Spruce Meadows’ Organizing Committee succeeded in restoring the FEI Rolex Ranking points for the events covered under its banner, after it was controversially removed by the FEI, following the new regulation that required the tournament to demarcate a minimum of $25,000 as guarantee money.

In the past, Spruce Meadows National had ten FEI jumping events that guaranteed valuable Rolex Ranking points to the winner. However, after the devaluation, many of these tournaments could not fulfill the minimum prize money requirement for FEI Rolex Ranking Point awarding events.

Spruce Meadows President, Linda Southern-Heathcott said that previously many of the $25,000 Spruce Meadows events allowed the riders to gain Rolex points; however, after the devaluation these tournaments were relegated non-ranking events, reducing their credibility. However, she was quick to add that the Organizing Committee had already made arrangements that restored the tournament to its earlier status, allowing the competitors to gain valuable Rolex ranking points.

The tournament is widely respected by the horse riding community, who flock to the venue because of its location and the quality of competition. Olympic champions Eric Lamaze and Rodrigo Pessoa can’t hide their displeasure at the FEI for relegating the competition.  According to them, Rolex points are very important for them but they would rather earn them against the best in the business than against much lighter competition in Europe. The exchange rate system adopted by FEI awarded the European tournaments and penalised the Spruce Meadows tournaments, due to currency rate fluctuations.

This view was seconded by Rodrigo Pessoa, who said that too much importance was being given to prize money, ignoring other factors like competitiveness, location, popularity of the venue and so on. The three time world champion said that any points won at the Spruce Meadows were well earned because of the higher level of competition.

The new FEI guidelines have the potential to adversely affect 16 FEI ranking events conducted by the Spruce Meadows Organizing Committee.

The Swiss watchmaker, Rolex, has been associated with sports since 1927, when Mercedes Gleltze swam across the English Channel wearing a Rolex Oyster wristwatch for the first time. At present the Swiss Watchmaker supports more than 150 events worldwide including golf, sailing, tennis, motorsports and equestrian tournaments. Rolex has given many a prominent names in the world of sports an opportunity to compete on a global platform and prove themselves. Rolex also sponsors cultural and arts programmes around the globe. The Rolex Young Laureates Programme is another Rolex initiative which nurtures young innovators in the field of science and technology, culture, education, and so on.

After becoming #1 in the Rolex World Rankings and triumphing in Beijing, Olympic show jumping gold medalist Eric Lamaze has been named Canada’s Male Athlete of the Year for 2008. Eric Lamaze received the award at the 36th Canadian Sport Awards (CSA), which celebrates excellence in sports and honors the athletes and leaders who compete and inspire hope throughout the calendar year. In 2008, Lamaze, riding Hickstead, had a remarkable year, which included individual gold and team silver medals at the 2008 Olympic Games. The pair also won the $100,000 CN World Cup Grand Prix at Toronto’s Royal Horse Show, €175,000 Rolex World Cup Grand Prix in Geneva, Switzerland, $200,000 Queen Elizabeth II Cup at the Spruce Meadows North American Tournament and $200,000 CN Reliability Grand Prix Spruce Meadows National Tournament. Based on these and many other outstanding results in 2008, Lamaze took over the number one spot on the Rolex World Rider Rankings released by the Federation Equestrian International (FEI).

Lamaze’s achievements were described in detail at the awards ceremony by Equine Canada CEO, Akaash Maharaj when he said: “As the Olympic jumping gold medalist, and as the top ranked jumper in the world today, Eric Lamaze’s sporting achievements are both historic and epic in proportions. Still, more importantly, his conduct on the field has exemplified good sportsmanship: humility in victory; grace in defeat; and generosity to teammates and opponents alike. We are enormously proud of Eric as an athlete and as a Canadian, and we are grateful to the True Sport Foundation for recognizing him as Canada’s Male Athlete of the Year.” Eric Lamaze attained the Rolex #1 ranking when he won The Grand Prix Rolex, the fifth leg of the Rolex FEI World Cupâ„¢ competition. As the rider who wanted foremost to show that he is the best in the world, Eric Lamaze fought for his victory in a thrilling jump off against Meredith Michaels-Beerbaum. Olympic champion Eric Lamaze proved in 2008 in the huge Palexpo arena in Geneva that he and Hickstead could win a big indoor Grand Prix against the best of the world and deserved the Rolex #1 ranking. The Rolex World Cup Grand Prix in Geneva, Switzerland, on December 14 gave Lamaze the additional points required to take over the coveted number one spot. Lamaze currently has 3,550 points while Michaels-Beerbaum has 3,535.

“Over the past four years, I have committed myself to competing against the best in the world, which has meant spending a lot of time in Europe,� said Lamaze, 40.  “My owners, as well as a great team of people at home, have helped make that possible.  To have achieved my goal is simply incredible, and for a Canadian to be number one in the world is something we can all be proud of.� Eric Lamaze represents what Rolex sponsorship of sporting events is all about: Through hard work and dedication, he performs with the precision and the quality of a Rolex watch. As an Olympic champion and with a #1 Rolex ranking, Eric Lamaze represents the very best of the equestrian world.