BMO Financial Group Nations’ Cup Promises Global Showdown

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BMO Financial Group Nations’ Cup Promises Global Showdown

SPRUCE MEADOWS, Calgary, AB - The richest team show jumping event in the world, the $350,000 BMO Financial Group Nations' Cup, will take place on Saturday, September 9, on show jumping’s main stage - the International Ring at Spruce Meadows in Calgary, AB.

Host Team Canada enters the Nations’ Cup battle confident following its March victory in Wellington, FL. Canada is looking to improve on its third place effort at the 2004 “Masters” Tournament, and has been awaiting the arrival of the superpowers of global show jumping for a 'Spruce Meadows Showdown' on home turf. A win at Spruce Meadows would be historic, as it would mark the first win for the home side since the event began in 1977.

“Our 2004 result in the BMO Financial Group Nations’ Cup was somewhat satisfying,” says Ian Millar, who will once again lead Team Canada as anchor rider. “It wasn’t a victory though and our goal as a team is to win this coveted event against the best teams in the world, on our home field. Our win in the Wellington Nations' Cup in March gives us a lot of confidence coming into Spruce Meadows, which is the most important team competition in the world.”

The roster of teams contesting North America’s only five-star Nations’ Cup will include Medal winners from the recently completed World Equestrian Games as well as the 2004 Athens Olympics. In the last edition of the BMO Financial Group Nations’ Cup in 2004 (there were no official final placings in 2005 as no team completed two rounds of competition with three riders), it was the Germans and the Americans that took the two top spots and once again, they will be hard to beat. The Germans have dominated Nations' Cup competition throughout the season while the Americans are the current Olympic champions.

This year's $350,000 BMO Financial Group Nations’ Cup features six teams including Belgium, Canada, Germany, Great Britain, the Netherlands and the United States. None have any desire to see Canada’s drought in the BMO Financial Group Nations’ Cup come to an end, and each country is sending horses and riders that represent the best in the sport.

“BMO is proud of our long history with Spruce Meadows, now recognized as a world leader in the sport of show jumping,” says Bill Downe, Chief Operating Officer, BMO Financial Group. “Another impressive roster of top international teams is set to compete in this year’s event, and it would certainly be a highlight for Canadian show jumping if Team Canada outperformed the world’s best here on Saturday.”

Such a victory would indeed be sweet and Canada is well-prepared and well-mounted to take on the sport’s powerhouses. The 2006 Canadian Team will be comprised of three Canadian Olympians - Mario Deslauriers of Bromont, QC, John Pearce of Stouffville, ON, and Millar of Perth, ON, and 25-year-old Erynn Ballard of Hillsburgh, ON, who will be making her Canadian Equestrian Team debut. Canada would like nothing better than to add a special chapter to the Spruce Meadows story by leading the victory gallop before more than 50,000 partisan fans at the conclusion of the BMO Financial Group Nations’ Cup.

As the founding sponsor of Spruce Meadows, BMO Financial Group has a long and proud history of supporting equestrian sport in Canada. Since 1976, BMO has sponsored the BMO Financial Group Nations’ Cup at Spruce Meadows, attracting the top international show jumping teams to Canada.

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