x Olisco
IAN MILLAR (CAN) PERTH, ON Susan & Ariel Grange: 0/9/75.0
9. $25,000 CAPETOWN Dutch Warmblood / G / 12 Oklund x Carlino
WOUT JAN VAN DER SCHANS (NED) LUNTEREN, HP K.V. van den Berg & S.J. Kat: 0/10 76.76
10. $20,000 FIRST CHOICE 15 Warmblood / G / 12 Unknown x Unknown
YANN CANDELE (CAN) CALEDON, ON Watermark Group: 1/10/77.21
11. $14,000 QUORIDA DE TREHO Selle Francais / M / 11 Kannan x Tolbiac des Forets
ROMAIN DUGUET (SUI) BERN Christiana Duguet: 0/16/85.89
12. $13,000 MARLOU DES ETISSES Selle Francais / S / 15 Quidam de Revel x Persan II
ALEXIS BORRIN (FRA) VILLENEUVE DASCQ SARL C Epona: 1/19/80.40
Focusing back to Brash, after his historic achievement he was asked how he managed to win each and every one of the tour legs, which are all so different and unique in nature. Smiling, the Scottish rider said this was more of a question that concerned his mount than him, who has the mental strength and determination of a human athlete. To triumph in a testing circuit like the one in Geneva and then such a big circuit like the one in Aachen, making it a hat-trick in Calgary, shows the great versatility and adaptability of Hello Sanctos to go where no other horse and rider combination have gone before. We may never see such a feat repeated again in the sport, but knowing Brash and his ambitious nature, the Scottish rider will already have one eye on trying to repeat the feat again come next season.
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photo credits: Spruce Meadows Media Service